Marian Miner Cook
Athenaeum

A distinctive
feature of social and
cultural life at CMC

 

What does it take to build a future worth living in — and who gets to decide what that future looks like?

Wed, April 29, 2026
Dinner Program
A conversation with Shaun Maguire and Jason Rosenthal

Join us for a rare, unfiltered conversation with Shaun Maguire, General Partner at Sequoia Capital — one of Silicon Valley's most consequential and unapologetically outspoken venture capitalists. Shaun's life story defies every template: a 1.8 GPA, an F in Algebra II, and a path that somehow led to a PhD in quantum gravity from Caltech, co-founding a billion-dollar cybersecurity company, a deployment to Afghanistan with DARPA, and a front-row seat to some of the most important technology bets of our era — SpaceX, xAI, Stripe, and beyond.

But this isn't just a career story. Shaun believes the West is in the fight of its life — culturally, geopolitically, and technologically — and that the decisions being made right now in boardrooms, dorm rooms, and on college campuses will determine whether Western civilization thrives or retreats. This is a conversation about optimism with teeth: the idea that building the future requires not just great technology, but moral clarity, intellectual courage, and the willingness to say hard things out loud.

Jason Rosenthal is an Operating Partner at a16z crypto. Jason has spent more than 25 years as an internet entrepreneur and executive, including more than 10 years as a startup CEO, and his career has been dedicated to the development of transformational new platforms. Jason works closely with the CEOs and founders in our crypto portfolio to provide leadership guidance, help them plan for and react to the aspects of running companies in rapidly-changing markets, and generally help them become the best version of their professional selves.

Whether you're thinking about starting a company, joining one, you aspire to become a world class investor, or are simply trying to figure out what you stand for — this is the conversation you don't want to miss.

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Marian Miner Cook Athenaeum

Claremont McKenna College
385 E. Eighth Street
Claremont, CA 91711