HI All,
Yesterday we had an extraordinary event at Redfin in Seattle. It was amazing from beginning to end.
First the young women from Chief Sealth International HS and Center High School grades 9-12, thirty-six in all, took part in a brainstorming session in small groups of six. Each girl was in a group with a Redfin technology mentor, and each group had a challenge to solve, on a real life issue Redfin partners are working on at the present time. 
The girls got to brainstorm in teams as they actually would in the corporate world. After they had time to talk and write down key ideas, each girl in the group got to report back to the entire room about their contribution to the brainstorm. It was such a brilliant activity, and also made sure each girl was included, even if she was shy, she still got to report back in such a safe and supportive environment. It was an exceptional way for the girls to experience a real life work session.
The girls learned so much about how real life teams figure out solutions and creative ways to grow their part of the company.
There were a lot of oohs and ahhs and smiles all around.
After our activity we had a wonderful lunch, which went into a panel presentation. Each women spoke on different topics relating to their careers, obstacles, early interests and some key advice on figuring out your own career paths. The girls asked such great questions, and it was fantastic. The panel was moderated so expertly and seamlessly, thank you Kelsey, so that each person got to give inspiration to the girls and in such an interesting and uplifting way.
We want to thank so many people who worked so hard to make this day special for the young women from Chief Sealth and Center High school.
Thank you to Kelsey Tempel, Product Manager, Kacey Hawker, Executive Assistant, Stephanie Smallman, Software Developer, Rama Gokhale, Software Developer, Shilpa Madineni, Software Dev in Test, Autumn Stroupe, Product Manager, Bridget Frey, CTO, Mahalie Stackpole, Designer, April Alexander, Product Manager, and Josh Craig, Social Media Manager.
Thank you all for making this day powerful and inspiring for the girls.
We also want to thank the wonderful IGNITE teachers at the schools. They work so hard to make sure the girls get these opportunities. Thank you to John Wright, Technology Teacher, Chief Sealth, and Wyn Pottinger-Levy, Graphic Design Teacher, Center School and Crystal Boucke, Career and College Readiness Center School. We appreciate the dedication you offer the students each and everyday.
Thank you to Audra Eng for your ongoing and unwavering support each and everyday. For connecting Redfin with IGNITE and for everything you do for IGNITE everyday.
Thank you to Lori Wright, for chaperoning and providing such great support to IGNITE.
Here are the comments from the girls evaluation forms.
They always say it best.
I really liked helping to design the Redfin website because it gave me an idea of what it would be like to work in a place like Redfin. This event has inspired me to look more into jobs in technology. Grade 10
I liked working in a group. Also how we got to talk about what we thought and how we would fix or change something. I thought this event was great. Please do not change anything. Grade 9
I learned a lot of things I did not know before. This event made me want to investigate jobs in technology. I liked working in groups, and talking about certain jobs and careers. Grade 9
I enjoyed the small group activity and learning about the things that Redfin developers have to consider when making their websites. I also liked hearing about the speaker’s experiences in their careers. This event was perfect J grade 10
I loved the part where they let us take part and do our own presentations. I learned so much in a short time. IGNITE is the best group I ever joined. Grade 9
I liked how the women who worked at Redfin were very nice and answered a lot of questions that we had. I also liked how we did a mini presentation of what they taught us. I thought this event was perfect. Grade 9
I was so inspired by how we got to look at the website and do the personas. Also listening to all of the women on the panel. Thank you Mahalie, our group leader!
I enjoyed the activity we did with our group and presenting it. I really loved our director Mahalie. Thank you for that amazing lunch. Grade 11
I enjoyed when we talked about the different ways to get into college and find financial help. For the several students in my grade that are under a struggle to find jobs that can help them get started with anything toward getting into computer science. Very helpful. Grade 11
I enjoyed all of the questions people asked. What inspired me is to keep my dream and never give up. Grade 9
I was really inspired when we worked in small groups on how we can help improve the website. I thought this event was greatly planned out. Grade 12
It was very inspiring to learn about the women here, like what they do and why they like their jobs. This was a very good, very interesting event. Grade 12
I really enjoyed the ladies speaking and doing the Q&A. Also, I really liked how we broke up and worked in teams with the women at Redfin. I am inspired to pursue a career in Engineering. I look forward to more trips with IGNITE. Grade 10
Panel was extremely helpful. Personal experiences are so valuable for students. I enjoyed this event as well. Thank you for this opportunity. Grade 11
I really loved the group work with the women at Redfin. This event was a blast. Grade 10
I enjoyed hearing the women talk about how they each got into technology. Listening to things I can one day do to increase opportunities is extremely beneficial, as well as learning what I can do right now. Grade 9
I liked learning about the difference you can make on a website and how little buttons make a big difference. Grade 10
I was inspired by seeing all of the women in technology. Everything was great. Grade 12
It was inspiring to hear how every woman explained there hardships and experiences that changed them and helped them realize what to do for themselves. Grade 12
I liked when the women talked about how they did not know what they were going to do during college but they still tried many things and eventually found what they wanted to do. Grade 12
The presentation we did was fun. It was different than most of the IGNITE field trips we went on. It was out of the ordinary. It was nice how we saw different views of how technology can affect everything like a real estate company, more, and more events. Grade 12
This event inspired me to pursue a career in this field. Grade 12
I loved the panel, very inspirational and I want to do technology designs. I love Mahalie and Rama. Grade 10
I really enjoyed the group experience. The Q and A was great because it really made me want to do better in school. Grade 11
It was exciting to actually be in an environment where they work and it really was cool to see. Grade 11
Thank you all for making this day possible,
Cathi