Searching (and finding answers at) Google: A conversation with Sophie Miller ’07

Like most colleges, BC is filled with stories of unlikely career paths. Sophie Miller’s is a classic example. The BC alum who almost didn’t get in (she was deferred) started out as an arts major, transferred into business and finished with a B.A. in Communication. Since graduating, she’s been working in tech. Here’s Sophie on finding her passion, honing her work ethic, and building her career at Google.

On getting into BC

When this “kid from the Midwest” first applied to Boston College, she didn’t get in. Daunted yet determined, she met with BC Admissions Associate Director Chris O'Brien, who encouraged her to try again. So she reapplied, and this time she was accepted.

Thus began the first of many alternate routes in Sophie’s adult life and words she lives by: “If the door doesn’t open, climb in through the window.”

Sophie’s path as a student was anything but predictable. First it was arts, then business, and finally, a communication degree, where her true passions began to emerge. “I took a lot of crisis communication classes and realized it was really about problem solving for me,” she said.

But it was a chance Sophie took on a tech class and an internship in London that changed the trajectory of her life.

On her biggest influences

“I was in John Gallaugher’s e-commerce class, and he was doing his first-ever Tech Trek,” she says. “I asked him if I could join the class, and that was the turning point for me.”

At the time, Sophie says she didn’t even understand what Silicon Valley was. She credits Gallaugher with helping her visualize herself in a different scenario.

“As a kid from the Midwest, I never imagined I could sit at a desk at a Google office,” she said. “John was the first person who looked at me and said, ‘You’re gonna work in Silicon Valley.’”

That same year, Sophie went to London for an internship at Apple Europe.

“It was my introduction to tech,” she says. “The video iPod had just come out and iTunes was available on Windows for the first time. But I realized that tech moved at a pace that was thrilling for me, and the moment I realized that I was all in.”

Sophie came back from London feeling like she’d found her passion. “For somebody who’s a problem solver, it was an adrenaline rush.”

On the value of good old-fashioned hustle

Women were just starting to break the glass ceiling at Google when Sophie applied in the summer of 2007. Gallaugher helped her interview and, as he predicted, she got the job. But it was hard work that got her noticed.

“Hard work is one of the most underestimated things,” Sophie says. “I don’t think we talk about this enough. I was not the smartest person in the room. I was not the valedictorian or the shoe-in. But I could show up and work harder.

“I realized good old-fashioned hustle can win me a lot of fans along the way.”

Sophie’s first assignment at Google was customer service. “I was answering their 800 number,” she said. “It was the best way to learn and the most humbling experience.”

Because she had higher ambitions, she gave herself a six-month deadline to move on. “It was that grit that I’m gonna prove to them they can trust me with more,” she said.

On life at Google

Sophie’s hard work and determination paid off. Within six months, she was promoted. Soon after, she went back to school to earn an M.B.A. at Stanford University. Today, she leads a business development team called Daydreams, which builds partnerships in immersive computing. It’s a role dedicated to emerging technologies like augmented reality and Google Lens–and one she loves.

“It’s one of the most exciting technologies I’ve been able to work on,” she says.

Sophie also appreciates leading a team. “I have a tremendously talented team and the opportunity to work with and learn from them has been a highlight of my time at Google.”

She says her experience at Google has shaped her career and “my whole life!” Sophie met her husband there on her first day and “the most talented friends I have.”

In the dozen years she has been at Google, Sophie has also taken two maternity leaves to have her children. “I have grown up at Google,” she says, “and it has honestly been the opportunity of a lifetime.”

On the real-world benefits of a BC education

At the same time, Sophie is quick to acknowledge the value of her education. “BC is giving students so many opportunities to participate with tech companies,” she said. “Leaning into these opportunities is one of the most exciting things students can do.”

Sophie says she uses the real-world training she received at BC in so many ways. “It’s not just a computer science degree that makes Google go round.”

As for outgoing BC seniors, she offers this sage advice: “Ignore the job requirements. I have had roles that on paper I was underqualified for, but I was the best person for them.

“If you can get an honest understanding of your strengths and the unique skills you bring to the table,” she adds, “then you will know when you’re looking at a role that is meant for you. Once you find it, make it yours!”

Sophie sums up her academic career this way: “Stanford helped me know where I fit. BC was the driving force behind my entry into tech and the career I have today.”

With two toddlers at home, Sophie’s priorities are now focused on raising her kids. Beyond that, she wants to continue doing work that has an impact. Steering clear of questions about the future, she says it has “always proven to be more exciting, more challenging, and ultimately more rewarding than I ever would have imagined.

“Not to mention,” she adds, “I hope to work on tech that doesn’t even exist yet.”