Upon applying to grad school, I had also applied to the GEM Fellowship. GEM offers an opportunity for Black and Hispanic pre-professionals to pursue grad school without the fear of debt. I was fortunate enough to have received the GEM Employer Sponsorship in 2023. This offer also granted me an internship with Depository Trust and Clearing Company (DTCC) for the summer of 2023 and 2024. DTCC is a fintech company and I was working on the technology, research and innovation team.

At DTCC, I worked on two project as an Information Technology Intern. One project focused on creating an internal WEB3 test ether application. On that project, I worked on frontend and UI/UX design. This project taught me about catering to a brand and designing for internal use. The second project, primarily focused on the research of various block explorers and further the customization of them to fit the DTCC brand. This project taught me about outsourcing software for internal use.

DTCC, in addition, sponsored my attendance to the GEM 2023 Conference. There I got to attend their gala, listen to entrepreneur talks, and network with my peers. To see other minority professional and pre-professionals was truly inspirational. The GEM Fellowship has brought a sense of community that I hope to pay forward one day. I continue to go to GEM Fellow on CMU’s campus and hope to go attend the conference once again.