When Sarah enrolled as a freshman in 1984, Middlesex had been coeducational for a full decade. An outstanding, tri-varsity athlete who was inducted into Middlesex’s Athletic Hall of Fame in 2003, Sarah went on to play varsity lacrosse as a Harvard undergraduate when the team won the National Championship in 1990. She began her career with Microsoft and, following her graduation from Harvard Business School, moved into the realm of online entrepreneurial ventures. Since the late 1990s, Sarah has been involved with the building of three Silicon Valley consumer Internet companies. Most recently, she cofounded Nextdoor (www.nextdoor.com), the private social network for neighborhoods. Sarah first joined the Middlesex Board in 1999 and is serving her second term as a trustee.
Did you notice any differences between Middlesex and your previous school, which had been coeducational for several decades?
If you had asked me then, “How long has Middlesex been coed?” I would have had to look that up. One of the most influential adults on campus for me was a Middlesex female graduate, Tracy Swecker ’79. Here was a faculty member who could talk about her own student experience; so, there seemed to be a tradition of women on campus. For all I knew, girls had been there forever.
Middlesex was a good fit for you because being at a place where sports mattered to everyone mattered to you. What athletic experiences still stand out in your mind?
My proudest athletic experience is a shared one with [fellow Trustee] Wanji Barrington Walcott ’87. We played on a basketball team that went 1-13 my freshman year. The next year, Brian Davis became our coach and turned everything around. The senior-most faculty member in the Athletic Department – who had been the boys’ varsity coach – came to coach our team. That said to me, “You matter, and we want you to have a good experience.”
The most pivotal athletic experience came as a lacrosse player. Sophomore year was the first time I picked up lacrosse stick. I give Tracy Swecker credit for reaching out and asking me to think about playing lacrosse. She said, “We’re going to teach you the game.” I was proud to be part of that team, and it raised my sights to what was possible. In college, I remember going to the 1990 National Championship for women’s lacrosse, and there were seven former Middlesex players competing – that’s crazy and a testament to the teams Tracy developed at Middlesex.
What led you to the field of technology?
I took a computer science elective sophomore year, and Paul Roeder, the head of computer science, encouraged me to stick with it. That was really helpful for my future career. He also encouraged me to take the AP Computer Science course the following year.
I did not take computer science at Harvard, which is something I regret. But I had discovered early on that software was a really powerful thing. I decided to focus on economics, and a couple of classes focused on economics and technology. It was clear to me that there was something interesting about this space.
Did you learn or gain anything at Middlesex that has made a difference for you personally and/or professionally?
I had some success athletically freshman year, but I was still learning the ropes academically. Middlesex pushed me to figure it out on my own with a supportive environment where I learned I could buckle down and do it. To know you can get through – that pays forward. Going into college or grad school or a new business, there are very few people whose first effort is going to go perfectly. I learned how to adapt, figure it out, and put that resiliency to the test in the next stage.
There are now over 98,000 neighborhoods across the country using Nextdoor. What’s next?
We launched in the Netherlands mid-February, and within two months, over 20% of the neighborhoods were relying on Nextdoor. It’s great to see that Nextdoor has worldwide appeal.
It just speaks to people around the globe wanting a way to connect with their local community. Nextdoor gives people a chance to break the ice with their neighbors and start a conversation. Community is so ingrained in me – it’s part of what drew me to Middlesex. It made me happy there and has pulled me to stay involved as much as I have since graduating.