Viterbi Trek

Viterbi Trek is an invaluable experience for engineering students to engage with employers in experiential learning.

Host a group of pre-selected engineering students at your company to meet with your teams, to help students learn more about work at your organization, and help them see what it is like to be an intern or employee at your organization. Viterbi Trek is a great opportunity for Viterbi students to learn, explore, and connect with employers. As a Viterbi Trek host, you can create an experience like no other for our students!

Spring 2023 Trek will be March 15th-17th Email us or fill out the form to be considered as a Trek Host.

Viterbi Trek was a great experience that taught me not only about the companies we visited but also more about myself.

- Viterbi Trek Student

Event Details:

Spring 2023 Viterbi Trek may be Hybrid (virtual and in-person) depending on employer safety protocols

Dates: March 13th - 15th 2023 (USC Spring Recess)

CONFIRMED TREK HOSTS (6 Total):
1. BOEING (IN-PERSON)
2. TBD
3. TBD
4. TBD
5. TBD
6. TBD

A typical Trek visit includes a tour, presentation, and an interactive activity. Each Trek agenda depends on each host's schedule and resources. We encourage our employer hosts to be creative and engaging! Each Trek host receives a resume book of the student attendees after the event.

Location Tour:

A tour can be a physical or virtual walk-through of your office, worksite, or lab.
The goal of the tour is to show students what your workplace is like. It is also a good way to demonstrate your company culture.
Employers are encouraged to show students parts of your office that are not well-known, and incorporate fun, behind-the-scenes information
Virtually, you can show different offices around the world.

Presentation:

Trek presentations can be a company overview, but we encourage Trek hosts to be creative to keep students engaged.
A presentation can include a product demo, a panel of engineers talking about their different roles, new hires/graduates discussing their experiences, executive leadership delivering a motivational speech, or a seasoned engineer delivering a Technical Talk.
We recommend leaving ample time for questions after the presentation.

Interactive Element:

The most valuable portion of Trek for our students is the interactive element, and it is what sets Trek apart from a typical Trojan Talk.
Interactive activities usually (but not always) follow the presentation and allow students to have one-on-one or small group interactions with your employees.
This can be a networking hour, luncheon or virtual breakout room session with students and alumni, engineers, new grads, or leadership.

Viterbi Trek is a great opportunity for Viterbi students to learn, explore and connect with employers. We follow a selection process that allows students to apply to be interviewed and ultimately invited to attend. We believe that this makes Trek the best experience for both students and employer hosts. Application Process:

Written Application:

The application period opens a week before the Spring semester begins.
Undergraduate, Graduate and PhD students of all Viterbi majors are invited to apply.
Students answer short essay questions about their interest in Viterbi Trek.

Interview:

Based on application responses, a select number of students are then interviewed virtually by Viterbi Career Connections Staff.

Preparation Meeting:

Selected students are invited to a virtual preparation session to discuss each Trek visit, format, and expectations.

Previous Trek Hosts Include:

2022: EY, PDG Consulting, Visa, Accenture, Tencent, Sprintray, Honeybee Robotics, KPMG, Rhoman Aerospace, Boeing.
2021: SambaNova Systems, Abbott, Zillow Group, Ensign-Bickford Industries, Walmart.
2020: Honeybee Robotics, Second Order Effects, Abbott, Medtronic, TripAdvisor, Saviynt.
2019: Cisco, Facebook, NetApp, Verizon Media, NVIDIA, Google, Lightform.

Example Trek 1:

Site-specific projects overview.
Plant tour, see manufacturing process.
Company overview presentation (co-op program, specific products)
Technology overview, recent product launches
Panel lunch with Engineers

Example Trek 2:

Welcome message from Director of Engineering and Operations
Speaker panel with members of the team: Principal Software Engineer, Analytics, Senior Product Manager, Principal Software Engineer, Software Engineer Co-op, and Software Engineer II.
Time for each person to talk a little about their background/career path/role and team at TA and plenty of Q&A from students.
Office tour with Office Experience Manager.