Internships, Fellowships and a Co-Op: How An NJIT Honors Scholar Applies Her STEM Skills

As a sophomore at New Jersey Institute of Technology, Krishi Shah has already accomplished a lot.

Last summer, the computer science major helped engineer software as an intern at PULLATracker while conducting research at the NJIT’s Undergraduate Research and Innovation Program. She also began an apprenticeship at Cornell Tech that’s focused on artificial intelligence.

That apprenticeship continues this academic year, with Shah developing a machine learning model to suggest relevant search queries for Google. In addition, she’s analyzing data for Johnson & Johnson in a cooperative educational experience and leading team of high school students for the Governor’s STEM Scholars program. Oh, and this summer she’ll do quantitative research as an intern at JPMorganChase. Impressive.

Shah — who’s also an Albert Dorman Honors Scholar and a member of the GigaBeats a cappella group, Women in Computing Society and Delta Phi Epsilon — credits her parents, teachers and yes, all of those real-world experiences, for fueling her desire to thrive as a woman in STEM.

What are your duties as a Governor’s Honors Scholar?
Beyond mentoring, I’m helping out with the project that we’re creating. My role is to lead things into happening. Eventually, we’re going to meet with an elected official, in Newark or somewhere around New Jersey, and I can be the contact for that.

How big is the team that you’​​​re leading?
Six high schoolers from across the state.

What problem are you tackling?
Health care and sustainability. And portability and accessibility. We were given the list of the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals to choose from. And within that, we can create a tech solution or something related to STEM that can help with that goal. You can also choose the community that you want to focus on. We chose Newark.

What do think about being in such a selective program?
I’ve received a lot of mentoring in my life, a lot of guidance, a lot of leadership, advice and skills. I’m very excited to have the opportunity to pass that along to people like high schoolers, because I wish I had the opportunity when I was in high school, but I did not. Now that I have the chance to pass the torch, I am happy to do so.

Are there lessons from your experiences that you can apply?
Definitely. Right now, I’m doing a co-op at Johnson & Johnson as a data analyst. I the only co-op on my team and the rest of the people are adults who have passed the college level. They’re all teaching me new things I never would have learned unless I actually put my foot into the workforce.

What’s something that you didn’t know from class studies that you’ve learned at J&J?
I trained a group of about 170 employees. Also, I’ve learned how to communicate professionally with people who are older than me and people who may not have the technical skills that I have.

How would you compare the two experiences: classroom versus real-world?
The classroom experience develops my coding skills, my technical skills, the things that I need to learn for the basic foundations and principles of any language. These are the core things that you need to succeed anywhere. Then I apply these skills to things like technical interviews.

What about experiences like internships and co-ops?
There are real tangible things like products that you’re managing and real tangible effects. Outside of school, you’re learning about things that are happening around the world. For example, when you make a product or change a workflow, that actually changes something globally. You can see the impact.

Among your mentors at NJIT, is there one that stands out?
Definitely. I did the URI program last summer. I learned a lot about the ethics of research. Professor [Mark] Cartwright explained how to navigate these challenges effectively. I learned a lot of skills as well because I hadn’t really done research in the past. He helped me understand the core things that I needed to know for the research. That really stood out because he took time every week to sit with me for like thirty minutes and explain how I should go about this new problem or things I should implement in my code to make it better.

You’ve tackled more than most people your age. I’m wondering where that comes from.
My father was a software engineer and when I was a kid, he used to fix the TV — like solder the TV — in front of me. He called me down from my room to help him. He also worked on projects at the dining table. I was fascinated about how a few lines of something you type on the computer could change the entire way you could view a screen like a TV screen. That drove me to take more technical classes in high school, which eventually led me to major in computer science.

What has your mom taught you?
How to be a better communicator. She has also motivated me in a lot of ways. When things got too hard or I took on too many responsibilities all at once, she told me, “Oh, this is what you should do.” She gave me a lot of advice on how to accomplish things that I do right now. Her guidance helped me become a really good time manager — to organize my schedule, prioritize things and make sure I get everything done.

At Paramus High School, were there women STEM teachers that inspired you?
Yes. One of my teachers [Debbie Andres] actually was completing higher education at Rutgers University while she was also teaching AP physics. I thought that was really cool that she could do both at the same time.

What do you love about music?
The feeling that it produces. Each song has its own beat, its own rhythm. And the rhythm that it creates generates a feeling around it. Music has helped me through so much. I listen to it every day. I also really love rap music, which is different from what I’m used to.

When did you start singing?
At five years old. That’s when I began taking Indian vocal classical music lessons. That grew my love for music. In high school, I was a part of a lot of choirs. I loved doing that. I love Bollywood music as well. Now I'm more a cappella-oriented because that's what’s on campus.

Where do you see yourself in ten years?
I want to work at a company that cares about its people. Maybe not even a tech or finance company, just a company that genuinely cares about making a change in the world.