How You Can Be A Thiel Fellow, Too: Interview with Danielle Strachman of the Thiel Fellowship

Most of us have heard about the Thiel Fellowship: an innovative program created by brilliant investor Peter Thiel, set on empowering top students to push technological innovation.

However, what most of us remember about the Fellowship is that it involves exceptionally brilliant students dropping out of universities like Harvard and MIT in order to pursue more entrepreneurial ideas.

We could simply gape at the incredible qualifications of these “drop-outs,”who are programming, creating, and blazing through college courses at the ripe old age of age of…say, 15. Yet, what becomes clear is that their ideas  unleashed by funding and support of the Foundation grants are even more amazing than prior accomplishments. Current fellows are working towards solving massive challenges; ranging from asteroid mining to extending the human life span by centuries. Fellows like Dale J. Stephens, founder of UnCollege, are more than just entrepreneurial and motivated- they are also emotionally mature and determined to pursue innovation away from the beaten path. And yes, through the Thiel Fellowship they receive $100,000 of funding to do so.

Are you salivating yet? Or are you simply stunned and impressed? Thiel Fellows are brilliant individuals who have taken a nontraditional path in life to achieve their goals-but this type of pursuit of one’s goals isn’t outside anyone’s reach.

Amidst the arguments over “whether dropping out is at all beneficial” or the “intrinsic value of education,” there is undeniable value that can be extracted from understanding the tenets of the Fellowship regardless of age or college situation.

When I spoke with the Program Director of the Thiel Fellowship, Danielle Strachman, she addressed how the core concepts of the Foundation, ranging from mentorship to reflection, can be applied more broadly to education.

Danielle’s background in education, neuropsychology, and her extensive experience with charter schools have definitely pushed her toward a different look at learning: student driven, rather than teacher driven. And as a proponent of charter schools and spreading innovation, Danielle states that they can be replicated. “Everyone has the potential to be exceptional-if properly cultivated.”

Here’s how you can be exceptional, too.

The Value of Pursuing One’s Passion

“No matter what you may pursue while in college, no matter what choices you make, you’ll eventually circle back to what you’re passionate about. You can simply start there,” Danielle said. Thiel Fellows are given an unlimited range to pursue their passions, no matter what they are. Many have taken time to explore what they would like to do and build their knowledge base through classes, internships, and interviews.

Why do so? The benefit of “pursuing your passion” is the ability to become exceptional. Like a Thiel Fellow in their particular field, we are often simply more interested, more engaged, and more determined to achieve excellence in what excites us the most. And while practicality and the traditional path have their place, “pursuing one’s passion” isn’t mutually exclusive from a stable living. There are possibilities of marrying what will get you a stable job (i.e. pre-medicine) and what you’re passionate about!

The Value of Mentorship

The importance of building relationships cannot be overstated: finding someone to guide your intellectual and professional development is invaluable. “We think our mentor network is infinitely more valuable than the money that the Fellows receive,” Danielle says. The Foundation introduces Fellows to highly connected, highly valued, and incredibly invested mentors who take a genuine interest in their projects-they realize that it is individuals who will point you in the right direction, who will impart crucial advice, and shape your education who are often the catalyst to success.
Wherever you are; be it college, a working environment, or a summer of babysitting, there is significant opportunity to build a relationship with peers, colleagues, professors, and friends. Meet people and reach out. Find a mentor in every stage of your life. It’s often impossible to know the different doors that exist within our world- mentors point them out, and even open them for you.

The Value of Taking the Time and Space to Reflect

Rushing into a certain direction is sometimes necessary, but “taking the time and space to reflect” is incredibly valuable, Danielle stated. Due to the no-strings-attached gift of $100,000, Fellows have the opportunity to reflect upon their career choice free of obligations to make money quickly in order to pay off student loans. This reflection allows them to make a decision that is right for them-but maybe a decision that is financially or traditionally risky. Another unique aspect of the fellowship is that it takes “long view” approach to fellows’ contributions. Fellows do not have to “produce” in two years, instead the Foundation looks at the 10-year trajectory of their potential contributions.
Irrespective of student loans and the necessity of immediate value in one’s life as a student, reflection is important to development of your professional career, but who you are as a person. After every class, every activity, and every internship position, take the time to analyze the benefit. What did you learn? How did it suit you? Ask the deeper questions of yourself, and probe for answers. Reading over these reflections will teach you more about yourself than any other experience, helping you make the best choices for your own personality.

The Value of Driving Your Own Education

It is your ability to learn (and to choose what you learn) that sets you apart, and Thiel Fellows are approaching learning on their own terms.

Even within college, this type of relationship with learning is possible if you’re willing to make the effort. Feeling constrained by your major, your major requirements, and the classes that you are taking? Drive your own education and read a book in the library on a subject you truly enjoy. Find yourself curious about a specific issue that is not covered in your curricula? Google it and read more. Interested in coding but not a computer science major? Learn the skills you need independently. Knowledge should not be spoon fed: you should actively seek to meet it. While a professor is lecturing, approach the content on your own terms: absorb what interests you, form study groups discussions with others, and never fail to offer your input on a particular subject. An English major can learn about differential equations, a science major can become a business intern, and an engineer can go above and beyond class requirements to buold a project. Your classes don’t have to be your entire education. Become open to learning everywhere.

The Thiel Fellowship is the subject of an ongoing debate about the importance of higher education to success. How much of success in a particular field can be attributed to an individual’s time spent in college? Is college always the best path? Heavyweights like Vivek Wadhwa and Peter Thiel provide input on both sides.

Irrespective of this very black and white debate, there is a middle ground: an amalgam between the benefits of higher education and the important lessons that the world provides. This middle ground requires you to make the most of higher education: study, learn, debate, and grow within the classroom. Appreciate the doors that college opens for you in job applications and HR. Yet, never limit your learning, as life is also a classroom and it is possible to maximize your learning in both.

The best lesson from the Thiel Fellowship? Your education, traditional or nontraditional, is in your hands. Make the most of it-and never stop learning.

(A Big Thanks to Hong Quan (@hongdquan) for the introduction!)