Equity by Design

At Oakland University’s School of Engineering and Computer Science (SECS), the pursuit of engineering is not limited by zip code or family income. In fact, engineering isn’t just taught here — it’s unlocked. Education at SECS is a promise: it is students’ potential, rather than their financial background, that will shape their future. 

Over the past decade, SECS has made engineering and computer science more accessible, transforming what it means to pursue a technical degree for students from low-income and first-generation families. The results are visible in the numbers. In 2015, fewer than a third of SECS students came from low-income backgrounds. Today, that share has climbed to 43%. First-generation college students now comprise more than a third of the school’s student body. 

The transformation began on the grounds of OU’s golf courses, where SECS’s fundraising tradition was born in 2015. Each year, supported by DTE Energy, the annual Sharf Memorial Golf Outing has been raising thousands of dollars in scholarship funds for students who, otherwise, might have never set foot in a college classroom. 

Supported by DTE Energy, the annual Sharf Memorial Golf Outing has been raising thousands of dollars in scholarship funds.

“As golfers chat, laugh and swing against a backdrop of the university’s greens, they help vulnerable youth rewrite their futures,” says Gary Roberts, DTE Manager. Roberts has been leading these efforts since the very first event, earning him the company’s prestigious 2025 Alex Dow Award.

Support also comes from SECS alumni, corporate partners and benefactors who have built a comprehensive network of scholarships, covering every major. In the last few years, donors like Dick and Norma Sarns, Steve and Susan Garrity, Dr. Douglas Templeton and Cindy Heazlit have each left their mark. For 2025-2026, the SECS Scholarships Committee awarded 106 scholarships, worth over $200,000, with additional scholarships given to SECS students through OU Admissions. Behind these numbers, there are personal stories of students breaking cycles of economic hardship and entering fields their families never imagined possible.

Madita Deinhard, a bioengineering senior aiming for a master’s degree in mechanical engineering, has navigated unique challenges to pursue her education. For years, she was unable to work legally in the United States due to her status on her mother’s visa, leading her parents to cover full tuition. As a non-resident, she was also ineligible for merit scholarships, despite her strong GPA.

“The scholarships I received from SECS, including the Judith Tinor Engineering Scholarship and the Sarns Bioengineering Scholarship, have been a tremendous relief for my family,” Deinhard says. “They were the only financial support I could access. Without them, continuing my studies in bioengineering at OU simply wouldn’t have been possible.”

For Michael Saint-Auburn Jackson, the road to fulfilling his childhood dream of pursuing education in information technology has been paved with SECS funding as well.  Since he was a child, Jackson was captivated by technology and how it connects people to the world around them: from teaching his grandmother how to use her phone to exploring how devices work. The Sharon and Thomas Vos Engineering and Computer Science Scholarship has played a crucial role in making that dream possible.
 
“This scholarship has taken a huge weight off my shoulders,” Jackson shares. “It has allowed me to focus fully on my education and dive deeper into what I’m passionate about instead of worrying about financial stress.”

Tuition alone, however, isn’t the only hurdle these students face. A lack of technology can be just as limiting as the cost of a degree. That barrier came into sharp focus in 2023, when SECS launched the Engineering and Computer Science Laptop Program (ECLP) in partnership with T-Mobile. The program provides free laptops and internet access to Pell-eligible students, with priority for freshmen and sophomores. Thanks to additional support from Rheinmetall, students also have access to unlimited data, ensuring that no one falls behind simply because they lack the right device or internet access.

Engineering and Computer Science Laptop Program (ECLP) provides free laptops and internet access to Pell-eligible students, thanks to additional support from Rheinmetall.

SECS’s vision starts earlier than an admission application –– it begins when student interest takes root. Thus, SECS partners with the Engineering Society of Detroit Girls in Engineering Academy to help middle and high school girls see themselves in a field too often closed off to them. The school hosts residential summer camps and offers financial support to eligible attendees who choose to continue their studies at OU. These efforts plant seeds long before a student steps into a lecture hall.

“Our school’s ecosystem of scholarships, technology access and community partnerships ensures that engineering excellence isn’t reserved for the privileged few. Scholarships remove financial strain. Technology initiatives close the digital divide. Outreach programs spark ambition in young people. The common belief behind all of them is that engineering excellence should belong to those willing to put in the work, not simply pay the price of tuition,” says SECS Dean Louay M. Chamra, while sharing his vision.

What sets SECS apart from its many counterparts in engineering and computer science education is not what it teaches; it is whom it reaches. From a golf course fundraiser in the summer sun to the moment a first-year student opens their first laptop, many quiet forces ensure that SECS doors aren’t just open — they are wide.