When Terdoo talks about his first days on the University of South Carolina (USC) campus, his face lights up. “The Southern hospitality is a real thing,” the now-senior beams. “Love. You feel the love. From day one, everyone was very welcoming. People welcomed me with open arms. They’re very kind people here in South Carolina.”
He teaches me how to say hello in Tiv, his native language: M sugh u.
An obsession with US college football inspired Terdoo to apply to USC, but it was the immediate feeling of family that made him decide to enroll.
“South Carolina feels like home to me,” Terdoo said. “I’ve never felt homesick. The weather is very similar to Nigeria, too. It gets a little cooler here, but [that] doesn’t faze me.”
Finding His Way to USC
With an aunt and uncle just a few hours away in North Carolina, Terdoo focused on applying to southern schools, mostly. An education counselor in his hometown of Abuja, the capital of Nigeria, helped him research schools and narrow down his options.
Along with USC, he applied to Clemson University, East Carolina University, University of North Carolina, University of Oregon, and North Carolina State University — all big football schools. Eventually he chose USC because of its highly ranked programs, faculty reputation, welcoming campus, and, of course, its top college football team, the Gamecocks.
Cracking the Code at USC
Math was Terdoo’s favorite subject in high school and he loved computers as a teenager, so he chose to major in computer science to bring the two passions together.
“I wanted a program that [was] mentally tasking. I wanted to go for a hard degree,” Terdoo said.
He knew USC’s Molinaroli College of Engineering and Computing (MCEC) was the place for him. The program is 81st on U.S. News & World Report’s Best Engineering Schools list, a 12-spot jump from 2024 to 2025. U.S. News & World Report also ranked USC 49th among public universities, the largest improvement among all top-100 programs over the past two years.
“The constant development in computer science is mind-blowing,” he says. “From having a box computer as a kid to a powerful phone, which is basically a computer I can put in my pocket, that is exciting.”
To keep ahead of the latest opportunities in the field, Terdoo is also pursuing a concentration in artificial intelligence (AI).
His favorite courses so far have been Operating Systems and Discrete Structures, which Terdoo describes as a math class without numbers. “We are learning how the math in computers works — how logic and coding and the backend work.” “Operating Systems was good, too. It was a very, very hard class,” Terdoo said. “It’s a ‘weeding out’ class. Only 20% made it through. I passed!”
And his favorite coding language?
“Oooh, that’s a tough one! I’d probably say Java or C++,” he said. He likes that Java is simpler, while C++ is so exacting.
“With C++, one bug could crash your whole code. One letter misplaced and there’s a black screen in front of you,” he said. “C++ has to be perfect for it to work.”
The Welcoming, Family Spirit on Campus
Naturally outgoing and curious, Terdoo was able to make friends easily when he first arrived in Columbia, the small southern town where USC is located. He always felt comfortable chatting up the person next to him in class, at student networking events, and parties.
“I’ve never been a shy guy and I’m always looking for [an] opportunity,” he said with a laugh. “You meet friends in the most random places. I might be in line trying to get food or by the elevator, and I’ll just start up a conversation with someone.”
A first-year onboarding course called University 101 also helped Terdoo make connections with his international cohort and ease his transition on campus. In the class, students learn how American universities and classrooms work, along with USC-specific rules, academic ethics, and important campus resources.
Terdoo loved sharing his story through weekly assignments and hearing about other students’ backgrounds as well. There were also fun group outings to restaurants and the Saturday market.
“I’m a food guy. I’m serious about my food!” he said. “I love the food here, especially soul food. Being able to try different cuisines — Italian, Mexican, Mediterranean, Greek — it’s been amazing.”
In his freshman year, Terdoo joined the USC club football team and became captain in his sophomore year. Eventually he joined Pi Mu Epsilon, the mathematics honor society, and worked his way up to vice president. He is also a peer leader for the College of Engineering and Computing and helps to mentor incoming students.
At USC, Career Success Starts on Campus
Terdoo points to the International Accelerator program staff, especially Angi Wang, the student success manager, and career coach Ray Knight, for their career and internship guidance.
“Angi and Mr. Ray — that’s my family away from family!” Terdoo continued. “They guided me through the whole process. If I had any problems or questions, they always helped. They made it very easy for me.”
During his first semester, Terdoo was already eager to find a campus job or internship. Angi suggested he sign up for alerts on Handshake, an internal job posting system.
“I started using it every day. I applied to so many roles!” he said. And he took advantage of career services, too. “They helped me brush up my resume and told me the rules of how resumes work,” he said. “They helped me put it all together.”
Landing an Internship at Hitachi Rail
His polished resume helped Terdoo secure a campus job with USC Student Affairs Technology Services, where he worked as an IT assistant.
Then came that Handshake alert he had been waiting for. After applying to dozens of summer internship roles, Terdoo received an invitation to interview at Hitachi Rail, a renowned global transportation company.
The interview process for the database engineering intern role consisted of one interview and a site visit. The hiring team explained the project that Terdoo would be working on: he would be tasked with reverse engineering a piece of the machine-part testing process, including software documentation and bug fixes.
It was complex and confusing. Always up for a challenge, Terdoo jumped at the chance.
“The test software was in Italian, so my first job was to decode that. And sometimes they could not tell where the test system was breaking down,” he said. “It was all different [testing] machines, parts, codes, and softwares, not just one system.” For his final project, he completed a 50-page report that outlined all the coding, testing software, error codes, and database fields.
“I literally taught them their own machines!” he said with a laugh.
Advice for International STEM Students
Terdoo was quick to offer one key piece of advice for students seeking internships: “Keep applying.” He says it again — with emphasis. “Keep. Applying.” “Don’t get discouraged,” he continued. “Have faith and believe that it will work out. Because eventually it will! It might feel fruitless, but one day it will click. Some days it feels crazy, like nothing’s working out, but I promise you it will. I applied to over 300 places!”
The path to study in the USA is not easy, he says. It takes persistence. He mentions Java again, and how he struggled. Now it is one of his favorite coding languages.
“When I was learning Java, I was crying. Crying!” he recalled. “It made me change my major to computer information systems and my mom was crashing out! She told me she was booking her flight to come out here. She was not having it.” Within a week, he changed his major back to computer science. “I’m grateful she didn’t let me fold under pressure,” he said proudly. “It made me understand I have the capacity [to do this] and can be ready to fight the good fight. I have to work hard to get the results I want.”
He can hear his mom when he offers more advice for fellow international students: “Be ready to put in that work. Take that risk. The process to get here is worth it. It might be crazy, but it’s going to be worth it.”
What’s Next for Terdoo?
Terdoo is due to graduate in May 2026 and already has two job offers, both from different divisions at Hitachi Rail. He continues to apply for other jobs, so he has the most options possible when he graduates. He says his ideal would be a Fortune 500 company and he is applying to roles that involve AI training, software development, database engineering, and project management.
“I want to work for a big company,” he said. “Google, Tesla, Duolingo, Nvidia, OpenAI — any company that will let me… put in the work and let me express my creative ideas.”
His longer-term goals include launching his own tech consulting group, a versatile firm that would build AI programs, software, websites, and apps for clients. “I want it to be big. I want to do everything!”
And he wants to build the biggest race track in Africa.
“Please put that down!” he said with a big, confident laugh. “It’s going to happen eventually. Mark it!” A race track will bring together a love of fast cars and his pride for his home country.
“I want to have people come from different parts of the world,” he said. “You might want to drive a Lamborghini or a Bugatti, push a car to the limit, and have fun with it, but also experience Nigeria or Africa as a whole. I feel like that is going to be a very welcoming experience.”
There is no doubt that every new client on the track will be greeted with Terdoo’s big, natural smile and a warm m sugh u.
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