Keshawn Smith ’20 recently earned his Bachelor of Science in computer engineering. He is now working at Travelers as a software developer within their Technology Leadership and Development Program, while pursuing his Master of Engineering in electrical and computer engineering and teaching part-time at UHart. He discovered the opportunity through an internship he held last summer. Travelers hired Smith immediately after the internship, giving him the chance to work for the company part-time while finishing his last semester at UHart in the fall.
Smith was interested in interning, and eventually working, at Travelers because of the company culture and atmosphere. “Travelers gave me an opportunity to work with them during a time when a lot of other companies were discontinuing their internship programs,” he says. “Individuals at the company continue to believe in me and support me.” Smith said his experience was so valuable because of the people who mentored him; every manager he had helped him explore different career paths related to computer engineering, which, to Smith, is sometimes the intention of an internship program. “The employees at Travelers truly made me believe in the motto that ‘it’s better under the umbrella’ since once I joined the company, I was embraced with challenges and new opportunities to grow in my career.”
Smith enjoyed his experience in the internship program because of how much he got out of it. He explains that students in the program are paired with a current employee who went through the program to serve as their mentor for guidance and support. Students are also matched with a program manager to guide them in their development and area of interest. Smith’s manager was a release train engineer who ran the auto line of business. He was able to set Smith up with any team he wanted to learn more about. He ended up getting the chance to work with the cybersecurity, DevOps, backend, and architecture departments. “I worked mostly with the backend team because I was excited to learn about the backend of transactions for the company,” he says. “The team I worked with was specifically focused on the developing and sorting of auto quote transactions that were received. This allowed us to create application programming interfaces that would be used to convert the data into a readable language that the frontend team could use to display the data.” Smith and his team also focused on developing services for modernization in the current time and error for auto quotes, which was especially interesting in a time when people were not driving as much. He also worked on catching mechanisms that would be used to store customer and test data. Eventually, this would be the team to invite him back to work in the fall before he graduated.
The program also offered the opportunity for Smith to network with and attend virtual events with other interns, which was highly beneficial while having to work remotely for the summer due to the pandemic. At the end of the program, Travelers hosts an intern colloquium and competition (mini Capstone) where interns are placed into teams with members from different intern programs or different roles. The teams are tasked with developing a project that could be beneficial to Travelers, either internally or externally. The project must use concepts from each of the members’ different roles, such as operations, project management, software engineers, or even system architects, allowing for a great opportunity of teamwork and collaboration across different areas. This experience prepared Smith well for his current role with Travelers.
In his current role as a software developer, Smith is working with Traveler’s business insurance teams. “I work on updating and modernizing the current legacy systems that were put in place, helping Travelers move toward a new next-generation system,” he says. “My team is also part of the Workers Comp Channel Experience (WCCE), which focuses on developing our work comp policy for our agents who will be in constant communication with our current and new customers.”
Keshawn Smith ’20, M’22, computer engineeringUHart helped me get to where I am today because of its people. My advisors and support team (family, friends, and other faculty) guided me into making the best decisions for myself. I am especially grateful for Associate Director Center for Student Success Julie Spring, who guided me to change my major during my sophomore year.
Smith chose to attend UHart because of the variety offered at the University. As someone who loves music, Smith was hoping there was an avenue for him to play his instrument baritone horn even if he did not pursue a music-related major. When he discovered UHart had a pep band that was open to any student, he joined as soon as he could. Smith also says UHart gave him an opportunity to be himself. “When I visited other schools, I felt I needed to abide by that specific school’s way of thinking and working, but at UHart, I just felt as though I could be me,” he says. “I could explore all I could and if I went astray, someone would be there to catch me and reel me back to reality and focus on my goals and purpose.”
Along with the pep band, Smith was also very involved throughout campus, from Admissions to Athletics. He served as a Red Key, also known as Admission tour guides, for UHart where he got to meet with many prospective students. He was also a member of Brothers and Sisters United (BSU), Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) UHart chapter, and National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) UHart chapter. Finally, he was an athlete on the UHart Track and Field team as a sprinter.
He continues to share how UHart offered a sense of family as soon as he stepped onto campus. “I created relationships with people who, once upon a time, I would never have thought I would interact with, but I did,” he says. “I created bonds with students who are now my extended family and will be imprinted on my life forever because of it.” His experience was nothing short of amazing and he could not think of another university where he would have been able to accomplish so much. “My favorite thing about UHart is the student atmosphere and the overall commitment of individuals around to assist in your development, personally and professionally.” As a student, he utilized the Career Studio and Center for Student Success as resources to prepare for the job market.
Once he transitioned into the computer engineering program, Smith was ready to take on new coursework and projects different from what he was used to. He found UHart prepared and supported him through the intense practical work required for his classes. This kind of work allowed Smith to critically think and problem solve throughout different assignments and projects. This experience would ultimately help him while working at Travelers.
Smith’s hard work paid off at the end of his final semester when he and two of his classmates earned a winning place in the CETA Design Expo. Smith, along with Erik Rodriguez ’20 and Katherine Fauci ’20, developed the IoT Pantry System, an inventory tracking system that monitors the contents of your pantry. The system is able to track important information such as expiration dates and when an item has been added to a pantry using the barcodes on products. The students implemented radio-frequency identification technology into the system as a method to remove items from the inventory. Smith, along with his classmates, worked with Associate Professor Krista Hill and Associate Professor Andrew Jung on the project. Smith also credits other faculty he had the opportunity to work with at UHart for where he is today, including Associate Professor Ying Yu and Assistant Professor Alaa Al Ghazo.
When asked what advice he would share with incoming students, Smith says to never feel afraid to take a leap of faith into learning something new and challenging yourself. “The challenge may not feel like the best choice when you're doing it for the first few times, but just remember that hard work pays off and it paves a path to where you can go and who you can be.”