What is the Timothy Smith Network?

The Timothy Smith Network (TSN) is a non-profit organisation, founded to make technology and digital learning more accessible to the residents of Roxbury, one of Boston’s most historically underserved neighborhoods. Timothy Smith and his wife, Mary Ellen, left money in their will in 1918 to support the community of Old Roxbury. This endowment was used in 1996 to launch the Timothy Smith Fund, dedicated to expanding digital access. This led to the creation of Timothy Smith Technology Labs (TSTLs): tech labs inside nonprofits and community spaces across Roxbury, offering computer access, training, and support.

What is the Boston Design Academy?

In 2018, TSN launched the Boston Design Academy (BDA) in partnership with the City of Boston, Microsoft, Boston Public Schools (BPS), and the Boston Public Library. The goal is to introduce BPS high school students to real-world design and technology careers—through project-based learning, mentorship, and access to cutting-edge tools.

Each summer, BDA helps students:

• Explore careers in design, engineering, and tech
• Build real projects that solve meaningful community challenges
• Collaborate with scholars who guide, inspire, and support their work

This year, BDA is running two projects for BPS high school students as interns, Digital Design Intensive (DDI) and Tech Your Health (TYH). There are around 17 interns on each program, from ages 14 to 18, led by Laidlaw Scholars as well as a scholar for a historically black college in the USA. The TSN provides equipment for the completion of the projects, including a laptop, a stylus, a mouse, and more. 

DDI combines design, 3D modelling, and programming to produce a video game as the final product. TYH takes current prevalent health risks, especially in their local area and community, and coding, to provide the interns the knowledge to create a product to improve a specific health outcome. The projects last 6 weeks, in which the interns learn how to use the technology and software to complete their prototypes and portfolios.

What is my role?

I serve as the administrative and program support scholar. While I do not directly lead instruction for either project, I support classroom activities where needed (currently in DDI), as well as supporting the TSN staff with administrative tasks, including ensuring timeliness, moderating panels, distributing surveys, organising field trips, coordinating with other scholars to make sure everyone is aware of expectations and having a good time, and more.

What are my goals, objectives, and expected outcomes?

My primary goal as the administrative scholar is to ensure that the projects run smoothly, interns are supported in meeting expectations, and that all participants—interns and scholars alike—have a productive and enjoyable experience during BDA. I am currently developing a BDA manual for use by staff and future scholars, and potentially as a resource for interns. I also design and distribute weekly surveys to assess project progress and gather intern feedback, which has received positive engagement and high response rates. The ultimate intended outcome of my work with the Boston Design Academy is to support interns in developing the skills to think creatively, communicate effectively, and innovate. Through this, they will gain a better understanding of accessible education and career pathways in STEM and strengthen their potential to pursue them confidently.