For Jen Spadaro T’27, the Glassmeyer/McNamee Center for Digital Strategies’ annual Tech Trek transformed classroom insights into real-world experience.
This year, students visited companies including Google, Meta, Stripe, Uber, ServiceNow, and Snorkel AI—meeting Tuck alumni, exploring emerging technologies, and seeing firsthand how AI and innovation are reshaping the way businesses lead and operate.
Below, Jen reflects on what she learned, what surprised her most, and how the trek influenced her career thinking.
How did what you’ve learned in the classroom so far come to life during the Tech Trek visits?
In the classroom and through the Center for Digital Strategies, we’ve explored how AI is changing the way companies are leading and operating today. Walking the halls of these tech companies brought those concepts to life. We heard firsthand how employees are experimenting with AI augmentation in their roles, freeing up time to focus on more strategic and high-impact work.
What surprised you most about how these companies are approaching innovation today? Did you notice any common threads?
I was most surprised by how quickly these big tech companies are able to take a new product from ideation to market despite using vastly different approaches. Some companies rely on more structured workstreams while others operate with a flat structure and lean teams, giving employees the opportunity to work on what excites them most. Both models are driving interesting innovations with increased speed-to-market.
How did the trek influence your thinking about career paths in tech or tech-adjacent industries?
Visiting these companies in-person gave us an inside look into the day-to-day in this industry, from office culture and career trajectory to emerging tech trends. The Tech Trek also illuminated the breadth of functions in the tech industry. In addition to product management, there are strategy, marketing, finance, and operations roles that offer unique ways for Tuck students to leverage their backgrounds to break into the tech space.
Were there any alumni conversations that particularly shaped your perspective on what it takes to succeed in this space?
Alumni at the company visits and the Dartmouth AI Conference emphasized the importance of hiring new talent that is “AI native.” At Tuck, many of us are incorporating AI in our day-to-day lives with use cases spanning internship tracking tools to vibe coded apps for personal projects.
Employers want candidates who are actively building with AI already and can immediately add value, since this space is moving so quickly. Success requires a balance of curiosity and early adoption with a deep understanding of AI’s ethical implications and negative externalities.
Jen Spadaro T’27 spent the last 4 years working in Deloitte Consulting’s Strategy practice with retail and consumer products clients. She is also the cofounder of Cove Publishing, an independent, New-England-based children’s book publisher.
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