International Student Will Use ODUOnline Scholarship Funds to Study Data Security

Shreya Varadaraj has been awarded ODUOnline's International Student Scholarship, worth $3,500, for the summer semester.

Varadaraj, who lives in Bangalore, India, takes online classes from Old Dominion University.

To qualify for the scholarship, Varadaraj wrote a 400-word essay describing how her education will help her realize her career dreams. She focused on her passion for computer applications, saying, "Serving millions of people with a small application is nothing short of a super power."

To further her ambitions of app development, Varadaraj will apply part of her scholarship money to a data mining and security class. She says, "Despite all the talk about privacy invasion, it is exciting to know that data mining can be effectively used to secure an application with authentication and authorization."

"We are so excited to offer this scholarship to Shreya," says Mitsue Shiokawa, director of ODUOnline International. "Her motivation to learn more about data mining is not only admirable, but critical in today's digital age."

ODU has been expanding online options for computer science courses to meet the growing demand for qualified, experienced computer professionals. "Shreya's chosen course, Data Mining and Security, is just one example of the relevant courses we have available through ODUOnline," Shiokawa says. "Students all over the world may study with Old Dominion University's experts, regardless of whether they set foot on our Norfolk, Virginia, campus."

Andy Casiello, associate vice president for distance learning, adds, "International growth and expansion is definitely a focus moving forward for ODUOnline. Technology allows our world-class education options to be available to anyone around the world, no matter where they are."

To learn more about ODUOnline's international study options, visit online.odu.edu/international.

Old Dominion University, located in the coastal city of Norfolk, is Virginia's entrepreneurial-minded doctoral research university and has been delivering distance learning programs for 30 years. We offer more than 100 programs through ODUOnline in a variety of formats, allowing students to complete degree programs across the world. ODU serves more than 24,600 students annually by providing the same rigorous academics online and on-campus. Learn more about ODUOnline's programs by visiting online.odu.edu.