Ready for the real world
Through his experience at TU, information technology major Saydu Paye was more than prepared for his internship at Constellation
By Kyle Hobstetter on September 18, 2019
Towson University senior Saydu Paye never took an official visit to campus. Growing up in the area and going to high school five minutes away at Calvert Hall, he didn’t really need to.
He knew all about TU, the area and the community. But what he didn’t know was that TU would help him get more prepared for the real world than he could have imagined.
This past summer, Paye, an information technology major, interned at Constellation, a leading competitive energy company that provides power, natural gas, renewable energy and energy management products and services to millions of customers in the United States.
“They have welcomed me with open arms and helped me be the most productive intern I could,” Paye says. “I’ve learned so many new aspects of the energy business. Before this experience I didn’t know much, but I was surprised by how deep and impactful this business is.”
At Constellation, Paye worked on several projects at the company’s location in downtown Baltimore and Owings Mills. He worked on the company’s billing consolidation projects, and with the company’s big data flow through Salesforce.
Paye credits his success at Constellation for the work he’s done in TU’s information technology program. And one of the main aspects he enjoys about his education is how the professors know what they are talking about.
One professor he pointed out was adjunct professor Khalil Parran, whose class focused more on the business and finance side of information technology.
“He was able to bring a different side of IT that’s more focused on business and how important it is to merge business with IT to move towards the future,” Paye says. “My work at TU has allowed me to actually excel at a place like Constellation, where I specifically deal with the business side of IT.”
This past summer was the second time that Paye applied for a job in the Constellation network. He was actually up for an internship last year with Exelon, who owns Constellation.
“ I’m glad that I have courses like that, and professors like Dr. Hilberg. They allowed me to gain concepts that help me transition from the classroom to the real world ”
He made it to the final round of interviews, but just never received the call to offer him the position. Paye made a promise to himself, that he was going to get back there, no matter what.
Paye spent the following year working on himself. He worked as a resident assistant in Glen Tower D, he worked with the Brotherhood organization (which he currently serves as president), he served on advisory board for the Ujima Black Solidarity Retreat, and worked as a student consultant for TU’s Office of Inclusion and Institutional Equity.
He also worked on his education. One class in particular helped him in getting his second chance at an internship. It was a project management course with associate professor Scott Hilberg, Ph.D.
Paye says a lot of the interview questions that Constellation had, we’re actually about topics that he learned from Hilberg’s class.
“I knew what they were talking about and I could actually give them a response and articulate that I can grasp the concept and handle the workload,” Paye says. “I’m glad that I have courses like that, and professors like Dr. Hilberg. They allowed me to gain concepts that help me transition from the classroom to the real world.”
Paye will graduate this May, and is hoping to find his way back to Constellation or similar organization. And while he’s excited to officially get started in the real world, he admits he’s going to miss Towson University.
And while his time on campus has been a roller coaster, he’s says his experiences at TU has shaped him to where he is today.
“Towson University has led me to my success with all the different experiences that I’ve been able to take on since enrolling in 2016,” Paye says. “TU has accepted me for who I am and it’s allowed me to just grow as a person to the next level. It’s just been awesome.”
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This story is one of several related to President Kim Schatzel’s priorities for Towson University: Lifelong Career Center.