buildOn Students Visit Facebook Headquarters
Last week, our students in California were treated to a tour of Facebook’s offices to learn about the social media titan’s inner-workings and various volunteering opportunities. Afterward, I conducted a student roundtable discussion about the experience using Facebook chat (of course). Here are some direct quotes!
First three pics courtesy of Emily Shur’s photo essay for Time Magazine
Leigh Ann Llarena: Arriving at Facebook headquarters was surprising because there’s no Facebook logo on the building that notifies you that you’re there.
Xiaofan Wu: Facebook actually gave us individual tours. We each paired up with a Facebook intern. At first I was shocked, because I thought we were just going to have a big group tour together. I learned a lot about my tour partner, too, like what college he goes to and how he applied for this internship.
Leigh Ann Llarena: The Facebook interns were very friendly. Doing the community service with them was fun. It’s nice knowing that we are improving the Bay little by little.
Kathy Lien: We got to learn about all the perks of being a Facebook intern. The most admirable part, I think, would have to be that the free food, awesome electronics, rip-board freedom through the halls, and unrestricted dress code, wasn’t why these interns were here. It was because they actually had a real interest in what Facebook does. It was pretty motivational.
Amy: Many of the employees seemed relatively young. Makes one feel more reassured that such sophisticated jobs are attainable early on, not something that takes years of a career to achieve (just get the education and determination to do what you want!).
Xiaofan Wu: The food at Facebook was awesome too, my partner told me they eat a different country’s food everyday. We ate Mexican food that day, which tasted great. Facebook company tries everything to keep you there, they even have tooth brush in the bathrooms. And the waterbottle that Facebook provided was really cool.
Finn Wurtz: Other highlights of the tour included the extensive facilities (think couches galore and high-tech gadget vending machines), and writing on the ‘Facebook wall’ (an interior wall open to free expression by any and all visitors). A few people were disappointed that we didn’t get to see/meet Mark Zuckerberg who the employees at Facebook endearingly referred to as ‘Zuck’.
Leigh Ann Llarena: I can’t believe they have showers there, too! Having all these things make you want to live there and that’s their goal, for you to never leave. Hahaha.
Kathy Lien: Going to the headquarters was great. It kind of convinced me that, hey, not all jobs are going to be boring when we get out of college.
Finn Wurtz: The greatest thing about visiting Facebook’s headquarters was, of course, having ample time to talk with a generally friendly and interesting group of people who have experience working at the forefront of social networking technology. I had an excellent time discussing pretty much everything about Facebook with the interns, and was able to explore topics relating to both Facebook as an employer and Facebook as a supreme, omnipresent part of the lives of millions of people.
Amy: I think the most awesome thing about the visit to Facebook was realizing that because these employees on the Facebook team had interest and passion for their careers. If they weren’t as passionate or diligent, they wouldn’t have had the chance to experience the freedom (no set work hours and unlimited paid sick days, for examples!) that Facebook offers.
