Michael P. Smith (’84, Engineering Technology)

Director of Engineering (Retired), CBS Radio/CBS Inc.

BS Engineering Technology, Cal Poly Pomona, 1984

A young Michael Smith’s innate curiosity led him to breaking electronic devices apart to understand how they worked and then putting them back together (with varying degrees of success).

His curiosity quietly grew into something of an obsession once his interests expanded into radio, television and broadcasting. The idea of audio and visual information being delivered onto TVs and radios across the world gripped him tightly, and it never let go.

It was the world he wanted to be in, and getting there meant having a college education. Persuaded by the learn by doing, hands-on approach, he enrolled into Cal Poly Pomona.

The transition wasn’t easy—Smith was the first in his family to attend college. Finances were a struggle, which meant plenty of part-time jobs to pay for tuition and housing. The coursework was rigorous. “Failure seemed possible,” Smith says.

But failure never came. Smith started as a staff engineer at CBS Los Angeles Radio and was immediately challenged. “I always thought of it as showing my CBS managers what a Cal Poly Pomona engineer can do.”

Smith committed his entire 40-year professional career to CBS Radio, climbing the ranks to director of broadcast operations and engineering for CBS Radio San Francisco. His work involved designing and building broadcast studios and transmitter sites, setting up remote facilities for major events like the Super Bowl and space shuttle landings, and contributing to the early development of digital audio broadcasting—now known as HD radio.

Now retired, Smith shares this: “ Take every opportunity Cal Poly Pomona has to offer. Never give up. Find a support group or mentor.”

“Believe in yourself.”