Tuesday, March 14, 2017

Day Two: SurveyMonkey, Intel, and Microsoft

Hi Readers,

Yesterday was our first day of visiting companies. We got to tour SurveyMonkey, Microsoft, and we went to the Intel Museum and the birthplace of Silicon Valley, The HP Garage. These companies were a great way to start our trip! Both SurveyMonkey and Microsoft had very different work atmospheres. While I enjoyed going to both, SurveyMonkey definitely won me over. 

We first visited the HP Garage. It was very interesting to see this. The garage was where “Silicon Valley” was born. It was a historical place to visit and interesting to see where it all began.

The atmosphere of SurveyMonkey was so open and all the employees had the opportunities to move into different teams they were interested in. We got to talk to the Vice President of Finance and a panel of three newly employees, or “monkeys” as they call them, who just recently graduated college. Talking to these three employees was very beneficial and it made me feel better about life after college. They gave us a lot of helpful hints and told us about their journeys. What I loved most about SurveyMonkey is the feel that all of the employees were there to help everyone else, no one is just there to “show off” with their knowledge. Everyone is helping everyone out and they are growing together as a team. I also really enjoyed the layout of the office. It was all open offices, with glass window conference rooms and a huge cafeteria where everyone gets lunch and mingles with different departments. When I graduate college I hope to be involved with a company like SurveyMonkey.

Our next stop was the Intel Museum. While a lot of the information went right over my head, I had a great time at this museum. It was very interesting to hear how Intel became a company and their journey of how they got to where they are today!

After the Intel Museum, we visited Microsoft. Microsoft had a different feel than SurveyMonkey. We didn’t really get to explore their offices as much but we got to play with some of their fun gadgets! We went to “The Garage”, which is just a tech room where they create new ideas. In here we all got to try on Virtual Reality Glasses and explore the room with these on. It was a great experience.

Overall this was a great way to start off our trip! Today we are going to visit a startup company Progressly, Facebook and Google. For dinner we are going to Bucks of Woodside to have dinner with some of our Curry Alumni. To say I am excited for this day is an understatement! I can’t wait to share my experiences with you later on today!

Below are some pictures of our adventures! 

Thank you!

Lauren Brehm










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