Passion for Change Drives Digital Learning Intern

Hawa Smallwood started her first year at Delaware State University intending to major in kinesiology but soon began to question whether that path was the right fit. She craved a future that promised more opportunities for frequent change.

“My mom likes to say I like things that are constantly new,” the Rhode Island native says. “I just get bored. And I remember my dad saying, ‘Well, you know, technology is a moving field that never stops.’ And I think hearing that made me extremely excited.”

Soon Smallwood was in computer science classes, and in an early one, she recounts, “the professor said, ‘I can teach you all I know about AI right now, but next year, when the course starts again, it’s going to be a completely different curriculum because it’s moving so fast.’”

Others came to know about Smallwood’s interest in AI and its disruptive potential, including the adviser for her sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha, who had seen the announcement that the fall 2025 cohort of Every Learner Everywhere’s interns would emphasize efforts to advance the effective use of AI in education. Smallwood decided to apply for the intern program, which brings five to eight students per year into conversations about digital learning in higher education, typically working with one of its network partners on group or individual projects that advance the field of evidence-based high-impact digital learning.

Embracing technology

One thing Smallwood says she has learned since beginning to study computer science is that the rapid pace of change in AI is contributing to confusion about how best to use it, with some in education embracing the possibilities of AI even as others resist it. She and her counterparts in the Every Learner internship are discussing attitudes about AI and how they as students are experiencing its use in their own courses.

The group also is reviewing materials related to AI, including those in Every Learner Everywhere’s resource library, and will participate in a panel discussion about AI in instruction. The goal is to promote the effective and responsible use of AI to improve learning outcomes.

“It’s intriguing for me,” says Smallwood. “Since it’s something everybody’s learning for the first time, it’s something fresh I really just can’t wait to get my hands on.”

She hopes the interns’ work will open doors for widespread use of AI and other digital technologies in academia, particularly among those who often face barriers to high-quality education. Her emphasis on inclusion in AI and other technology stems from what she encountered when she was new to computer science and observed the relatively small number of women pursuing that major.

Smallwood refused to let that deter her, and she also decided to work to make computer science more welcoming for others in underrepresented groups.

“Women are more likely to go into a field they know more about,” she says. “So, I just feel like getting out there and teaching people what technology is, and how AI can make advances is going to be a big step toward helping people of all genders and races be more included.”

Her efforts to help pave the way for others have included involvement in groups like Girls Who Code, the National Society of Black Engineers, and the National Council of Negro Women on her campus.

“I really don’t want other women in the future, maybe 10 years down the line, to say they’re unsure because this is a male-dominated field,” Smallwood says. “I don’t even want that to cross their minds.”

Strengthening AI knowledge

Smallwood says she has valued how the Every Learner internship has shown her opportunities to participate in the dialogue, which stems from the program’s student-centered principle of “nothing about us without us.”

“It gives me a little push because I do know the things [the people we work with] are talking about,” she says. “For instance, I already know the prompts you send to AI can either grow you as a learner or stunt your growth as a learner.”

These discussions with fellow interns are also helping Smallwood strengthen her ability to collaborate, something she hopes to combine with her interest and skills to pursue a career using AI or developing software for a company in the fashion industry.

“My goal,” she says, “is to just learn as much as I can, grasp as much information as I can about others and how others learn, and take that with me wherever I go.”