Grinnell-in-Silicon Valley

A dozen Grinnell students take a fall-break trip to the land of Noyce.
They return to campus wired.

During October break, 12 Grinnell students with an interest in technology careers traveled to Silicon Valley for an industry tour jointly sponsored by the College’s Career Development Office (CDO), the Office of Development and Alumni Relations, and hosted by alumni. Arlene Holmes from Alumni Relations organized and ran the trip — intended as the first of many such tours.

I was along for the ride, and as the students piled into our rented van outside our San Bruno Days Inn at 7 a.m. on the first day of the tour, I was impressed by what an astonishingly accomplished and inquisitive bunch they were. For example:

Sahar Jalal ’14, a physics and math and statistics double-major from Rabat, Morocco, has already interned in civil engineering and mechanical engineering and seeks to explore software engineering before she decides which field to study in graduate school.

Andy Lange ’14 is a studio art major from Carroll, Iowa, with an interest in human-centered design. He hopes to discover opportunities for artists in the technology industry.

David Rosen ’13 from Scarsdale, N.Y., is a computer science major with a linguistics concentration. He is intent on founding a start-up to produce next-generation language-teaching software.

Corina Varlan ’14 from Bucharest, Romania, is a political science major with prior internships in politics and international development. She wants to learn about the intersection of technology and politics.

Their eight fellow student travelers were similarly remarkable, with majors ranging from computer science to theatre to English. All had competed for the opportunity to join this trip and were paying a portion of its expenses. Set to receive them during the next four days in conference rooms, laboratories, offices, and living rooms across Silicon Valley were more than a dozen of the most notable Grinnellians in technology since Robert Noyce ’49 co-founded Intel in the late ’60s.

These alumni from the classes of 1963 through 2012 included Clint Korver ’89, a venture capitalist as well as a Grinnell trustee and board chair; Jocelyn Wyatt ’99, co-lead and executive director, IDEO.org, a nonprofit design firm; Sarah Luebke Sproehnle ’00, director of educational services at Cloudera, a data management company; and many, many more.

For four days, the group ricocheted around Silicon Valley. We went to Google. We went to Stanford business school. We went to a biopharmacology lab. We saw a museum of computing and learned how silicon chips were made at Intel. We attended high-tech product demonstrations. We ate breakfasts, lunches, and dinners with our hosts, and met with a crew of alumni and employees in a conference room at Box, a file-sharing company, plying them with questions until 9 p.m. one night.

“Should I get a job or go to grad school?” students asked. “How do you deal with the ethical questions raised by drug development and testing?” “Is high-tech a bubble, and if so when will it burst?” “Can you negotiate the salary of an entry-level job?” “What’s it like working for a start-up?” “Is there work in tech for humanities majors?” “Internships here seem to be more competitive than jobs — how do you get one?”

At each stop, the students found some of the alumni responses eye-opening. Box software engineer Ian Atha ’09 says, “Working for a company is a skill you don’t have yet. Take an internship and learn it.” Mark Schwartz ’77, executive vice-president and chief operating officer of Galena Biopharma, says,“as an executive, you set the standard, and you effect change, so rising up in the business world is very enabling to social change.” “Do a research project while you’re at Grinnell” says Melissa Koch ’90, program director at Build IT and Innovate TE and senior educational developer at SRI International, an independent research institute. “Showing that you know how to apply what you’ve learned and that you have the initiative to carry out a project says a lot.”

Alumni often started the sessions by laying themselves open: “Here’s what I’ve done,” they’d tell students. “How can I help you?” Students were equally open: “Here’s where I am,” they’d say, or something like it. “Here’s what I’m thinking. What can you tell me?” More notable even than the quality of these conversations was the tremendous emotional and intellectual high both students and alumni seemed to get from their exchanges, and how transformational they were for students.

“Until this trip I didn’t realize how strong the Grinnell community outside Grinnell was. I was surprised at how much alumni want us to reach out to them. I knew that the Grinnell community on campus was very close, but I didn’t realize that extended into the future. These alumni — they treated us like family,” says Maijid Moujaled ’14, a computer science major from Accra, Ghana.

“I was really touched by how much the alumni are willing to help us,” echoes Kate Ingersoll ’13, from Superior, Wis., and also a computer science major. “The Grinnellian shows in all of them. This trip has made me more proactive about everything in my life. I’m going to be more active on campus and apply for projects I care about. Before, I was hesitant to do extra projects because I always put academics first. Now I’m going to make things happen! We got so much out of this. We really appreciate it.”

“It has been terrific motivation to see all these successful Grinnellians and how valuable their education has been,” Jalal adds.

It was as though each alum reached through the curtain that seems to hang between life at Grinnell and life after graduation and parted it a bit to show students the view from the other side. Suddenly, the students’ perspectives on what is possible — along with their confidence and their directions — became much clearer. They often ended their days of touring with more energy than what they had at the start of the day; and as the van pulled back in to our hotel parking lot, it often roared with conversation.

“I wish I had a week off school after we get back. There’s so much I am inspired to do now,” says Jennelle Nystrom ’14, a computer science and art history major from Huntley, Ill., who had a phone interview with Microsoft while on the trip.

By the end of the week, each student had the beginnings of a plan. They wanted to rewrite resumes, work on design projects, figure out how to move to Silicon Valley after graduation. They all said the trip exceeded their expectations, and they were grateful for their West Coast alumni mentors — many of whom had invited the students to stay in touch with them as they took the next step in their lives and careers.

The alumni were equally effusive. “It is a true joy to interact with these impressive, accomplished young people,” says Claudia Morgan ’77, associate dean for academic administration, Stanford Graduate School of Business.

“I’d be delighted to be a tour host in the future. I have already recommended it to every alum I see,” says Dr. Craig Henderson ’63, a consultant to biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. He and his wife, Mary, opened their home to host an alumni/student reception in San Francisco that kicked off the tour. “Personally I consider any opportunity to interact with a Grinnell student (or, best of all, several at one time) a great treat. Their keen intellect, enthusiasm and idealism are always a joy and an inspiration.”