Apple's Wozniak Visits UC Berkeley

Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple Inc. and a UC Berkeley alumnus, addressed more than 300 people last night at the Haas School of Business, speaking about entrepreneurship and his experiences during the early days of Apple.

In an hour-long lecture at the Arthur Andersen Auditorium followed by an informal reception, Wozniak shared both advice and anecdotes with a packed auditorium of students, faculty members and Berkeley residents.

"There are two types of rewards-extrinsic rewards and intrinsic rewards," Wozniak said. "Extrinsic rewards are rewards like titles, and intrinsic rewards are the ones in your own head and those are the ones that really matter."

Wozniak began the lecture by reflecting on his childhood, having grown up in Sunnyvale and having attended UC Berkeley during the Vietnam War.

While some may have expected him to talk solely about Apple and technology's future, Wozniak instead focused on his childhood up until the time when he and co-founder Steve Jobs started Apple Inc.

"He didn't really talk about the corporation but rather himself. I thought it was really good," said freshman Jade Pham, who attended the talk.

While Wozniak related anecdotes about everything from pulling practical jokes in his college days to starting the first "dial-a-joke line," he also offered advice and encouragement to fellow innovators.

"Everyone doesn't have as big successes as Apple or Google, but you got to keep trying," he said.

Wozniak's visit to UC Berkeley was part of the ASUC Speaker Series and was sponsored by Berkeley Engineering and the Haas Business School Association.

"We felt, considering that he was a Berkeley alumnus, that he would symbolize the greatness Berkeley puts out," said Rohan Wagle, an ASUC intern who helped organize the event. "For such a big science and engineering power like this university, we felt he would be an ideal choice."

Towards the end of his lecture, Wozniak spoke about the importance of education and its effect on innovation.

"Having the want and the desire to do something is the most important thing," he said. "It's more important to inspire students to want to learn rather than teaching them the material."

Tags: ASUC SPEAKER SERIES, APPLE, STEVE WOZNIAK