Trip reveals lessons on career possibilities, relationships

Cornell College Professor of Computer Science Leon Tabak has some new photos for his memory book with two students after an adventure in Omaha, Nebraska.

On May 6, 2023, Tabak took rising senior Zach Perry and rising sophomore Simon Mumford to the shareholder meeting of the Berkshire Hathaway Corporation, a holding company headquartered in Omaha.

“In our classroom and on outings like this one, I show students that great things are happening in our part of the country,” said Tabak, who has taken students to this meeting several times. “There is more entrepreneurship and technological innovation in Iowa and nearby states than most people realize. The ‘action’ is not all in Silicon Valley and New York City. There’s a lot going on in Omaha too!”

A reported 30,000 people attended the meeting. 

“The arena in which the meeting takes place has seating for 19,000 people,” Tabak said. “We were on the sidewalk and in line outside of the arena at 6 a.m. Only early risers get a seat at what some have called the ‘Woodstock of Capitalism!’”

The students and professor not only got to know one another better through their trip and new experiences, but they met new people and explored new ideas.

“Our students see people like themselves and they see examples of what they would like to become,” Tabak said. “I think that students gain confidence and a stronger sense of direction by joining a large assembly of talented and accomplished people for the day.”

But perhaps the most important lesson came from the company’s chairman and CEO, 92-year-old Warren Buffett, and its 99-year-old vice chairman, Charlie Munger. Perry said seeing Buffett in person was a lifelong dream.

“One of the most fascinating things about going to see Warren Buffett was not only getting some market insights but hearing the life advice that he had to offer. One of the best quotes that I remember was, ‘If you want your kids to have certain values, it is important that you live those values. Don’t think that a will will make up for your poorly lived life.’”

Tabak said the two men spoke a lot about finding meaning and purpose in work and reminded the crowd that among all the sales figures and share prices, relationships with people are at the center of everything we do.

“Warren advised us to be kind and to choose good company,” Tabak said. “Charlie suggested we write our obituaries now and then reverse engineer the story–begin living the kind of life that we hope friends and family will remember later.”