DSC09956_eOkello
Okello Charles, 37, lives in San Diego, California with his two kids while going to school to get his bachelorâs degree in financial management at National University after just finishing up his business intelligence analysis certificate at UC San Diego Extension. Okello is originally from Sudan and lived as a refugee in Kenya for five years with his mother and siblings. IN 2006 he and his family were selected by a case worker to move to the United States. Now Okelloâs goal is to get his degree so he doesnât have to work as many hours working for the city and so he can afford to put his two kids through college.
During the pandemic: Okello Charles was laid off from his job as an Uber and Metro city bus driver and had to make major cuts at home to stay in school and keep his apartment. He has to cancel his internet and get two roommates to afford his rent. He says, âI couldn't afford my rent so I had to cut my internet and pull in two extra roommates to keep everything going.â