Adam Reisfield's West Coast Experience

The travel component of this trip enhanced the experience in a number of way, primarily by through the building of new friendships, experiencing adventure, and build business relationships.  I came into this trip being little more than friends with only 2 people on the trip.  I left with some new really great friends, and a whole lot more good friends.  The really great friends were developed in what we called "The Ken Van."  Because of all of the constant traveling and moving from one place to another, the seven of us spent over 30 hours in a car together.  During this time, we reflected on company visits, shared stories, and learned a lot about each other.  This experience made us very close as a group, making the whole trip much more memorable.

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The adventure aspect of the trip was also incredible.  Every few days, we had the opportunity to visit an entirely new city, and once in the new city, we were immediately immersed in the city's unique culture.  We got to explore the cities on our own, seeing what the local businesses looked like and what the people were like, and also got to visit famous sights with the group like the Golden Gate Bridge and the Space Needle.  On most trips, you only have the opportunity to visit and explore one place.  What made the adventure aspect of this trip so special was the fact that we had three different, amazing cities to visit.  

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This trip was perfect for growing your network.  At each and every company, more often than not we either met with a recruiter or UMD Alumni, both being very valuable connections.  Outside of the company visits, there were even opportunities to network in situations such as the BBQ.  At Jeff's house, I met a friend of his who worked as an Apple executive for years, who happened to be an alumni of my fraternity.  Without so much travel, this type of connection would not have been possible.  

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