By Sadokat Khakimova by PTK Alum and Jack Kent Cooke Scholarship Recipient as well as a Guistwhite (2021) and Oberndorf (2020) scholarship recipient.
I grew up in the Central Asian country of Uzbekistan and arrived in the United States in 2018 with big dreams, limited resources, and no expectations. My initial plan was to head to the big skyscrapers of either New York or California, yet my path first led me to Pearland, Texas, where I enrolled at San Jacinto College as a math major. I chose San Jacinto after learning about the two-plus-two pathway through a program with the U.S. Embassy in Tashkent.
At first, I didn’t think I would get a visa to study in the U.S., but thankfully all the stars aligned and I was granted one. My first experiences in the U.S. were a culture shock. Instead of the tall skyscrapers and Hollywood signs I expected, I found flat and bare landscapes. The learning curve was steep—there was little public transportation, and without a bike or car, getting around during my first days in Texas was very difficult. But that initial shock faded once I settled into my first home in the U.S. and met my 77-year-old host, Connie, whom I now call “Grandma.”
I arrived with only a loan for my first semester, and I immediately started searching for every possible scholarship. I managed to cover my later semesters through college awards, work, and early Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) scholarships. In 2020, I became a Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Award semifinalist, but not a scholar. I was at a crossroads and realized I needed to invest another year in strengthening my academics, leadership, and research. That decision ultimately led to my selection as a 2021 Jack Kent Cooke Undergraduate Transfer Scholar.
When I first received my PTK invitation email, I didn’t think it was real, so I reached out to my visiting campus advisor to double-check—and it was! I attended PTK orientation and left feeling inspired by the confident and articulate students I hoped to become like. PTK became a catalyst for my growth, and I worked hard to get more involved. I was rejected the first time I applied to be an officer, but I tried again and eventually became Vice President of Leadership, later Chapter President, and ultimately served as the Division II International Vice President.
Phi Theta Kappa has contributed immensely to my life—from skill-building through the College Project and Honors in Action programs to helping me hone my research, writing, community partnership, and public speaking abilities. Most importantly, PTK helped me find lifelong friendships, mentors, and a true sense of community. PTK was the cocoon that helped me grow into a butterfly.
Just as PTK supported me, winning the Cooke Foundation Transfer Scholarship helped me navigate a challenging transition to Texas A&M. I was taking high-level courses right away and had a hard time finding community, which left me feeling isolated and depressed. The Cooke Foundation advisors checked in on me and provided support that helped me build connections and begin to see Texas A&M as a place where I could grow and thrive. Their support continued as other Cooke Scholars helped me navigate internships during the hiring freezes of 2022-2023. That summer, I interned as a Data Scientist at the STMI Lab, where I applied machine learning to real-world media data. In my senior year, I studied abroad in Singapore for a cloud computing program that gave me a broader view of global tech. I returned to Texas A&M as a full-time software engineer in the REO Lab, building a platform that connected researchers with funding opportunities.I am currently working toward my M.S. in Computer Science and Data Science at the University of Southern California (USC) with the support of the Cooke Foundation’s Graduate Scholarship, and I hope to join a robotics research lab while strengthening my skills in backend engineering, hardware, and data science. One of the many advantages of studying at USC is the opportunity to secure top-tier tech internships.
In the future, I hope to become a software engineer at Google and give back to the STEM community by creating my own nonprofit organization to support international women students in STEM. I want to help increase equity in tech by supporting women, addressing pay disparities, and reducing attrition in the field.
The biggest advice for future scholars is to apply—and keep trying—because the growth that happens during the process is transformative. Remember: you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take, so always take your best shot.
