By Sarah Dicker

Oracle! Oracle was the first company visit of the trip, and we posed in front of Oracle’s server infrastructure that powers some of the world’s largest enterprises. Getting to see how the software we study in class translates into massive, physical hardware made everything feel suddenly real. This was such a cool way to start off the company visits, and they only got even more exciting from here!

Escape Room!! Nothing tests teamwork quite like being locked in a room together. On one of our first days as a cohort, we tackled a carnival-themed escape room at Red Door. Spoiler Alert: we escaped! It was the perfect metaphor for the program that success here requires leaning on the people around you, communicating quickly, and thinking creatively under pressure. When we earned that “We Escaped” sign, it felt like our first real win as a team.

LinkedIn HQ Each day, we are tasked with taking a themed photo for our “Memory Making” assignment. The theme for that day happened to be “professional”. We could not have planned it better. Visiting the platform that most of us will use to launch our careers, and hearing from professionals across product, engineering, and machine learning, helped us see how much LinkedIn does beyond building a network. BONUS POINTS to LinkedIn for the incredible chocolate chip cookies on every floor and the amazing views of downtown!

The Great Donut Trade: It started with a coffee cup. It ended with five donuts and many lessons learned about negotiation, perceived value, and the art of the pitch. Our I&E class trading exercise sent us out into the real world with one item and a mission: trade your way up to something more valuable. Our team’s proudest achievement? Five fresh, glazed donuts. Could we have done better? Absolutely not, how do you beat five donuts?

Apple Park: We walked into Apple Park and were immediately captivated by the beautiful interior, and by a display tracing every generation of the iPhone. We had the incredible opportunity to meet with Eddy Cue, the mind behind products like Apple Music, the App Store, and Apple TV+. Hearing from someone who has shaped how billions of people consume media and interact with technology was an amazing experience. What made it the most memorable was how personable and generous he was with his time and insights.

Oracle Park, SF Giants Game: This was our view from our seats at Oracle Park during the SF Giants game. It was a perfect day for a ballgame, and beyond the baseball, this visit was fascinating to learn about how technology and sports intersect. The coolest part was getting to try on all three Giants World Series Rings from 2010, 2012, and 2014. Each one was bigger than the last, and somehow that felt like a life lesson.

Anthropic: We headed to our next site visit at Anthropic, where we heard from not one, not two, but SEVEN Duke alumni who work in various divisions across Anthropic. Our visit to Anthropic was easily one of the most thought-provoking visits, not just because of what they are building, but also because of how they are grappling with what this means for society.

Golden Gate Bridge: On one of our weekends, we took advantage of the California sunshine for a hike out in Marin, with the Golden Gate Bridge and the San Francisco skyline as our backdrop. One of the most meaningful parts of Duke in Silicon Valley is getting to explore San Francisco together and create meaningful relationships with our peers. Bonus: the San Francisco skyline in the background never gets old, no matter how many times you see it.

Sarah is a rising sophomore from Gaithersburg, Maryland pursuing a major in Mechanical Engineering with a minor in Economics and a certificate in Innovation and Entrepreneurship. On campus, she is a member of Duke Women’s Club Soccer, Society of Women Engineers, Business-Oriented Women, and will serve as an Orientation Leader. For Sarah, participating in the Duke in Silicon Valley program is an opportunity to explore the startup ecosystem and combine her engineering and economics interests in her future career. Sarah hopes to learn skills for how to translate ideas into successful products, learn from industry leaders, and form meaningful connections with peers. In her free time, she enjoys going on walks, spending time with friends, baking, and trying new foods.