- March 2, 2015
- 4:01 pm
- no comments
A Series of Firsts
Itinerary
Monday – 3/2
Austin Technology Incubator
AMD
Austin Reception for Loyola University Alumni
Reflection by Riti Bedi (Quinlan ’17)
We started off the day bright and early as we headed off to our first company visit at ATI (Austin Technology Incubator). Once we got there, we met with Isaac Barchas, the Managing Partner at ATI. He shared with us his career path and how he got into his work at the organization. His career path was a little different than what most of us expected, since he started his career with an undergraduate degree in Classics (Greek and Latin literature & culture). Once we got to know him a little bit better, we had time for Q&A where we learned about venture capitalism, angel investing, and government funded projects. Barchas described ATI as the people companies come to in order to get their “business wrapper” to then use to share their technology with the world. We then learned about “Sand Hill Road”, which is a term often used to describe the area in Menlo Park, California where Venture Capitalists are established and many go to get their technology and companies funded. Along with practical knowledge and information about ATI, Barchas also provided useful insights as to what we should be doing while we are still students. We were reminded to use our status as students as much as we can in order to contact alumni and professionals to learn from them and their experiences. Overall, our first company visit at ATI was a great success and we were able to learn about topics ranging from life in general, to specifics like cost control and growth.
We headed to In-N-Out (one of my personal favorites) for lunch. It was a great experience watching many of the others on this trip eat there for the first time. For the most part, everyone enjoyed it and it was a great break between companies.
After lunch, we all drove over to AMD (Advanced Micro Devices), which is a semiconductor company with their unofficial headquarters here in Austin. The campus was huge and beautiful. Once we found our ways through the gorgeous campus to the correct building, we were greeted by three lovely people, ready with name tags for us, AMD informative pamphlets, and excited to give us a tour.
We started off by getting a tour of the CEC (Customer Engagement Center), which is usually used to show future and current customers the new and innovative technology that AMD is creating. It was surprising to learn the various products that utilize graphics cards and microprocessors that AMD creates, varying from Xbox gaming consoles and slot machines, to Boeing cockpit displays. They are essentially everywhere and many people don’t even know it. The last item that we looked at and got to try out was Oculus VR glasses. I, personally, had never heard of them before, but we got to try them on and it was mind boggling-ly amazing. I saw a virtual reality which moved as I moved. I was in a forest with squirrels and trees all around me; the clarity and resolution was surprising. It was great to be able to have a hands on experience with the technology AMD works with on a daily basis. Once our tour of the CEC was over, we headed over to another floor where we met with Gerald Youngblood. 
He is in charge of Worldwide Channel Marketing for AMD, which he described as being able to sell components to end users and providing an audience and meaning to the products. He was kind enough to share with us his career path and how he progressed from his college career to his career at AMD. After some Q&A with Mr. Youngblood, we were then given the opportunity to listen to a panel of speakers consisting of Irina Gomez, Gabriel Boyd, Lisa Hughes, and Zach Eich. 
They were representing Marketing, HR, Finance, and Engineering respectively. They gave us an overview of their current positions, their career paths, advice for the college to career transition, and provided us an opportunity to ask questions as well. It was a great learning experience to hear about how much one’s experience differs based on which field they are involved in, even within the same company. The love for AMD and the culture it offers was consistent for all four panelists, despite the difference in the work they do and the lifestyle that they have. After learning a lot and receiving some unique and honest advice, we completed our tour by walking around the campus and absorbing the culture and lifestyle that goes along with working at AMD. It was a beautiful campus with an on-campus gym, a beautiful cafeteria, and break rooms with games like Foosball and pool. It seems like a great place to work with all of the great perks that come along with the job.
With the tour of the buildings and campus, we concluded our second company visit. There was definitely a difference in type of company, culture, and work done in AMD vs. ATI, so it was great being able to see that and learn what some hold more important in their work life than others.
We concluded our day with an alumni event at Freddie’s Place where we got to eat some great tacos and nachos while speaking with a few of Loyola Chicago’s Alumni. 
There was a broad spectrum of fields represented by the alumni, varying from Finance, Entrepreneurship to an Orthopedic Surgeon. Having the chance to speak with people who graduated from Loyola but all took various paths through life was a great experience. It’s reassuring to see such successful Loyola Chicago graduates who have found home and happiness in a city so far from Chicago, but who are willing to meet with us anyway.
Overall, it was a great first day of company visits, and I can’t wait for what the rest of the week has to offer!