With our final deadline to join the Class of 2013 approaching this Monday, February 18th at 11:59pm E.T, this is your last chance to become part of our second class of Fellows! If you’ve been thinking about applying, now’s the time.
To work on your application, you can visit ventureforamerica.org/apply. For answers to your questions about the application or Fellowship, visit our FAQs page or e-mail apply@ventureforamerica.org. (Please note: Recommendations are OPTIONAL. As long as you have your written application, resume, and transcript (official or unofficial) submitted by the deadline, you will still be considered.)
If you’re wondering what the life of a VFA Fellow is really like, check out recent interviews with two of our Fellows, Tim Dingman and Sam Stites, as they describe a typical day on the job.
Tim Dingman, Accio Energy in Detroit
How did you choose which startup youd work with and whats your typical day like?
“VFA actually has a two-step application process. First, youre hired by VFA and then you need to be hired by one of their partner startup companies. I was able to give my preferences I wanted to work in sustainable energy and engineering and use my technical skill-set but not be pigeon-holed into a strictly technical role. I went through a few interviews and I was ultimately matched with the perfect opportunity at Accio Energy, a company that is revolutionizing how wind-powered energy is generated.
On a day to day basis, I work on the computer modeling of protoypes Accio is planning to build, measuring how the model will interact with wind and electric fields. Based on the work I do, we can refine prototypes to be as effective as possible. Typically a position like mine would report to the Chief Technology Officer but instead I work closely with the Chief Financial Officer because I wanted to get experience on the operational side as well as the technical side.”
See Tim’s full interview on the Seelio Blog here.
Sam Stites, TurboSquid in New Orleans
Whats a typical day like for you?
“Scoot into the Squid Shack, grab a bowl of Luck Charmshoho! More marshmallows than yesterday? I think so! Chat with Adele, our VP of Marketing, about Entrepreneurship, greet the desk mates, hop onto the computer, and kick up Excel, R, and SQL Server. Ive got my headphones in with The Stanford Ecorner or an audiobook on play. Break for some design meeting where we discover that the name of the project has changed yet again, and we talk about edge cases of animal taxonomy: How do we classify BearManPig on the site? Is it a Bear, a Man, or a Pig? No its a BearManPig!
Stay in late to ask questions on StackedOverflow. Chat with Jonathan Lloyd, my boss and the VP of Product Development, about TurboSquid in the bar downstairs, then, depending on the day, go through some of MITs OpenCourseWare. Head over to The New Movement Theater for improv, or go rock climbing with Mark. Get back home, fix some dinner, work on a personal project, and crash for the night.”
See Sam’s full interview for TurboSquid’s “Meet the Squids” series here.