Virtual Buckeye Trek helps students explore Bay Area tech
Established in 2017, Buckeye Trek brings Ohio State engineering students to the Bay Area to explore tech culture and witness the Silicon Valley atmosphere firsthand. The two-day immersive experience provides students a unique learning opportunity, offering career exploration and sparking employer connections that often lead to an internship or mentorship.
When the pandemic prevented students from visiting the Bay Area in 2020, organizers decided instead to bring the Bay Area to students.
“We wanted to continue the momentum of the program and maintain those relationships with the partners that we have out in the Bay Area,” said Rachel Kaschner, assistant director of Engineering Career Services, which coordinates the program. “We also wanted it to stay visible to students and there's still that need to get students out to the Bay Area and get them acclimated to the opportunities there.”
In February 2021, staff organized a two-day virtual experience that enabled students to gain an understanding of the west coast tech industry without leaving home. Open to undergrads majoring in computer science and engineering or electrical and computer engineering, the Trek is normally capped at 10 participants, but this year’s online format allowed 26 students to participate in the experience.
A total of five companies presented—Facebook, Turnitin, Microsoft, Google and Clockwise—each represented by Ohio State alumni. Along with the employer information sessions, a new feature this year included an alumni panel in which students and Bay Area alums could engage in a more informal setting.
“It gives students the opportunity to ask the questions that they might not want to ask an employer, like ‘Where do I live? How do I make friends? Can I afford it?’. Normally they don't have that opportunity when they're in a big group touring a company,” said Kaschner.
Additionally, students could sign up for alumni partner “office hours” where they met with alums one-on-one or in small groups. For second-year student Abby Nichter, the personalized time with alumni was her favorite part of the program. She signed up for a 30-minute conversation with Wendy McCall (’98 chemical and biomolecular engineering), who is the current director of partner marketing at Microsoft.
“She gave me an overview of what it looks like to be a woman at Microsoft, and gave me perspectives from a few different departments, and was encouraging about my journey in both my internship search and in my future career,” said Nichter, whose Trek experience ultimately led her to change her program of study from electrical engineering to computer engineering.
Alum and Facebook Software Engineer Stephen Wu (’19 computer science and engineering) knows just how transformative the experience can be for students. A Trek veteran, he participated in the in-person version in 2017 and it opened his eyes to opportunities he didn’t know existed.
“The Buckeye Trek and programs like it expose students to new ideas, mindsets, and career paths,” said Wu. “When you're in college, you're in a unique, fantastic bubble around college students, and seeking opportunities and exposure outside that bubble helps provide a ton of insight.”
While the goal is for the Bay Area Trek to resume its usual in-person format, virtual treks to other tech cities such as Seattle or Austin might be planned in the future, allowing even more Buckeye engineers to explore tech industry opportunities and showcase all that Ohio State students have to offer.
“Ohio State's tech culture has grown a lot—with students more involved in hackathons, in tune with tech developments, and prepared for post-grad careers,” said Wu. “Hopefully, the Trek showed students some different paths they can take and the tradeoffs of them.”
by Meggie Biss, College of Engineering Communications | biss.11@osu.edu
