In December, Lundquist College of Business Honors students traveled to San Francisco to meet with Business Honors Program alumni and others at Slack, PAC-12 Network, Blackrock Financial Consulting, and Roku. Honors student Julia Smith coordinated the visits for the 15 participating students.
“Julia did a great job organizing everything and balancing between our multiple site visits, leading networking efforts, and exploring the city,” said Mark Nelson, a junior who is also enrolled in the Clark Honors College.
“Visiting the Pac-12 Network was my personal favorite because there was such a strong and diverse panel of people to learn from—newscasters to the general counsel for the Pac-12,” he said. “We also got to see the newsroom, which was awesome.”
Nelson said he learned a great deal through the networking and site visits, but he also enjoyed the moments in between the scheduled networking events, career exploration opportunities, and leadership training.
“Getting to know my cohort and bonding throughout our time in San Francisco was a great start to my winter break,” he said.
Student Max Tenhoff said the site visits were a helpful way to learn about multiple companies in diverse industries while having the chance to connect and network with University of Oregon alumni.
Tenhoff said two of the companies, Roku and Slack, offered insights into the famous Bay Area tech scene.
“At Roku we were introduced to the competitive, fast-paced tech-world in the Silicon Valley and heard from a panel of current employees from all departments who shared their past work experience and current roles,” he said. “At Slack we had the chance to tour their brand new building and hear from a panel made up of almost all former Ducks. It was great to learn about their ‘non-linear’ career paths, which led them in totally different directions than they thought they would be going post-graduation.”
Overall, he said his experience in San Francisco provided him with valuable networking opportunities, a chance to experience four amazing companies, and the opportunity to spend quality time with his peers.
For the firms, it was a chance to welcome fellow Ducks while sharing experiences that may help them in their careers.
“We have a great group of Duck alumni at Slack now, and it was fun to share with the students what we’ve learned along the way through our winding paths to our current roles,” said Julie Haynes ’13, now in product marketing at Slack. “I was so impressed with the students’ professionalism, thoughtful questions, and how engaged they were throughout the visit. I am looking forward to hosting students again in the future.”
—AnneMarie Knepper-Sjoblom ’05