Written by Hallie Mullane, Ciocca Center Program Director
February 22, 2022
This quarter Ciocca Center did something that I have not done since before the pandemic. Ciocca Center hosted international guests! A delegation of 20 people, including University Presidents, Executive Directors, and faculty leadership from Universities in Colombia came to visit Ciocca Center. This felt like a true milestone in my post-pandemic life, as this seemed impossible until just recently.
One of our fantastic Interns and Ciocca Center Mindset Scholar (a competitive program to instill an entrepreneurial mindset in first year students), Francisca Gelman ’26, shared about her experience at SCU. Ciocca Center Executive Director, Chris Norris, provided an overview of interdisciplinary programs that Ciocca Center facilitates. The inspiring conversation between the Colombian Universities and our team was open; it was a wonderful example of cross-cultural collaboration in the field of academia. This conversation challenged me to think more deeply about Long Term Value Creation as we think about Santa Clara University and the Silicon Valley being a place that people from around the world want to see and pursue.
Ciocca Center’s Entrepreneurial Mindset facet of Long Term Value Creation has been the hardest for me to explain to students. In comparison, defining Empathy is easy (though instilling it is a challenge). I typically characterize Long Term Value Creation in terms of sustainability. However, this discussion has made me rethink long term value creation in Silicon Valley, especially as technology companies lay off thousands of employees.
Generally, success is defined in terms of money and glory. This is seemingly true in every industry, including the field of education. In the field of education, there are examples of this found both in the for-profit and non-profit sector - large education organizations, like Duolingo; and there are top Universities, like Oxford.
Rather than thinking about success in the Silicon Valley, or the “real” world, in terms of purely pursuing “money” and “glory”, I challenge us all to consider success as Long Term Value Creation aligned with our University’s Jesuit values. Going forward, in my own application, I will aspire to see my own Long Term Value Creation as continuing to improve the field of education.
1. Thank you to SV Links for connecting these amazing guests with our team.
Hallie Mullane '23 has taught and advised thousands of students and developed dozens of new partnerships and new programs, with a deep focus on internationalization and global programming. She has supported students in earning hundreds of thousands of dollars in scholarships for Study Abroad. In her free time, Hallie scours the internet for travel ideas, studies Kanji (Japanese), researches alternative housing, and raises chickens.