Tech-Curious Student Turns Side-Hustle Into Future Career (from Bentley)
Aidan Griffith ‘26 might have done his college in a typical way and still be good. In fact, while he was at Bentley University, he drew up plans to get degrees in Computer Information Systems and Sustainability Science. He also established the Bentley Artificial Intelligence Society (BAIS), was on the volleyball team, became a member of the radio and rock climbing clubs and even spent a semester studying in Switzerland.
As a little boy he was sure that he would be a business/accounting son of his father. After doing finance and accounting internships, he realized that he was more attracted to the combination of business, technology and problem solving. When he was having a chat with the head of systems at his internship, who told him that corporate systems are like organs in a body, each is vital and interrelated, he changed his mind. That analogy made him think of technology and business as one entity.
Griffith was attracted to AI at Bentley. When devices such as ChatGPT were widely used, he was eager to know the neural nets that made them work. He thought it would be great to have a group around this idea and so he went ahead to get students and faculty on board to launch BAIS in the fall of 2024. The society is a platform for students from any discipline to get AI fundamentals, ethics and learn AI applications from solving real problems.
His stay in Switzerland gave him a whole new different look. Working together with schoolmates, Griffith led the development of an AI model that looked at the use of language in quarterly financial reports to forecast stock prices. This assignment helped him understand how AI could be used as a bridge between data, business intuition and real impacts.
Griffith is going to work at Hanover Insurance starting in June 2026. He considers himself a “business engineer,” a person who takes a step back, sees things from a higher viewpoint, and comes up with solutions that integrate business objectives, people and technology. Besides, he wants to insert his background in sustainability into his tech job by being the one who thinks about how technology can be made more environmentally friendly.
Such a story is a demonstration of how a college experience can become a tailor-made career through the power of one’s undying thirst to know more, the readiness to cross into unfamiliar fields and the spirit of experimentation.
