Exploring the Bay Area on the 2024 Tech Trek

Earlier this year, I led a group of 25 SOM students to the West Coast for our San Francisco Tech Trek. I was thrilled to restart this initiative after it was on hold for five years due to the COVID pandemic.

Our Bay Area alumni gave us tours of their offices and shared their advice and experiences. We learned a lot about the company culture, the variety of roles available in tech, and important skills to develop during our MBA program, and got great tips on the recruiting process. Here are some highlights!

Google kicked off our visit with a delicious breakfast. The Mountain View campus was huge, with multiple buildings that we saw during a walking tour. 

We explored cool new technology at HP, including a foldable laptop/tablet. I kept touching the hinge area to see if I could feel it anything once it was converted to a tablet—I couldn’t! We also toured the offices of founders Bill Hewlett and David Packard. We learned that the founders were truly committed to an “open door” policy—one of them even left money on his desk, and no one ever took it. 

We had a memorable welcome to the C3.ai office, where they displayed the Yale SOM logo in the lobby. 

ServiceNow brightened up our Friday afternoon with free mochi ice cream (my favorite flavor: mango!) and driving simulation games. 

In the evenings, we built connections in the Bay Area through social activities. We hosted a joint mixer with the UC Berkeley Haas School of Business and Columbia Business School. We also met alumni across the broader Yale community during a mixer with the Yale Club of Silicon Valley. It was great to meet Yale College alumni, who recommended interesting spots on campus to explore before graduation. 

Looking back, the San Francisco Tech Trek was a fast-paced, unforgettable experience. I loved welcoming the group to my hometown, especially since some students had never visited California before. My favorite hidden gem: the Moraga Steps.

I am grateful to all the alumni and company representatives who made this tech trek possible. They not only took time out of their workday to meet with us, but they also candidly answered our questions and were willing to stay in touch afterwards. Big thank you as well to my fellow Tech Club leaders, the Career Development Office, and Alumni Relations for their support with planning. I already heard from the first-years that they cannot wait for next year’s tech trek!