In
an effort to honor African-American alumni from each of the nine
schools affiliated with the America East, the conference is putting
together a nine-part video series featuring one prominent
African-American alum from each school. This video series highlights the
great history and success that African-American graduates from America
East schools have had and also displays the variety of different jobs
and backgrounds that these alumni have made an impact on after
graduation.
Since graduating from the University of Hartford in 2000
with a Bachelor of Science degree in Architectural Engineering Technology,
Deverell Smith has ascended to the role of project manager for the prestigious
Tiffany & Co. In this role, Smith has designed stores for Tiffany & Co.
across the world, including a location in the Las Vegas City Center that has
won two international design awards. Prior to his work at Tiffany & Co.,
Smith designed retail environments for companies such as Coach, Calvin Klein
and Lancome.
Due to his acclaimed work, Smith was honored by the
University of Hartford with the prestigious Anchor Award in 2010. Smith also
serves on the Board of the University of Hartford's College of Engineering and Technology.
When not designing, Smith is an avid bicyclist, as evidenced by his
participation on NYC Cycling Team, Inc., which is a competitive bike racing
team that he manages and races with.
With his tremendous success in such a unique line of work,
Smith is proof that no matter what a person's passion might be, with hard work
and a commitment to excellence, success in any field is possible. While the
number of African-Americans in design architecture is extremely low, seeing the
work done by Smith on a national level should provide motivation to any person
considering a potential career in architecture.