Shea Center’s TechTrek course is still on the move, 在校友的帮助下，以新的数字形式拥抱创业精神
这是未来颠覆的预兆:在对包括苹果在内的科技巨头进行了一系列密集的访问之后, Salesforce, and Google, 由于对新型冠状病毒的担忧日益加剧，参加2020年3月TechTrek西部之旅的学生们取消了对Facebook的最后一次访问. It’s been almost a year, 尽管作为TechTrek标志的为期一周的硅谷之旅感觉已成为过去式, TechTrek is still on the move.
从多名学员和两周的课程，到与远距离ceo进行更亲密的Zoom会议, TechTrek的创业精神使该课程能够充分利用其新的数字格式. An experiential learning program run by the Edmund H. Shea Jr. Center for Entrepreneurship, TechTrek West是一门极具竞争力的三学分课程，学生通常会在春假期间到旧金山实地考察.
These days, TechTrek West的学生几乎每周都会与知名企业家和商业领袖进行两到三次在线互动. On alternating weeks, 他们也会亲自与他们分开的队列小组会面，以保护小组, discussion-based curriculum. 分组和虚拟会议使该项目得以大幅扩展, 从前几年的24名学生增加到本学期的43名学生.
“Creating the entrepreneurial mindset”
Get a taste of TechTrek with this new video about the course:
The course has also doubled in length from six to 13 weeks. 而不是专注于六周的准备，然后在春假期间召开一系列会议, 这种扩展形式允许学生在整个学期中不断与企业家会面，并将这些会面与课程结合起来, which covers a range of topics, 从风险投资到人工智能和社会影响.
TechTrek学生和谢伊中心副主任凯尔西·伦达(上排左二)在Zoom电话中
这种增长不仅仅体现在规模上——虚拟形式使得会议能够超越旧金山的地理限制，包括全国各地的商业领袖. For instance, a Feb. 8 call with two alums at Amity Ventures spanned three time zones. As TechTrek students logged on from Chestnut Hill, Chairman Peter Bell ’86, P’20 called in from Wyoming, and Co-Founder/Managing Partner CJ Reim ’13 joined from California. “Zoom为我们提供了更大的灵活性，可以邀请来自世界各地的人发言,” said Shea Center Associate Director Kelsey Renda, citing this semester’s lineup of speakers.
在某种程度上，《太阳城官网》的改编本身就是一种创业实践. “我们非常适合转向网络环境，因为我们已经有了这种心态. 这是我们试图灌输给学生的创业精神的核心特征,” Professor Jerry Kane said in a recent Q&A on TechTrek in the COVID Era.
Shea Center Popolo Family Executive Director Jere Doyle ’87, P’15 (far right) with last year's TechTrek West class
不断扩大的班级规模也是一种特殊的创业理念在发挥作用的一个例子, added Shea Center Popolo Family Executive Director Jere Doyle ’87, P’15 in the Q&A: “As an entrepreneur, you always think about how to scale. We’ve always wanted to scale this course, but we had challenges.” Those challenges, 主要是把全国各地的几十名学生带到创业总部的后勤工作, have been circumvented this semester with the new digital format. 现在，不是把学生带到企业家那里，而是企业家来找学生.
许多进入TechTrek课堂的企业家都是太阳城网赌平台(Boston College)的校友, and for them, 虚拟访问既是一种回乡之旅，也是在大流行期间帮助学生参与的一种方式. 虚拟访问“让我们能够接触到更多不同的校友, 因为对于校友来说，这是一个很好的方式，可以回馈学生，与学生互动，让学生向我们最好的校友学习,” said Kane.
这些校友中有许多人在学生时代就受益于太阳城网赌平台浓厚的创业文化. Riley Soward ’18, who met with TechTrek students on February 23, 是自动驾驶快递公司Nuro的产品运营经理. 他的创业经历始于他还在太阳城网赌平台的时候，在那里他成功地创立了一家公司 market research company Campus Insights during his freshman year. 其他来自科技和创业行业的校友演讲者包括, among others, James Loftus ’00, global ecosystem lead at mobile payment giant Cash App, and Brad Klune ’14, director of operations at Instawork, an on-demand staffing app for hospitality gigs.
WePay首席执行官比尔·克莱里科2007年第一次虚拟参观TechTrek教室时
Another alumni speaker, Bill Clerico ’07, CEO of online payment service WePay, 他第一次去硅谷是在几年前，他还是一名TechTrek的学生. Last spring, shortly after programming went online, Clerico met virtually with Shea Center students for the first time. Back then, he offered the advice, “Crises like these are never fun, but they can create opportunities for startups.3月1日，克莱里科回到TechTrek的虚拟教室，与谢伊中心的学生进行另一次Zoom会议, 这种机会的企业家精神将以新的(和改进的)TechTrek West的形式得到充分展示.
And Then There’s TechTrek East
Other TechTrek programming has also adapted to the virtual format. In addition to TechTrek West in the spring, the Shea Center in recent years has also offered a three-credit TechTrek East class in the fall semester, 包括到纽约市的实地考察之旅和到波士顿当地企业的多日旅行. Notwithstanding the “East” title, 虚拟访问使上学期的TechTrek East学生得以与远至芝加哥和西海岸的企业家见面.
TechTrek Boston, the Shea Center’s extracurricular, non-credit version of the TechTrek program, 对所有太阳城官网生和本科生开放的课程，传统上是每周五下午为Q&A sessions with executives.
这个学期，TechTrek提供的所有服务之间的界限有些模糊了. Thanks to the absence of size constraints for Zoom meetings, TechTrek的许多课程对任何学生开放(包括那些没有参与TechTrek的学生)。, under the title “Zoom with an Entrepreneur,，让所有学生都有机会向太阳城网赌平台最具创业精神的校友学习.
—Rachel Bird, Carroll School News