Fourteen students explored business culture in the Silicon Valley during fall break.
Jim Litton, assistant professor and director of the Griggs Center, and Chad Hutchins (’08) were sponsors of the trip. Students of all majors and classifications were allowed on the trip for a cost of $699 plus plane tickets.
Gregg Calvin, a junior information systems and finance major from Dallas, said he heard about the trip at a CEO Chapel. The College Entrepreneurial Organization invites different speakers to their Chapels and connects students to business leaders.
“The focus of the trip was to learn about the culture of entrepreneurship,” said Calvin.
Calvin said the group visited businesses including Google, LinkedIn, and Zappier on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. On Saturday the students had a free day to tour San Francisco and go to a Stanford game.
Through a speaker series with Stanford University, the students met with CEOs including the CEO of Tilt, a website for groups to collect money.
“It’s an awesome learning experience,” Calvin said. “You see what sides of business connect with you and where you fit in the business world.”
Calvin said the students got to tour the education department of Google, where employees do unique projects. They also talked with entrepreneurs who had both failed and succeeded with different ideas.
“We saw both ends of the spectrum,” Calvin said.
Brooke Crisp, a senior international studies major from Dallas, is an assistant to Litton and helped plan the trip. She is minoring in business and said the trip helped her understand business culture. What stood out to her was meeting serial entrepreneurs who make a living by starting businesses.
“They weren’t invested in the causes,” Crisp said. “They were more interested in their paychecks.”
Crisp said the trip confirmed her desire to work in a small business after she graduates. She said students of any major would learn something from the trip because it teaches students what it’s like to be in the business world.
“We’re all going to get a job someday,” Crisp said.
