Grad student turns campus life into vlogs
By Isabelle Perez, September 29, 2026
Omar Othman doesn’t need a script; he is ready to record the bits that make up his days at Cal Poly Pomona.
Othman uses his Instagram account, @ono.math, to document his life as a first-gen graduate working toward his master’s in mathematics with an emphasis on pure math while also teaching at CPP.
Othman got the idea to start vlogs from one of his childhood friends Marvin Barrgia, who is pursuing a Master of Business Administration at University of California Riverside and posts vlogs themselves @marvin.barriga.
Othman said he does not plan when he wants to film, but instead films whatever catches his eyes, which can be anything he encounters throughout his day of teaching, studying or strolling around campus.
“I’m just documenting my journey,” Othman said. “We’re all chasing something that we want, and I’m chasing this degree.”
Two of his reels show footage that is sped up as he works through a math problem before attending a lecture, which he calls the “pondering process.”
He said he wants the vlogs to show the reality of graduate life, which he knows isn’t perfect.
“I’m going to have my ups and downs, and I’m there to showcase that,” Othman said.
Othman edits at night, after he is done with all his coursework and classes. He said he recently went about a week without posting because of academic work.
Applied mathematics and statistics student Kaden Santos met Othman in a math class and followed Othman’s account early on.
“He’s very passionate about what he is learning,” Santos said. “If you mention anything math-related to him, expect him to go on a tangent.”
Othman started as an undergraduate at CPP in fall 2021, not knowing what waited for him in mathematics. Othman said he chose to further his education in mathematics at CPP because he enjoyed his undergraduate math classes and the instructors he had.
Othman had a graduate student instructor for his trigonometry class in spring 2022 who told him about higher math courses, which he then took in fall 2023. That’s when he said it clicked that math was the right path for him.
Othman now teaches a math activity section he took once.
“It’s a full circle moment coming back to teach a class I started with,” Othman said. “It’s helping me out as well as giving back to my own little community here at CPP.”
Mathematics Assistant Professor Peter Kagey met Othman during his first term here at CPP in 2024, describing Othman as a world-class student who is not intimidated by much.
Kagey voiced his appreciation for Othman documenting his journey in the mathematics department at CPP in his videos.
“I think it’s fun Omar is a student at CPP doing this because our math department here has a great culture,” Kagey said. “The fact that it’s getting highlighted is a blessing because it’s a real strength in our department.”
Othman, since coming back to CPP as an instructor, has made his prior instructors his colleagues.
He said it is a reality he is still getting used to, especially since he is still getting an education on campus himself.
“I still see them more like my professors,” Othman said. “I am still a student right, at the end of the day.”
Aside from math related videos, Othman wants to continue to share the CPP community, branching out and finding spots on campus he did not visit as an undergraduate. He wants to be able to show off what CPP has to offer for those watching, whether it be CPP students or other viewers.
Justin Raimundo, a mathematics graduate student who met Othman as an undergraduate, would like to see more from Othman.
“I hope he continues with his Instagram page after graduation,” Raimundo said. “Being able to look back and reflect on what you did as a student is an important thing everyone should see.”
