By Louise Schultze, Marketing & Outreach Specialist
Spring 2024
Just like lightning, inspiration can strike at any time. For class of 2016 alum Jake Chasan, it was during the first class he took at Stanford Online High School 12 years ago, Introduction to C Programming. Now a successful Investor at Sapphire Ventures in Menlo Park, Calif., Jake credits Stanford OHS for launching his career trajectory during his freshman year.
“I knew from a young age that I very much wanted to pursue computer science,” said Jake.
“As a kid when my friends wanted Xboxes, I wanted a Macbook Pro. I tried to learn programming on my own, but felt like I didn’t have the fundamentals. The opportunity to come to Stanford OHS opened up, and the classes I took in the beginning were one-to-one with the Computer Science program at Stanford, so I was learning computer science at a university level from age 14.”
Jake attended middle school and high school in his local community of XXX, but found quickly that those schools were stronger in the liberal arts. With his interest in computer science, Jake sought out Stanford OHS to supplement his education, and attended the school part-time for four years. He started in C and C++ programming, then studied how a computer works, how computers interact with the programs, and how algorithms are supported. Jake scraped together code from different places to create his own apps, which led to the development of Swirly, an app that was later featured in Business Insider as #1 of the “10 Things On Wall Street.”
“The learning at Stanford OHS put me ahead, and I credit a lot of my success in my career to the Stanford Pre-Collegiate Studies programs,” said Jake. “What blew my mind about my first class at Stanford OHS is that the instructors were willing to work with you as much as you wanted to learn. No question was off limits. That was critical for me because every program I’ve written today stemmed from the original Intro to C class. Most people are fortunate enough to learn it as a freshman in college, but I learned it as a freshman in high school when my brain was more malleable, so I developed a fluency that others don’t have.”
During the summers, Jake participated in Stanford Pre-Collegiate Studies summer programs and Summer@Stanford. After high school, Jake attended Duke University for undergrad, studying Computer Science and Economics with a concentration in Finance. He graduated Magna Cum Laude a semester early, and began his career as an Investment Banker at Goldman Sachs in New York City. On his job applications, Jake states that he has knowledge of computer programming languages with native proficiency.
“I speak C++ fluently and dream in Javascript!” he says.
Jake worked on Wall Street all through his college years, even starring as himself as a Goldman Sachs Investment Banker in Mark Wahlburg’s show “Wahl Street.” He managed to survive multiple reorganizations during the Covid-19 pandemic, and helped his company finance and save over 300,000 frontline worker’s jobs!
Now Jake has returned to Stanford University campus for some unfinished business, to earn a diploma with the Stanford name on it. Jake is now working on an MBA from the Graduate School of Business and lives just five blocks from campus. From there, he hopes to start his own company.
“My advice to Stanford OHS students? Stay curious,” Jake said. “Curiosity has driven me through my career. Even though my career was pretty linear, the truth is I got where I am because I was curious. Asking questions leads me down a path and drives me forward.”