Introducing News and Updates for Notre Dame-California
February 4, 2019

As many of you are aware, the Notre Dame-California program was established several years ago and seeks to elevate the State as a source and destination for Notre Dame student talent. Our program connects the University’s top-flight faculty, student scholars, and premier programs to dynamic opportunities on the West Coast. ND-CA is the embodiment of the University’s desire to be an active partner with alumni, parents, and industries across the state. We hope to contribute to and benefit from the educational, entrepreneurial, and creative initiatives that make California unique.

In future newsletters, we will provide updates on ND-California programs and events, alumni clubs, career services, development, admissions, and much more. In this first newsletter, we will focus on the Silicon Valley Semester program. If you would like to make a suggestion or contribute to content for future newsletters, please email dupshaw@nd.edu.

SILICON VALLEY SEMESTER

28 New Arrivals to the Bay Area
While most ND students spent the past week braving snow and record-setting cold temperatures, 28 juniors were settling into the third week of their tech internships in the Bay Area. This year marks the third and largest cohort of the Silicon Valley Semester (SVS) hosted by ND-California.

The program began in 2017 when then-director and CSE professor Patrick Flynn brought out the first cohort of 10 students. Later that year, Patrick passed the baton to Rich Taylor (https://california.nd.edu/about/director/) , the current ND-California director, and Rich led a group of 14 students last year while overseeing the expansion of the program to include 28 students and these 14 employers at present day:

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AT&T
Bricleir
Carbon
Conventus
Ecomedes
Kyndi
Rhumbix
SAP
Thryve
Viakoo
Wonolo
X2AI
Zume

We are excited to welcome the students and we hope that you will take advantage of opportunities to interact with them throughout the semester. In addition to working part-time at these companies throughout the Bay Area, our students take classes at the ND-California facility in downtown Palo Alto, host alumni and industry leaders, and visit a number of businesses throughout the semester.

How You Can Get Involved
The growth of our program and the success of our students depend greatly on the involvement of our wonderful alumni and the work of our dedicated career services team. Our students are eager to meet Domers on the west coast and we hope that you will join us in making this semester a meaningful experience for these students. Here are some ways you can get involved:

1. Alert us of future internship opportunities
2. Give students a tour of your office or work site
3. Host a small group of 3-5 students for lunch or dinner
4. Share your expertise and experiences with the students at the ND-California facility in downtown Palo Alto

If any of these interest you, please e-mail Dierre Upshaw (https://www.linkedin.com/in/ddupshaw/), the SVS program manager, at dupshaw@nd.edu. Dierre joined the program in November and he is based in the ND-California office in downtown Palo Alto. He works closely with Rich Taylor to develop the program, plan events, and build relationships with employers and alumni. He is eager to talk or meet with you to discuss the program and to hear any ideas or feedback you wish to share.

Stay tuned for more program and student updates!
The data science group at AT&T hosted us for lunch and a paper airplane contest, the first of four such events we have planned with AT&T this semester.