Tsega Teshome was teaching himself to code and investing in Bitcoin before he finished high school in Ethiopia.
Now a senior in USF鈥檚 Bellini College of Artificial Intelligence, Cybersecurity and Computing, he鈥檚 made the dean鈥檚 list and has a full-time software engineering role waiting at DoorDash in San Francisco after he graduates in May.
He didn鈥檛 set out thinking that one day working with computers might be a career.
鈥淚 didn't know I was going to choose computer science, but not because I wasn't, you know, into computers,鈥 he said. 鈥淚 was into computers very early on. But at that point, it was just for fun.鈥
How a hobby in computers leads to a career
Teshome鈥檚 fascination with computers began with a digital movie collection.
In fifth grade, he started collecting films and TV episodes on hard drives.
鈥淏ack then we didn't have Netflix,鈥 he said. 鈥淲e had cable, but we never really had the shows we wanted.鈥 Managing hundreds of MP4 files, including over 26 seasons of 鈥淭he Simpsons,鈥 sparked his curiosity about how computers worked.
Watching movies and cartoons in English helped him learn conversational English at a young age. From there, he sought out his uncle, a computer programmer working remotely, to learn basic code and website building. The COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting shutdowns allowed him to spend more time on YouTube teaching himself higher-level coding.
Later, while watching soccer matches, Teshome decided to see if he could use his skills to help guess the outcomes. He sourced match data to build and train a prediction model.
鈥淚 was already going to watch the matches, so I figured, 鈥榃hy not?鈥欌 he said. After testing the model, it showed an 82% accuracy rate in predicting the winners of future matches.
That same curiosity led him to experiment with predictions for Bitcoin and stocks. However, with no stock exchange in Ethiopia at the time, he had to look abroad to trade, an experience that was often frustrating due to limited access to foreign currency. Recognizing this gap eventually became the motivation for EthioShare, Teshome鈥檚 company that he created to connect investors to the Ethiopian Securities Exchange.
How early internship applications paid off for this computer science major
Teshome knew he wanted to attend college in the U.S. and had a friend attending USF, which helped draw him to Tampa. Having finished many core courses during a rigorous high school curriculum, he was able to focus heavily on his career once he enrolled.
鈥淚n school, they taught us a lot of advanced math,鈥 he said. 鈥淚nitially when I first came and was taking all the prerequisite classes, it wasn鈥檛 that difficult for me. I was able to focus more on the career side of things鈥
Teshome credits the Bellini College鈥檚 emphasis on early career preparation with giving him the confidence to apply for internships as a freshman. He applied for a summer software engineering internship at Amazon 鈥 not expecting much. To his surprise, he advanced through the technical assessments and secured the role.
鈥淚 ended up getting the software engineering internship at Amazon鈥檚 San Diego office my freshman summer,鈥 he said. 鈥淚 was like, 鈥榃ow! OK, this is very exciting.鈥 I still have it saved in my calendar. That day was so exciting.鈥
The internship was an eye-opening look at the professional world.
鈥淚 used to code, but it was never anything professional,鈥 he said. 鈥淚 never knew how the industry was coding. It was amazing to see how actual code is supposed to be done. This is how Amazon is running.鈥
He returned to Amazon the following summer, which eventually led to another internship in his junior year, this time at DoorDash. That led to a full-time job offer at DoorDash鈥檚 San Francisco office.
鈥淭sega鈥檚 goals are never just personal; they are rooted in service, responsibility and creating opportunity for others,鈥 said Marjorie Fontalvo, who is Teshome鈥檚 advisor in the Bellini College. 鈥淭hat shared sense of purpose is what inspires me as an advisor.鈥
While Teshome has experienced much success in his college career, it wasn鈥檛 without its challenges 鈥 particularly his logic and design class.
鈥淚t was a lot of the hardware content, what actually makes computers, computers,鈥 he said. 鈥淭hat was one of those classes that really challenged me. There鈥檚 always more to learn, especially on the hardware side of things. It was one of the hard classes that helped open my eyes.鈥
Moments like that were part of the broader experience he found at USF鈥檚 Bellini College, where challenging coursework and experiential opportunities are designed to mirror the realities of the industry. As graduation approaches, Teshome is beginning to see how those lessons are translating directly into his career.
Now, Teshome is looking forward to finishing out his senior year and taking in what he can before moving to San Francisco after graduation.
鈥淚've been in school my whole life now,鈥 he said. 鈥淚'm going to be working full time. I'm getting myself ready. I鈥檓 excited.鈥
For Teshome, what began as curiosity has turned into a career 鈥 and he hopes his story encourages other students to start early and aim high, starting as early as freshman year.
鈥淚f you鈥檙e interested, just start,鈥 he said. 鈥淵ou don鈥檛 have to know everything. Just start.鈥