Life After College – Calvin Yeoh (Stanford ’17)
Fast forward 5 years, I find myself staring at the glistening water of the San Francisco Bay at Coyote Point, at once in awe of how quickly the past half-decade flew by and how slowly time seems to be moving as we enter month #4 of shelter-in-place. Overhead, an Alaska Airlines aircraft with the iconic Eskimo emblazoned across its rudder descends into SFO as air traffic slows to a trickle, a far cry from the millions of passengers that it served during normal times.
It’s been slightly over 3 years since I graduated from Stanford and started my next chapter here in the US. I still vividly remember the weird sense of déjà vu as the euphoria and trepidation in the days leading up to Commencement began to really set in, bringing me back to the very first time I set foot on the hallowed grounds of Stanford. I spent many a balmy summer evening on a lawn along Mayfield Avenue with friends, attempting to distill the myriad of experiences and lessons we’ve gleaned over our undergraduate days, unabashed by the mistakes, trials and tribulations we’ve endured, grateful for the deep relationships we’ve forged and excited by what the future holds as we continue to paint the canvas that is our lives.
As this chapter continues to unfold, I am immensely grateful for the opportunity to start and continue building my career within the burgeoning technology ecosystem that is Silicon Valley, first as an investment banker and now as a venture capitalist, all while being a stone’s throw away from Stanford, where it all began. Would I do it all over again? Certainly, without a shred of doubt.