Christopher at Stanford University

How I made it to Stanford:

After having applied for Stanford’s summer programme in December of last year, I was fortunate enough to hear in early February that I had been accepted. Notification of this acceptance set a number of events in motion, all of which were required to make the trip possible. Among having to secure the necessary VISA and ensure that I would not have any issues with regard to the classes I would miss, I had to find a way to raise the funds necessary to attend Stanford.

The journey which eventually led me to an alumnus of Stellenbosch who, in showing incredible kindness and generosity, agreed to finance my studies was one which changed my life. In reaching out to various individuals and pursuing every possible avenue I imagined available to me to access the necessary funds, there were times when I thought I might not be able to go. However, I knew there had to be some way to make this journey possible and, understanding the magnitude of the opportunity afforded to me in going to Stanford, I could not give up.

After many phone calls and unanswered emails, the journey eventually led to a dinner at which I was offered the financing necessary for me to attend Stanford. In that moment I realized that this dream of mine had become a reality and I was left speechless by the extent of the support, encouragement and generosity that I had been shown.

The transfer of those funds in addition to the generous bursary which I had received from Stellenbosch University meant that I could initiate the processes necessary to apply for an F1 student VISA. In the course of this process, Stanford required proof of funding and copies of various identity documents and, after having received those, Stanford mailed an I-20 Certificate of Eligibility to me which was required by the U.S Embassy in Cape Town.

The US Embassy operates very efficiently. The US requires that a Visa application be lodged online prior to visiting the Embassy. In the course of completing this application, you can give yourself roughly two hours to complete it – it is rather comprehensive. Once that application is completed, you are able to make a booking online for a face-to-face interview. In order to ensure that my experience was as pleasant as possible, I had all the necessary documents with me and the interview amounted to a couple of questions and I was in and out within 30 minutes.

When actually visiting the Embassy, it is good to arrive 30 minutes to 1 hour prior to your slot as the prior interviews are often completed earlier than expected. Should you need to sit and wait, after having arrived, there is a great coffee shop at a small shopping centre which is a 5-minute walk down the road.

The rest of the journey in getting to Stanford was relatively smooth and I had no issues getting through passport control in San Francisco.

The Stanford Experience:

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After having almost spent 2 months at Stanford, I stand in awe of what I have been allowed to experience here. In the process of doing my best to position myself to become globally relevant and globally competitive, Stanford has exceeded my expectations in every way. Stanford has positioned me to compete on the global stage and for that I am truly humbled.

During my time here I have had the opportunity to meet the most incredible people and work on the most incredible projects. The standard at which people operate here is incredible. Excellence is the norm, yet people carry that excellence with such humility. I think people also realize that intellectual and human brilliance do not come easily and the work ethic of the majority of people reflects this very clearly. Granted I do have an idealistic perspective, it is as if people here understand that a duty rests upon them to improve society and better the lives of the world around them.

To depict the unique nature of the environment which Stanford creates, I feel it is quite fitting to tell the story of one Friday when I sat down in my Leading Trends in Information Technology class and someone who I had not yet met happened to sit down next to me. After chatting for a while, I came to learn that he was taking the class to fulfil his last requirement for his Phd in Aerospace Engineering after taking four years of administrative leave. As part of his Phd he had designed equipment and processes to decrease the cost of launching a payload into space by a couple hundred million dollars with a launch time which was much shorter. As if that was not impressive enough though, when I looked him up after class I came to realize that during the past four years he took off from his Phd he had built up a really well known fintech company called Coin which had just been acquired by Fitbit and he was busy consulting to Fitbit following the acquisition. That’s the sort of people who surround you every day here.

What I believe underlies much of people’s motivation may be the realization that being afforded the gifts and abilities to be someone who is able to make it to Stanford comes with a very real responsibility, as mentioned above. Whether it is a connected sense of duty or simply a manifestation of ambition, people’s actions here very clearly reflect an intense focus on creating something which addresses real problems and drives the world forward in significant ways.

After having the opportunity to have meetings at places such as NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab outside Los Angeles and Google’s headquarters in Silicon Valley, I have been granted a glimpse into what is happening at the forefront of the world. What people are working on here will literally shape the nature of how we live in the next 5 to 15 years.

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This environment is inspiring, the energy is tangible and I feel as if every day here is a dream come true.

The significance of Stanford:

Having now spent a few days back in South Africa, I have slowly come to realize the extent of the significance of my experiences at Stanford. Over the past 72 hours, many of my experiences while immersed in the Silicon Valley community have crystalized into profound realizations – realizations which have allowed me much insight into why we think the way we do in South Africa.

Before diving into these realizations, the following needs to be noted so as to explain the context within which my realizations have arisen.

Stanford and the broader Silicon Valley community is a place which exudes a wealth I have never before experienced. Monetary wealth. Intellectual wealth. Social wealth. I’d struggle to find anything that comes close. The wealth embodied by that community is astounding. Stanford represents a place of unrivalled abundance where the only potential barrier to your accessing whatever resources you require is your readiness to ask. The platform which Stanford provides to launch projects, pursue ideas, acquire knowledge or expand your connections is undoubtedly a significant part of what makes that place so incredible.

Having lived in this space for two months, I have been allowed some insight into how we, as South Africans, can improve the way we operate. Silicon Valley is characterized by a culture of reciprocal meritocracy – a grouping of individuals who have been afforded the opportunity to operate there based largely on merit. Being aware of this, people are constantly looking for ways to support each other and make new introductions based on the mentality that I win when you win. By implication, the Silicon Valley community is more tightly knit than any community I have come across before.

It is this “I win when you win” mentality that I have every intention of bringing back to South Africa, in whatever way possible. What is exciting is the fact that Silicon Valley is less of a defined geographical space than what it is a culture and that culture can most certainly be exported. I think it requires shifting away from a mentality which is slightly apprehensive of people working on new projects or pursuing new businesses to a mentality which embraces it whole-heatedly and supports people in whatever interesting things on which they may be working.

What I have also come to realise is that the major difference between people at Stanford and those who aren’t there (or at similar institutions) is simply the belief that being there is possible. Much of what I experienced was, considering my context, so close to objectively impossible that my time there has shown me something profound. I have come to realize, in no exaggerated way, that most of what seems impossible is very often possible.

My time at Stanford has lit a fire within me and my dream is to allow people to realise that those things which seem so impossible that you don’t even expend energy considering them, can be made possible.