ECE student receives inaugural Google Lime Scholarship

9/4/2009 Laurel Bollinger, ECE ILLINOIS

Google and Lime have teamed up to provide a scholarship for students with disabilities. This year five students were recognized in the first round of this scholarship; among them was ECE ILLINOIS’s Matthew Strom.

Written by Laurel Bollinger, ECE ILLINOIS

Matthew Strom
Matthew Strom

Google and Lime have teamed up this year to provide a scholarship for Computer Science or Computer Engineering students with disabilities. Lime, a New York-based not-for-profit organization, advocates for people with disabilities in the business industry. This year five students were recognized in the first round of this scholarship; among them was ECE ILLINOIS’s Matthew Strom.

Strom, a senior in computer engineering, said that he learned of the scholarship through the Disability Resources and Educational Services office. Though the application itself was fairly simple, “there were also two letters of recommendation, two essays, and then a resume,” said Strom. “It was fairly extensive.”

Despite the amount of materials needed, the work paid off, and Strom is now the recipient of a $10,000 academic scholarship and an all-expenses paid trip to the Google Headquarters in California in 2010.

Beyond the perk of having financial help with school, Strom said this scholarship means much more. “It’s an acknowledgement for my hard work,” said Strom. “This means that someone notices I’m working hard, even though I haven’t necessarily been able to keep up with the best academic accolades.”

Outside of his academic career, Strom is currently pursuing an entrepreneurial opportunity and trying to decide what he’ll do when his undergraduate career at Illinois is over. “I have been working on a project of my own which is an application for smart phones that will display MTD bus information in a more convenient way than just the tickers outside,” said Strom. “So being an entrepreneur may be a pursuit of mine after graduation, but I’ve also considered working in the industry or getting my MBA and starting my own business.”

For more information on the Google Lime Scholarship please visit www.limeconnect.com/google.html.


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This story was published September 4, 2009.