Scott Loenhorst joins Googleplex ranks in Mountain View
By Rene Ray De La Cruz
Staff Writer
APPLE VALLEY — After years of honing his political activism skills in Orange County, one Granite Hills High School graduate is now working for Internet giant Google Inc.
About two months ago, Scott Loenhorst, 25, joined the ranks of about 48,000 Google employees at the Googleplex in Mountain View where he serves as a recruiting coordinator for the Internet-based company.
“When I first walked onto Google’s main campus, I felt like I was walking into a giant playground for adults,” Loenhorst said. “Google’s campus comes complete with ball pits, space ships, nap pods, group conference bikes, a bowling alley and several obscure pieces of artwork, including a large T-Rex dinosaur skeleton named Stan that is beset upon by flamingos.”
Scott’s mother, Tracey Loenhorst, a second-grade teacher at Rancho Verde Elementary School, said her son always wanted to work for Google in the Silicon Valley.
Tracey Loenhorst said when Google reached out to Scott, he was beside himself, knowing that he “finally landed his dream job.”
“I chose to work for Google because I have always been interested in technology and innovation, and Google is at the forefront of that,” Scott Loenhorst said. “I have been following the company pretty closely over the past three to five years. I am so constantly impressed and inspired by Google’s relentless strive to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of our daily lives.”
Some of the elements he’s inspired by include Google Glass, Google Fiber, Project Loon, the Google Self-Driving Car, and the classic Google Search and Maps.
“My favorite part about working for Google is that I get to be surrounded by, and work with, some of the most brilliant and forward-thinking people in the world,” Scott Loenhorst said. “They inspire to me to push myself to new extremes.”
Scott’s mother said her son started attending the University of California, Irvine with the intention of becoming a plastic surgeon, but ended up taking courses in government because he couldn’t get the classes he needed.
After finding a “passion of politics,” Scott Loenhorst’s mother said he began his pursuit of a degree in political science and interned for a few congressmen while working for the office of the Republican Party of Orange County for about four years.
Recently, Scott Loenhorst returned to GHHS to share his Google adventure with students and to encourage them to pursue their dreams because “you only live once.”
Scott Loenhorst, who said he misses his family, warm summer nights in the desert and Amy’s Mexican Restaurant, said he’s not sure what the future holds for him.
“I think I would like to one day combine my passions for technology, politics, and public/community affairs and bunch it all up into one position,” Scott Loenhorst said. “I know that I would like to help change the world somehow. I won’t stop until I get there.”
Rene Ray De La Cruz may be reached at 760-951-6227, RDeLa Cruz@VVDailyPress.com or on Twitter@DP_ReneDeLaCruz.