Faculty connections lead Shaw to success at Northwest

May 7, 2024

Faculty connections lead Shaw to success at Northwest

By Lilly Proctor, communication assistant

TeVaughn Shaw wasn't sure of his direction when he graduated from high school during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in the spring of 2020.

He tried relocating from Kansas City, Missouri, to Georgia, but a year later he was looking for colleges in Missouri, and a call to Northwest Missouri State University made the difference. Terry Immel, the office manager for the School of Computer Science and Information Systems, happened to be on the other side of that phone call and provided details about Northwest's data science degree.

Their connection resulted in Shaw joining Immel as an office assistant in the School, and Shaw graduated this spring with a Bachelor of Science degree in data science and informatics.

Reflecting on his time at Northwest, Shaw was reminded of the connections he made on campus - particularly with the faculty and staff in Colden Hall, which is home to multiple academic departments at Northwest, including the School of Computer Science and Information Systems. Dr. Nathan Eloe, an associate professor of computer science and information systems, served as his academic advisor.

"(He) knows all of my strengths, and weaknesses at this point, and he's been very great with simplifying very problematic cases that are really complex," Shaw said. "I just can't thank them enough. They've been very encouraging and inspiring."

Shaw also was a member of the Math Club and served as a student ambassador for the School of Computer Science and Information Systems. He says his experiences at Northwest have helped reshape and enhance his thinking.

"I've grown a lot," Shaw said. "A lot of that contributes to the learning and all of my independent research I've done outside of my classes - even on the weekends. It's because of this degree. I just enjoy doing it so much."

Shaw will participate this summer in a research internship at the Princeton Neuroscience Institute and then attend the University of Sheffield in England to pursue a master's degree in cognitive and computational neuroscience.