It was wonderful to have dinner with Tasnuva Tabassum! She is an alumni of Cornell and is working in Silicon Valley. She described Silicon Valley in a way I had never thought of before – like a college campus. As she described, there are so many young people who move out to Silicon Valley for their first job, much like the way students move away to college. As a result, the atmosphere is fun and vibrant, and everyone is looking to meet someone new.

The valley, known for its technology, has the perfect way to handle this atmosphere – an app! Apps advertise networking events so people can get to know each other and make connections. They list the time and place of different events and encourage people to come. Apps also help people meet up in more one-on-one scenarios and match people with similar interests. This is a perfect solution, since the average time in a job is not that long – everyone is looking to keep their network up-to-date in case they want to switch companies.

This showcases another aspect of Silicon Valley – everything is right there! There are so many tech companies in one area that it makes it really easy to move between jobs and companies. This is just like a college campus, with so many ideas, departments, and schools all in one spot. Close proximity encourages the sharing of ideas, and the pursit of learning. It was so great to learn from Tasnuva and hear her relate her new “campus” to students at Cornell!