FOSSI | Meet Immanuel Fowler: 2022 FOSSI Scholar Attending Delaware State University

Meet Immanuel Fowler: 2022 FOSSI Scholar Attending Delaware State University

November 22, 2022

Immanuel Fowler, a 2022 graduate of Charter School of Wilmington, will be attending Delaware State University as a computer science major. His experiences winning first place as team leader at the Lincoln University Summer Cyber Symposium, interning at the NIWC Pacific (SEAP Program) and participating in the University of Delaware's Health Sciences Program, have influenced his career goals of becoming a software developer and a non-profit organization entrepreneur.

Immanuel's interests include school sports (football, soccer and lacrosse), serving as co-host for his school’s official podcast and emceeing school activities (e.g., pep rallies). He tried to improve diversity at his school by working with the administration and providing feedback to ease racial tension.  He also produced an educational Juneteenth video for his school. His contributions led to his selection as an HOBY Leadership Program school rep and nominee for the Princeton Prize Racial Relations award.

Outside of school, Immanuel has received leadership training through TeenSharp, Telluride Association Virtual Online Seminar, and the Griptape Learning Challenge; which provided him with a grant to start an Ethical Hacking club. He has also enjoyed public speaking engagements such as his TedX talk on perspectives and his MLK Voice 4-Youth oratorical on equity. Currently, Immanuel reviews equity grant applications as a member of a racial equity council and serves as the community engagement specialist of FFDC, a local non-profit. 

FOSSI: Why are you passionate about pursuing a degree in a STEM-related field?

I am passionate about computer science because I believe that through it, I can harness its technological advances to better communities. Growing up, I’ve always fantasized about being a super cool genius hacker spy like the ones I saw on television. Those dreams, along with my lifelong love for taking apart every electronic gadget I came into contact with since the age of 3, segwayed into me pursuing a career in STEM. 

At a very young age, I recall falling in love with computer science as my chosen STEM field. I recall getting viruses on my mother’s computer and realizing that a string of code dictated the inner workings of so many devices. I found it fascinating that written commands and syntax held so much power. I therefore began to teach myself how to code. First it was Lego Mindstorms, robotics and then scratch. Then it expanded to Linux, JavaScript, Python, Java and Rust, C++ and C#.

FOSSI: Share a few fun facts about yourself.

  • I am somewhat musical: I can play the piano and guitar by ear, and I also love to sing. 
  • I enjoy outdoor adventures. 
  • I love to read, especially philosophy. 
  • I admire old-school cars from the 1980s.