Thanks to donors and alumni, four hardworking Beloit students were able to visit the Bay Area over fall break through the college’s Beloit2Bay program. A diverse and exciting itinerary awaited them, full of networking opportunities and an up close exploration of Silicon Valley.
The itinerary included a variety of experiences, correlating with the students diverse set of interests. Seo, who is looking to graduate school, met with a professor at UC Berkeley to discuss the university’s math program, which helped him narrow down his options. “It revealed to me that I want to be in a place with more liberal artsy values, [someplace] more collaborative,” he says.
The group also met with Michael Trent ’95, a developer at Apple. “He talked more about his experiences in management and living through the tech world, and I think that advice was more helpful than how to get a job at Apple,” says Seo. “It’s just how you succeed generally, and I thought that that was valuable.” Seo found their discussion with Phee Boon Kang ’73, who worked for CitiBank, to be an open and genuine conversation.
Other activities included visiting the Marine Mammal Center and companies such as Fastly and Sisco. For Pham, the visit to Sisco stood out, as it helped him recognize what a positive work environment may look like. “If when you step into the corporation, you hear laughter and the people are nice to you and making jokes, it’s a green flag. It makes me realize that money is not the only thing to look for when you look at a company,” he says.
At Beloit, experiential learning is encouraged — through internships, study abroad, and through programs like Beloit2Bay. Molander believes that getting off campus is crucial to figuring out one’s future. “You want more data points. The more data points you have, the better sense you have of what you want to be when you grow up,” she says. In terms of the networking advantages, she adds, “It’s important to find mentors, coaches, people that’ll advocate for you.”
Morello says, “It gave them license to use their imagination and see what the bigger world could be like and how this kind of innovation really happens.” The opportunity to speak directly with successful Beloit alumni was also a valuable aspect. “They get to see [this world] up close and hear real stories from people who have studied in the same buildings and walked the same campus that they have,” says Morello.
As well as visiting companies and talking with alumni, Seo and Pham found that the time spent connecting with Molander, Oslund, DeGeorge, and Ponder was among their fondest memories from the trip. “We had that connection and the late night talks and three hour rides along the way … really strengthened our friendship,” says Pham. Seo expressed similar sentiments, citing his favorite memory as the group “driving around all together, the four of us playing different songs and going over the Golden Gate Bridge.”
Morello hopes that the stories these students share from their trip will inspire prospective and current Beloit students. “It gave [them] a shocking reality that their life is just beginning and they’ve got such a big world out in front of them,” he says. “For other students to see that while you’re in Beloit, Wisconsin, and having this intimate experience at a small liberal arts college, you’re also going to get these mind-bending worldly experiences.”
February 28, 2025
