On January 16th, forty-five young ladies from Tyee High School and thirty-five from Evergreen High School visited Microsoft for a Career Exploration field trip. The girls walked in with various motivating factors for the trip -- for some, they came because a teacher thought they would be good at coding, some had an interest in exploring careers in technology, and others came in with extensive computer science experience. Upon arriving, after being greeted by our host Ed Price, the girls were immediately engaged in coding activities that were accessible to beginning, intermediate and advanced experience levels. Artina, along with seven Microsoft volunteers, lead the students in the coding activities. One tenth grade student named Fartun commented that “I always thought coding was hard and for smart people only. But after this event I realized it was something I enjoyed and could do!” A new world of opportunities were opened up for so many of the participants. In fact, after the visit 95% of students agreed that the event made them more interested in a degree/career in technology.
After the Event:
After a lunch filled with table conversations with Microsoft volunteers, we ended the day with a career panel. Students were overwhelmingly inspired and motivated by the panel conversations, saying:
- “I really enjoyed the panel and realizing that Microsoft has all kinds of careers”
- “The panel inspired me to do more in school and to not give up”
- “I like the panel and finding out how they got the jobs they are in now”
- “Listening to the panels opinions and stories made me really happy learning how they get the inspiration and motivation to their work. Seeing people passionate makes me passionate too”
The students learned about many opportunities to begin pursuing their goals -- including internships and programs such as Technovation. The students appreciated hearing from the experiences and advice that Neeti, Sophia, Julie and Christie were able to give. Overall, the trip motivated students to do well in school as well as pursue a degree or career in technology.
