San Fran trip - ESTEEM
For nearly 40 students of the ESTEEM Class of 2026, spring break wasn't just about the beach (although the weather was pushing for it!), it was about the future of technology and innovation. We swapped the South Bend spring for the high energy of Silicon Valley, embarking on a week-long immersion into the world’s premier innovation ecosystem. From keynote sessions with global CEOs to job shadows at tech giants, here is how we spent our week out West.
Monday: Kicking Off at Plug and Play
Our journey began at the globally known Plug and Play Tech Center. The morning set a high bar with insights from Steve Broad, VP of Product Management at Zema Global Data, followed by a keynote from David McJannet, a well established executive and former CEO of HashiCorp. It was a very profound and interesting conversation hearing David navigate his complex and successful career, while also hearing the motivating factors behind each of his career decisions and moves.
The afternoon continued the momentum with:
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Aisling MacRunnels,the charismatic and personable Chief Growth Officer at Endor Labs, who provided her advice on how to navigate the changing market of AI with her own personal touch and experience.
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Alireza Masrour, General Partner at Plug and Play, who offered a masterclass in his years of venture capital philosophy.
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Christina Augustine, COO of Bloomreach and Saint Mary’s College alumna and Trustee, who discussed operational excellence in high-growth environments and using the connections that the Notre Dame Community has to offer.
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An evening session with Richard Pivnicka, a Notre Dame alumni who has operated as a Lawyer, Founder, and Chairman, providing a diverse perspective on entrepreneurship as a Bay Area resident for years.
Tuesday: Seeing Silicon Valley in Action
Tuesday saw our cohort scattered throughout the Valley as we split into smaller groups for immersive job shadows. This allowed us to see the daily grit and glamour of Silicon Valley firsthand across a diverse range of industries:
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Morning Sessions: Students visited Zendesk, X the Moonshot Factory, and Verkada to explore customer experience, incubation and innovation, and modern security systems.
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Afternoon Sessions: The deep dives continued at Workday, Airbnb, Astranis, and Datadog, covering everything from enterprise software and the sharing economy to satellite manufacturing and cloud monitoring.
The consensus of the class was clear: seeing the inner workings of these companies turned classroom concepts into real-world possibilities. Being able to see and question what we learn in the classroom on a first-hand basis was an experience beyond what we could have expected or hoped for.
Wednesday: The Unusual Experience
Wednesday took us to Unusual Ventures, hosted by a face very familiar to our program: John Vrionis. As both a Founder and Managing Partner of Unusual Ventures and as adjunct professor in the ESTEEM program, John provided an unrivaled look at the VC landscape and what it takes to build a startup and venture fund from the ground up, all while keeping his morals aligned with his work and investing.
After our programming at Unusual Ventures, we headed into the heart of San Francisco for an optional visit to Replit while others explored what San Francisco had to offer. We then capped the night with the ND Tech Forum Networking Event at Intercom, hosted by ESTEEM Alum and current Director of Programs at Unusual Ventures, Niamh O'Donnell. Mingling with Notre Dame alumni of all classes and West Coast professionals reminded us that the Notre Dame network is a powerful force, even 2,000 miles from campus.
Thursday: Final Speakers and a Celebratory Close
We returned to Plug and Play for our final day of programming. We heard from Terri (Hall) Zecchin, a former Senior Level IBMer, who now serves as a board member of Subconscious AI and Jack Moore, Senior Technical Product Manager at Amazon Web Services (AWS). Jack, who has an electrical Engineering background, provided a technical yet accessible look at the future of cloud and AI in the healthcare space, which he transitioned into after Notre Dame but found passion in.
We concluded the trip with a celebratory closing lunch in Santa Clara. After a long week of spending time with our classmates, learning, and networking, we felt tired yet inspired. The ESTEEM Class of 2026 left the Valley with more than just business cards and a few more LinkedIn connections; we left with a newfound understanding of what it means to work hard and play hard in the pursuit of innovation and advancement.