Grace has always known she liked math, but growing up without options to continue challenging herself in math, it was difficult to picture how she might use those interests in a career. When she got to NJIT, she wasn’t sure how to answer the questions she was asked about her future path in tech. Now, she has some of the answers.
Published
05/6/2022
- AI Program
For New Jersey Institute of Technology student Grace Leverett, artificial intelligence and machine learning were always topics of interest. As quickly as they’ve risen to importance within the tech world, though, AI and ML haven’t become as easy to study in school or to get internship experience.
Grace has always known she liked math. Her high school in Blairstown, New Jersey, didn’t offer AP Calculus BC, and without options to continue challenging herself in math, it was especially difficult to picture how she might use those interests in a career. Her first job was as a dishwasher in her hometown, so when she got to NJIT, she wasn’t sure how to answer the questions she was asked about her future path in tech.
When Grace got an email encouraging her to apply to the Break Through Tech AI program offered at Cornell Tech, it was a “natural” next step. After diving into Break Through Tech AI and getting to work hands-on with a team, the future is becoming a little clearer for her.
“I haven’t decided yet if I want to continue grad school and get my Ph.D., and then pursue a career in academia and research, or if I want to get my master’s and get a job as a software developer. Either way, I would like to work with AI.”
Grace knows she often underestimates her skills and experience. “I didn’t think I would be accepted into a program like this, but I was.” And now she’s made it into multiple final rounds of interviews for internships that she “applied for on a whim because [she] didn’t think [she] was qualified.” Things have changed, now that she can picture herself pursuing AI and ML and knows what that means in practice. “The people I’ve encountered in Break Through Tech AI have encouraged me to not underestimate myself.”
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