Graffiti Jackets to Software Engineering: Growing Up With Sean Smith (‘85)

Name: Sean Smith

Age: 56

Date of Birth: May 17, 1967

Graduation Year: 1985

Occupation: Software Engineer

Bio: Sean Smith is a current software engineer at Salesforce, a customer relationship management software company, and his job is to create technology that supports business with online websites. He applied to Stuyvesant on a whim and graduated in 1985; he later attended Brooklyn College and Stony Brook University. 

When Sean Smith first stepped foot into the antiquated Stuyvesant building, marked by crumbling walls and ceilings too low for his height, he had minimal knowledge of the school and was merely fulfilling his mother’s wishes. Initially, Smith lacked Stuyvesant spirit and had little interest in extracurriculars. However, he soon adjusted to the school’s environment. Later, at Brooklyn College, Smith experimented with a variety of classes and discovered his passion for the newly emerging field of computer science. Smith transferred to Stony Brook University in his junior year and has been working as a software engineer at Salesforce for the past eight years—a career significantly shaped by his time at Stuyvesant.

Upon entering Stuyvesant, Smith faced a severe culture shock, navigating the stark contrast between the rigorous academic environment of Stuyvesant and his subpar middle school. “My middle school was a mess. So the idea of a school that seemed to be more academically focused was definitely interesting,” Smith recalled. The idea of willingly participating in extracurriculars also seemed foreign to Smith. “I came from a school where if you did extracurriculars, you got beat up,” Smith stated. It wasn’t until junior year that Smith began participating in school dances and clubs of his interest like the Martial Arts Club.

Smith did not start Stuyvesant with the strongest grades. However, there were a few subjects in which he excelled. “It took me a while to realize that this was a good school [...] I was a bit of a slacker [...] My math grades and science grades were very good. English and Spanish were up and down [...] If I liked the class, I got an A. If I didn’t, I got a C,” he said. Aside from STEM classes, some of Smith’s other favorite classes were Shakespearean English, which spurred his love for theater, and photography. Smith didn’t take AP or Honors classes, as there was little pressure to take advanced classes. Even at Stuyvesant, “the good kids pretended to be slackers. [...] To be cool, you had to be a slacker,” Smith said.

Though Smith’s peers, as Stuyvesant students, were highly academic, they were still attuned to the fashion culture of the 80s. At the time, the trends varied greatly, and the students reflected this variety. Smith recalled that each student had a different style, but some notable styles were preppy, punk, heavy metal, and hip-hop. Some of the most popular trends then were exaggerated, hair-sprayed spiky hairstyles, fashionable sneakers, and big leather or denim jackets. Smith even personally tried spiking his hair. “We would joke that if you put your hands on it [the hair], you would cut your hands,” he reminisced. He also often wore his bulky GUESS customized denim jacket. “In my neighborhood, you would get a friend who did graffiti and personalize the back,” Smith said.

Growing up in the city was one of the greatest highlights of Smith’s high school experience. Smith recalls exploring with friends from various neighborhoods and schools such as LaGuardia High School on Fridays after school. “There was Julian’s Pool Hall, we would go there [...] We all lived in different neighborhoods but would stay after school and hang out [...] There was Stuyvesant Park, a pizza place, [and] a couple of coffee shops that we went to,” Smith recounted. 

By the time college applications came around, Smith still wasn’t sure what he wanted to pursue. Eventually, he opted to attend Brooklyn College as a smart financial choice to experiment with different classes. After two years, Smith transferred to Stony Brook University and majored in Computer Science. In the 80s, the Internet was still developing, but Smith’s mother played a fundamental role in developing his interest in computer science. 

Smith’s mother worked in the IT industry and helped develop the first ATM network, so Smith had early exposure to the Internet. She even refused to let Smith take the newly introduced Basic class back at Stuyvesant, believing it was not advanced enough for him. “[My mother] actually wrote a letter saying ‘I will have him do more advanced stuff than Basic’ because she felt it was too primitive,” Smith recalled. Other than his mother, Smith chose to major in computer science because he was drawn to the balance between math and creativity. “Sometimes I feel like my artistic side kinda suffered at Stuyvesant. I felt like computer science was the most creative of the sciences,” he explained. The ever-changing nature of computer science at the time allowed him to engage in both sides and play a role in the growth of the internet. 

After college, Smith worked at a small company that was eventually bought by Salesforce, where he works today. As a software engineer, his main focus is digital equity, producing digital technology for starting businesses. Smith recalls two defining classes from Stuyvesant that prepared him for this career. One class was freshman algebra, taught by Esther Abramson. “She was [one] of the first teachers I met who made me realize that I could actually learn something in school,” Smith said. He credited this class to the start of his love for math, and it taught him the foundations of problem-solving that he still applies in his software engineering career. “The joy of logic, I definitely got from Stuyvesant. I still remember Abramson going, ‘Write down what you know, extend what you can derive from that, and that’s how you figure out the unknowns,’ and that’s a process I still use,” he expressed. 

The other class was social studies with Elaine Grist, where he learned the art of debate and soft skills that are crucial to his role. Despite working in a STEM-heavy job, his role in digital equity involves making technology easily digestible to those in business, which requires the skills learned in Grist’s class. “A lot of my role is [focused on helping] people who are not technical [to translate] questions and decisions that are made back to businesses,” Smith stated. Smith was able to prepare for this responsibility through the presentations and communication skills built by Grist. 

Despite his role being stressful at times, Smith’s favorite part of his job at Salesforce is not only his role in connecting businesses with technology but also the values Salesforce holds. “Salesforce does a lot for charity [...] I’m still kind of a slacker, cynical guy at heart that likes punk rock, but there’s a part of me [that says] yeah, I get to be involved in some projects and help people out,” he said.

Smith’s advice to current students who want to enter the computer science field is to ensure that they are more interested in the job than the salary. “A lot of people want to do this [software engineering] because they think it’s a safe job and pays a lot. That’s a recipe for misery. The best way to be successful is to love what you do,” he said. 

His general advice to all students is to not be intimidated by others who may seem better than you and to find a passion. “If you’re willing to work hard, if you’re curious [and] you have a love of learning, you’ll find what you wanna do, and you’ll be successful,” Smith said. Despite not being academically strong during his time at Stuyvesant and not attending a prestigious university, Smith was still successful, for which Smith credits Stuyvesant—it was Stuyvesant that taught him to love learning not for the grades but for the content. His journey proves that Stuyvesant is merely a starting point and that success, even in a dynamic field like technology, is not determined by one definitive path.