TYLER, Texas — Dr. Hakeem Oluseyi, an astrophysicist, spoke at Tyler Junior College on Thursday.
Oluseyi was taking part as the spring speaker for TJC's Powerful Voices series. “I hope that by telling my story, people will also see themselves and find a way through academia and achieve their dreams.”
Raised in some of the toughest neighborhoods in the country, Oluseyi moved 11 times as a child including stops in New Orleans, Los Angeles, and Houston before settling in Mississippi for 10 years between the ages of 14 and 24.
Oluseyi said his escape was his love of science and reading. “I always had my nose in a book. I came across an old set of encyclopedias and read them all the way through, from A to Z," Oluseyi said.
“No one in my family graduated from high school before me,” Oluseyi said. “My father dropped out of school when he was 9. My mother dropped out when she was 16, and so did my sister when she was 16.”
Oluseyi now has three college degrees, including a Ph.D. in physics from Stanford University. He is an astrophysicist, author, STEM educator, multi-patented inventor, science journalist, TV personality, science communicator and inspirational speaker.
“You see someone like me and you think I’ve always had it good,” Oluseyi said, “but I made it with hope, help from others, and a lot of hustle. If you believe in yourself and you believe in your dreams and people are willing to help you — you can make it.”
Oluseyi writes about his story in his memoir, “A Quantum Life: My Unlikely Journey from the Street to the Stars,” which were gifted to students following Thursday's event.
On Monday, April 8, Oluseyi will report on the total solar eclipse on ABC’s “Good Morning America.” where he will team up with one of the anchors to give a 'play-by-play' of the eclipse.
“If the clouds and the weather are nice to us, you’re going to see things you’ve only seen in the movies,” Oluseyi said. “First, if you’re in a place that’s flat and broad, you’re going to see the shadow of the moon rushing toward you across the landscape, and then you’ll see the sky begin to darken a little bit.
“Then, it will get really dark, you will feel the temperature drop, and then you’ll see the corona of the sun just pop out, and then you’re just mesmerized.
“And then it goes in reverse. The shadow of the moon will race away in the other direction, and you’ll just be left thinking, ‘What just happened?!’ It’s going to be amazing.”