How do ideals turn into actions?

Mussie Demisse '21 was shaking Governor Charlie Baker's hand minutes before learning he'd been accepted to MIT. Demisse was honoured as one of the 2018 "29 Who Shine," a select group of graduates from the Commonwealth's higher education system who'd made an impact at their institution and in the community, at an awards ceremony at the Massachusetts State House. Bunker Hill Community College, where Demisse had studied computer science for the past two years, symbolised both for him. He explains that he worked three jobs at the college at one point while also serving on student council and participating in several academic clubs.
Demisse received his first glimpse of the demanding yet energetic atmosphere of an MIT classroom at Bunker Hill, and he began to see himself in such an environment. Jie Frye, Demisse's lecturer in a linear algebra class, would routinely give him tough quizzes that sparked his interest. He recalls her telling him, “As a kind of motivator, she would tell us this is the same quiz that MIT students take.” “They're all learning the same material, so don't be too hard on yourself; instead, be proud of what you've accomplished.” Demisse inquired as to where his lecturer obtained the MIT tests.

The answer turned out to be something called MIT OpenCourseWare, not a secret connection (OCW). Demisse recalls, "She was one of my favourite lecturers at Bunker Hill." “She highlighted that we may pursue our aspirations — something I don't believe is as common in community college. There's a lot of stigma, and I think it discourages individuals from looking for jobs. She was quite deliberate in ensuring that we understood we could and should try.”

Demisse claims that OCW wasn't the first time his passions brought him to MIT. But that was the final push he needed to apply to the school he'd had his heart set on for quite some time. Demisse grew up in Ethiopia, where he was a member of the Ethiopian Space Science Society, and his early love led him to the MIT Astrophysics Colloquia when he moved to Boston after high school. Demisse attended for a few months after learning that the colloquia welcomed members of the public to their weekly events. “I saw a part of MIT that was very much about advancing knowledge — done in such a supportive and cooperative way that I thought to myself, ‘Wow, it would be really cool if I could be a part of this community,'” he says, admitting that he could only understand the first 10 minutes or so of each talk.

Demisse began exploring projects like MIT D-Lab, a lab dedicated to finding solutions for combating poverty, and the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program after the materials on OCW showed him he had not just the ambition but also the aptitude to make this dream a reality (UROP). “That's when I realised it had to be MIT,” he says.

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In front of an MIT sculpture, a man dressed in graduation robes sits.

Mussie Demisse adds, "I think OCW and similar platforms truly allow you to grow your capacities to do what you can to solve the problem that you think is most important." Mussie Demisse provided this image.

Demisse earned a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering and computer science from MIT last spring. Demisse yearned for opportunities to apply himself in the ways that his linear algebra professor suggested — to put his dreams into deeds — before coming to Bunker Hill and going on the route that would lead him to MIT.

Demisse has seen the catastrophic effects of global disparities like poverty as a child. But Ethiopia was also where he learnt that when you see an issue, it is up to you to solve it, he explains. Demisse had plenty of motive when it came to deciding on a major at Bunker Hill. He realised it had to be something that would allow him to help not only Ethiopians, but also disadvantaged people all over the world who face comparable problems. Demisse saw computer science as the ideal combination of his aims, interests, and abilities. He explains, "It's kind of a claim of responsibility for the challenges I've lived through or witnessed people I care about go through."

Demisse discovered another way to harness her desire to help people through OCW. “I became somewhat of an evangelist for OCW,” he adds, recalling reaching out to friends in Ethiopia who were seeking for ways to help their communities.

Demisse explains, "I really targeted the ones who felt like they wanted more but couldn't achieve it." “And it actually made me pleased to do that because it was the same complaint I had back home — you recognise the problems you know you want to invest in, and you know you can establish the discipline, but you sometimes feel like there's nowhere to exercise that discipline, that motivation. And I believe that OCW and similar platforms enable you to develop your skills so that you can do your best to solve the problem that you believe is most important.”

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Demisse also says OCW helped him prepare for life as an MIT student. He comments, "I think academics at MIT have this way of showcasing how hundreds of years of knowledge was built out — this stress on intuition — in order for students to project into the future, for them to be the next discoverers." “I also noticed this in OCW. I realised how important it was to know more than simply the facts. Coming to MIT, this was cultivated to a far greater extent.”

Demisse joined the African Students Association at MIT, where he found another another source of inspiration. He took part in UROP and completed a project with MIT D-Lab, a lab Demisse had aspired to join for years. He's taken an entrepreneurial programme that's given him the tools to consider starting social enterprises in Ethiopia. Demisse also served as an undergraduate representative on the MIT OpenCourseWare Faculty Advisory Committee.

Demisse supports for stronger student involvement in the future of OCW, bringing insights from his personal experiences to the committee. He explains that if the purpose of OCW is to capture and share as much of MIT with the world as possible, then involving the student community is critical. Demisse also underlines the need of OCW, as well as MIT in general, continuing to lead the open education resources movement. He hopes to continue working with OCW now that he has graduated, concentrating on strengthening engagement with community institutions and increasing access to African universities.

In the end, Demisse sees open education resources as a method to give people hope, similar to the hope he felt when he saw the word "congratulations" in an email from MIT Admissions offstage at the State House.