CIS Graduate Student Finds Personal, Professional Growth at UCM

Andrew Eyo will earn a master’s in Computer Information Systems and Information Technology at the
Spring 2025 Commencement ceremony.

 

Countdown to Commencement 

The University of Central Missouri offers a community of support, allowing students to redefine what’s possible as they forge a path to their future. With help from faculty and staff, UCM students are empowered to be the heroes of their own stories and as we prepare for 2025 Spring Commencement, the News Bureau is shining a spotlight on some of those stories.

 

While at the University of Central Missouri (UCM), graduate student Andrew Eyo has found a balance between working hard in the classroom and having fun with friends on campus.

Eyo, of Cross Rivers State, Nigeria, said he chose the Computer Information Systems and Information Technology (CIS and IT) graduate program at UCM because it aligned with his goals and aspirations. He noticed the courses fit his career path, offering instruction and understanding in software engineering, coding, network engineering and IT.

Eyo is a graduate assistant for Mo’s Activities Council, the event programming board for the Office of Student Activities. As Eyo describes it, Mo’s Activities Council is “the fun side of campus.”

“Bringing these events on campus has really been an amazing feeling for me because I'm able to bring events like bingo, singo, Fun Before Finals and the MuleFest,” Eyo said. “And all these events have really been a beautiful experience for me in terms of programming and in terms of bringing students together to have fun.”

Over the last year, Eyo has had several proud moments in his work with Mo’s Activities Council. Within two weeks in October, he helped organize the first-ever HOCO Fair, facilitated Spirit Windows for Homecoming, and coordinated the Nightmare on South Holden event that annually coincides with Halloween.

Christina Kerns, assistant director of Student Activities, said nearly 1,000 people participated in the two large events. 

“All of these events were complex, had many people involved and many moving parts,” Kerns continued. “I think it would have stressed many full-time professionals out. I'm not implying he wasn't stressed – you just wouldn't have known it. He led with a smile and joy, even through the stress.”

Thanks to Eyo’s efforts, Mo's Activities Council and the HOCO Fair received the Programmer’s Hall of Fame Innovation Award at this year's Student Leadership Awards. 

Eyo also served as president of the Nigerian Student Association and has been involved with the Newman Center, along with finding time to play ping pong to destress. He had the opportunity to attend conferences for the National Society of Black Engineers and the National Association for Campus Activities.

He had plenty of proud moments in his academic career, too. 

Before studying at UCM, Eyo earned a cybersecurity degree in Nigeria. Even with his technology background, Eyo said he was hesitant to work in coding. As it turns out, having the right professors at UCM made all the difference.

“I had to develop and implement a three-tier software,” Eyo said of his advanced systems project. “I've been running away from coding all my life, and when I came to UCM, it was just in front of me. I was like, ‘Can I do it?’ But Professor Paravastu took me through the whole process from the start to the finish, and I'm so proud of the software I created.”

Narasimha Paravastu, Ph.D., associate professor of CIS and Analytics, said Eyo created a user-friendly, intuitive and secure portal for a car maintenance system using an MVC framework called Laravel. 

“He developed a complete and functional web application, and he took about three months to learn and develop the entire application, which is phenomenal by any standard,” Paravastu said.

Paravastu said Eyo has many essential skills for a software developer: attention to detail, a good imagination and a knack for improvisation. He is also a budding leader.

“While developing as a programmer, he also showed that he had a real passion not just for coding but also in seeing to it that if others around him needed a little bit of help here and there with coding, he would be there to help them,” Paravastu said.

 

Kerns said she’s seen Eyo improve his planning skills, and that growth is seen when he facilitates weekly meetings. She added that his icebreakers have become so famous that the students protest if he tries to skip them.

“In an icebreaker once, he said his superpower is his smile. That's a pretty accurate assessment,” Kerns said. “To have Andrew on your team is to have energy, joy and humor on your side. He is very passionate about people getting involved. Our students absolutely adore him.”

Eyo recognizes that he has grown as well and said he’s enjoyed every experience from day one at UCM. He mentioned countless faculty and staff members who have pushed him beyond his academic limits and helped him on his career path to being a software developer or data science engineer.

“Right now, as I'm graduating, I feel fulfilled. I feel happy,” Eyo said. “I feel that I have learned so much. I've been able to make a lot of friends. I've been able to travel to over five states in America and have been able to create projects I never thought I could create before.”

 

 

 

Check the News Bureau daily from May 5-9, as we share stories of UCM graduates who are redefining what’s possible and shaping the future, one step across the stage at a time.