The World’s Most Impressive MOOC Graduates

MOOCs aren’t like traditional schooling, in that students who participate in the courses don’t receive a formal diploma for their work. But that hasn’t stopped many MOOC participants from doing amazing things with what they’ve learned. Whether they’re pushing past rigid government restrictions or landing a job at Google or Square, these MOOC students are doing great things thanks to their online education. Read their stories here and get inspired to make a difference in your own life with a MOOC.

• Khadijah Niazi:

  When you think of an MIT student, you’re probably picturing an early-20s science major on campus in Cambridge. But thanks to Udacity, MIT also offers educational resources to students, including Khadijah Niazi, an 11-year-old girl who lives in Lahore. The young Niazi made headlines when she was kicked out of her final exam due to a government shutdown of YouTube in her country of Pakistan. Thanks to the help of her classmates, Niazi was able to gain access to the exam questions and pass with the highest distinction. Amazingly, Niazi was the youngest girl ever to complete the MIT physics course, which is reported to be challenging for the average college freshman. Clearly not one to rest on her success, Niazi has already signed up for a computer science course through Udacity, along with her twin brother Muhammad.

• Mark Halberstadt:

  Although MOOCs aren’t yet a resource for earning university degrees, they’re a great stepping stone for students, including Mark Halberstadt. A former “C” student who had given up on math and science, Halberstadt began watching trigonometry, calculus, and arithmetic videos from Khan academy in 2007. These videos gave him the foundation and confidence he needed to go back to school. He is now pursuing a bachelor’s degree in engineering with a 4.0 GPA. Halberstadt gives credit for his excellent GPA to Khan Academy, noting, “getting a 4.0 GPA would never have happened without the help I got from the Khan Academy.”

• Winfree Academy Charter Schools:

  In this case, MOOCs made a difference not just for one outstanding student, but rather, 22 at-risk students in Texas. Winfree Academy Charter Schools serves students who are likely to drop out of high school. The school started a pilot program with Udacity, enrolling their students in their choice of either a statistics or physics course. The vast majority of the students exceeded their principal’s expectations, including two especially at-risk 17-year-old girls who completed the online physics class at higher than 80%. Students who offered feedback said that they enjoyed the one-on-one attention in the course, as well as the always-on availability that allowed them to simply repeat concepts they may have struggled with.

• Tamir Duberstein:

  For some outstanding MOOC students, their educational pursuits can lead to a great job. Tamir Duberstein, a student of Udacity, took several computer programming courses through the service. He spent nearly all of his free time studying and earned high marks. When Udacity contacted him with an offer to send his resume through its job service, he went for it, and a few weeks later, heard from mobile-payment startup Square, who shortly hired him. Duberstein is a great example of what’s possible for MOOC students who work hard, do a great job, and take advantage of opportunities available to them.

• Andrew B.:

  Another Udacity student, Andrew B., has taken his knowledge and used it to launch a company, Perfect Menu, that was recently featured on TechCrunch. The most amazing part of it all? Andrew is a high school student, and his only formal programming education came from Udacity’s Intro to Computer Science, which he credits with helping him better structure the way he programs. Taking his experience with Udacity, Andrew participated in StartUp Weekend, where he met the team he joined to create Perfect Menu. Andrew, along with his Perfect Menu team members, are now enrolled in Udacity’s How to Build a Startup: the Lean LaunchPad course.

• Gundega Dekena:

  Once a star student, Gundega Dekena has now become an assistant instructor. She took her first course in October 2011, exceeding Udacity’s expectations as she not only completed her first Artificial Intelligence course, but actually helped to modify its software and offering support ideas for the course’s site and forums. After completing just four classes and demonstrating excellent ethic as a student, volunteer, and helpful peer, Udacity hired her as an assistant instructor to support students and online education in a more formal scope. In addition to hiring Dekena, Udacity has brought two other students on as assistant instructors: Adam Sherwin and Sean Bennet.

• Sam Romano:

  Dreams do come true, at least for Sam Romano. The Udacity student had a dream of working for Google, and thanks to his experience in Udacity’s Artificial Intelligence course and career placement program, was able to make a job at Google a reality. Romano is now working for Google as a software engineer in Pittsburgh.