December 07, 2025
Alexander J. Coker graduates with a minor in aerospace studies and certificates in cybersecurity, information systems and technology, and media technology and design.
Boulder, Colorado, native Alexander J. Coker has been active in Air Force ROTC during his time at Mizzou and also served as a peer learning advisor. He graduates in December 2025 with a bachelor’s degree in information technology; a minor in aerospace studies; and certificates in cybersecurity, information systems and technology, and media technology and design.
I’ve been fascinated by engineering since middle school.
I thought I wanted to be a mechanical engineer, but after my first semester at Mizzou, I realized that information technology was a lot more up my alley. The combination of digital engineering and physical engineering was the perfect fit for me.
I’m interested in learning as many different topics as possible.
I’d rather take a class on something I know nothing about than take another class on a topic I’ve already learned a ton about.
My senior year I started working in a research lab on campus.
It was a completely new experience for me, and it felt good to apply my IT skills to a common goal. The combination of my class experiences made me more effective. Getting my research abstract selected for a paper was one of my most memorable moments. It’s very rare for an undergrad to be an author on any kind of research paper.
I’m working on a research paper through our lab. For my capstone project, we partnered with Mizzou Athletics and the Missouri School of Journalism to create a new statistics website to help sports writers.
Air Force ROTC has taken me to 18 states, 12 bases and three defense conferences.
I traveled to Washington, D.C., for conferences. I’ve been to Nebraska and New Mexico for competitive marathon rucks. I’ve visited Nellis Air Force Base in Las Vegas, Nevada, and helped run the basic training program for cadets at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs.
I’m applying for the Air Force’s Phantom AI group.
I would complete the five-month AI research program at Mizzou while starting a master’s in defense and strategic studies. After that, I’ll be training as a helicopter pilot for the next two to three years. I want to apply my tech background as a helicopter test pilot and work with people in the defense industry to improve the birds in our fleet.