A 2025 graduate of Adair County High School will be attending the New York Institute of Technology this fall.
Panasha Gecheo was awarded a presidential scholarship, the highest scholarship awarded to first year students by the institute.
Gecheo said she was not planning to apply to the New York Institute originally, but it came up as one of the colleges she matched with. After doing further research on the school, the programs they offer and the opportunities they have for internships, she decided to apply.
A few months after applying, she received an admissions letter notifying her that she had not only been accepted but would receive a $40,000 scholarship to attend due to her academics and grade point average. The scholarship recurs annually and will cover everything except her housing.
According to the New York Institute’s website, they average around 6500 students per year.
Gecheo said she didn’t really have a career pathway in high school.
“I took one computer programming class and I fell in love with coding. From that I decided to go into computer science, which is how I came to my decision of choosing New York Institute of Technology,” she said.
She plans to study computer science. Her intent is to enter the bachelor/master’s program and obtain both degrees in five years. She hopes this will help her obtain her ultimate goal of working for a big tech company as a software engineer manager.
Gecheo said her mother has been one of the biggest influences in her life. Her parents are Jared Segera and Joyce Angima.
“She has always pushed me to be the best that I could possibly be. She always told me to take advantage of the opportunities that I have. Both of my parents have given up so much for me to go to New York, and I’m so grateful for the both of them. I honestly don’t think I would be going to the New Institute of Technology if it wasn’t for my mom,” she said.
Gecheo credits teacher Teresa Giles and her computer programming class for opening her eyes to the world of technology, which led to her career plan. Two other teachers who had an influence on her were Lydia Tiller and Julie Brockman. Both were always encouraging and the people she could go to when she was upset about something or needed someone to talk to.
Although she said it sounds cliche, Gecheo said that her best friend, Addie Bennett, helped her through the decision-making process.
“She really helped me whenever I was going back and forth about which college to attend, when I was having doubts about moving to such a big city with not having my parents or close friends there. She never got tired of the long calls that we would have. She just told me what to do and calmed me down,” she said.
By Amy Pike
amy@adairvoice.com
