Thursday, May 16, 2019 | Todd Beamer High School and Highline High School at a Microsoft Coding Workshop
On May 16th, a group of young women and non-binary students from Todd Beamer and Highline High Schools visited Microsoft’s campus in Redmond for a Microsoft Coding Workshop! Pulling into the campus, students could already not believe that people actually work in such a fun/interesting space.
It got even more interesting as students stepped into the building, past the snacks, drinks and Foosball table, to see all the Surface laptops ready to go! Several women from Microsoft welcomed the group as we arrived. Our workshop facilitator welcomed the girls and was very engaging and welcoming walking students through the coding activity! Several Microsoft volunteers were going around the room to answer questions and support the instruction as well.
Once students got a feel for some coding basics, they were helping each other, reading ahead in the activity, and even getting creative with their code. The girls were very engaged, and probably would’ve continued working through lunch if they had the chance.
After pizza and snacks, the girls were able to hear from a panel of women with diverse stories and from technical and non-tech roles at Microsoft. Students were interested in hearing about what college and school looks like if they were to continue developing their coding skills. They even got to hear about the non-coding pathways some of the panelists took to get to Microsoft!
The girls were appreciative of the panelists sharing their personal stories. The panel felt conversational, with great questions from the students even as they prepared to head back to the bus. The panelists did an excellent job sharing their backgrounds, their successes, and failures, in their respective careers. The young women left with the feeling of accomplishment and a wealth of knowledge in the STEM field. They also expressed seeing themselves at somewhere like Microsoft and an openness to continuing to explore careers in STEM.
Many thanks to Microsoft for a great event and for welcoming our students. A special thanks to our panelists and workshop volunteers for taking the time to share with students as well!
Here's what the students enjoyed most:
"I love the inspiration they gave me, that everyone can do it. I love the real talk."
- 12th grade
"The coding was super interesting, I enjoyed it a lot."
- 11th grade
"The panel, being able to ask questions and get certain point of views from females that are in the STEM field."
- 10th grade
"The ladies really inspired me to look into the tech field even if I'm not interested, it could be the place for me."
- 12th grade
"I liked how we did the panel and we were able to ask questions. Their experiences inspired me to work there in the future."
- 9th grade
"Having a diverse panel tell us the real life of the job."
- 10th grade
"I loved the panel! I love the environment that they shared about!"
- 11th grade
"To ask for more money so you don't get paid less than average, and how women are starting to step up for themselves."
- 9th grade
"It inspired me to look into more IGNITE programs."
- 12th grade
"The panel was my favorite because the women were being really informative about Microsoft and how you can interview."
- 9th grade
"Learning how to code and to know how it works."
- 9th grade
"When they talked about different job opportunities and how much money they make."
- 9th grade
"Learning about coding and inspired me to be in computer science."
- 12th grade
"How they actually struggle to get where they want to be."
- 9th grade
"The panel- it gave me more info on the company. Also showed me it doesn't matter where you come from."
- 12th grade
"Something I enjoyed was hearing the answers that the panel had to our questions."
- 9th grade
