College: a place of pick-up basketball games, leisurely afternoons on the quad and hand-picked classes. For most high school students, little, if anything, compares; except, apparently, Google’s Mountain View campus. “It’s better even than Stanford,” a student exclaimed.
Gateway High School’s Business Math students recently had the opportunity to not only tour Google’s facilities, but also attend a private Q&A with Senior Director of Engineering, Louis Perrochon, all of which was made possible by Gateway parent and Google employee, Lee Markosian. Their tour guide, an engineer tasked with evaluating and improving Google users’ experiences, had the students’ rapt attention from the very beginning of the tour, when she told them that there were only three rules, including, “any food you see, you can eat.”
The tour covered many of Google’s well-known perks, including a volleyball court, laundry facilities, and work-out area (complete with infinity pool). Also on display were various projects, such as immersive Google Earth stations, which the students learned were created by engineers in their “20% time” - free time Google staffers can use to develop their own passions and projects. Their teacher, Rick Aidi, encouraged the students to reflect on Google’s culture and campus throughout the tour. One student noted that it created an environment that was “like a second home,” which increased employee satisfaction, while another pointed to increased productivity. Both insights are essential to understanding the hidden decisions that ensure a corporation’s success, a key lesson that students will take away from Gateway’s Business Math class.
The students also learned about Google’s infrastructure and product offerings through their Q&A with Louis Perrochon, who touched on the various challenges and successes Google has had with each of its major releases. He asked the students to list what they thought went in to products such as Google Maps or YouTube and then shocked them by revealing all the small details and processes they hadn’t yet considered.
In designing Business Math, Mr. Aidi’s goal is to not only introduce students to essential business concepts (such as designing business plans, managing payroll and tracking investments), but also to teach students about three major business models: corporate, partnership and sole proprietorship. In doing so, the class supports Gateway’s overarching commitment of ensuring every student goes to college, by demonstrating why a college degree is essential in today’s economy. “We want to have students think about the global economy and how connected everything is,” Mr. Aidi explained. “Everything they’re learning on these field trips and in class will help them with the ultimate goal of the course, which isto devise an original idea of their own.” Eventually, students will need to figure out how to market their ideas, get funding and become profitable, all of which will prepare them to compete in the current job market and shape their careers after they graduate.