One Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF) scholar attending the 25th-annual Leadership Institute landed a coveted internship at Google after his first year at Alabama A&M University (Alabama A&M) but the experience didn’t end as he’d hoped.
Riley Roberts, a senior computer science major, is direct in his assessment of how he felt after the internship.
“I felt like a failure,” he said. “I had very few connections and no return offer.”
That feeling transformed into a launching pad for Roberts.
“Sophomore year emboldened me as I became an on-campus leader with the honors program, leading them to a record number of service hours,” he said.
He also competed in TMCF’s The Pitch and gained confidence in public speaking. That summer, he interned at the Georgia Tech Research Institute and had an amazing experience. Roberts said it proved to himself that he’d grown from the previous summer.
“Since then, I have faced challenges, yet have always remembered that my family worked hard to get me here, so I must continue to grow as I always have,” he said.
As a first-generation college student, navigating school and work came with extra challenges.
“I had little knowledge of corporate America before college, and lacked most leadership skills that people view as necessary to succeed,” Roberts said.
Like many new students, he had a preconceived plan when he started at AAMU.
“I came to school with a simple plan: get the degree and leave,” Roberts said. “My plan failed. I came to university and my ideals shifted immediately.”
He said he was inspired to attend Leadership Institute to grow his network and expand his connections beyond his current sphere of tech and internships. He hopes to gain full-time job offers within different industries as a result of the conference.
AAMU has been critical in getting him to the level he’s at now, he said.
“My HBCU has prepared me significantly for my life and career,” Roberts said. “I have learned about leadership through multiple executive boards, servitude through helping my peers and my community and strengthened my ability to work hard even when it isn’t easy.”
His confidence has also developed along the way.
“My confidence and ability to walk in that confidence have grown throughout my journey,” he said. “It has also opened the door of opportunity both professionally and personally.”
Roberts said he plans to go into consulting directly after graduation, but he has his sights set on a longer-term goal, as well.
“I have a vision one day to have a nonprofit to help those in need while also teaching the Bible,” he said.
