Jensen Huang’s Oregon story: Portland ping pong to Denny’s dishwasher

Although former Nvidia CEO hasn’t lived here in decades, he still has family in the state and nurtures ties to Oregon State University Former Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang began working at age 15, washing dishes and waiting tables at a Denny’s restaurant in the Portland area. He worked the graveyard shift and played competitive table tennis at the Paddle Palace downtown. “When I was in high school, I wasn’t very outgoing, and so I didn’t have that many friends,” Huang told NPR’s “How I Built This” podcast earlier this year. Huang kept busy at Aloha High School west of Portland, joining the math and computer clubs and picking a college to study engineering. “My best friend in high school, I asked him where he was going to college, and he said ‘Oregon State,’” Huang recalled. “I said, ‘Yeah, that sounds great. I’ll go to Oregon State.’” Huang started at Oregon State at age 17, graduating in 1984.

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