Hi All,

We had a fabulous day out at Microsoft. The girls had such a great time and so many people made this such an outstanding day.

First we went to the Home of the Future, and our super, great, longtime volunteer and IGNITE supporter Flora Goldthwaite, Program Manager-Strategic Prototyping, gave us the grand tour!! Thank you Flora, for making this so special. Flora really gives the girls an in depth discovery of technology of the future while the girls oh and ah over all the things they see!! Thank you Flora for a fun and educational tour, it is always such a winner, the girls moan and say, "oh no its over!!! I don't want it to end!!" and "I want to live here!!" Every time!! Thank you Flora!

Thank you to the welcoming Tour staff at the Home, to Janeen and Michell Moton, you made us feel so welcome!

We had such an amazing lunch discussion today. First I want to thank Janice Hunter for making sure our tour and lunch is perfect. Each employee is sitting at a table so wherever the girls take their seat for lunch they have Microsoft employees at their table waiting for them! Thank you for all your hard work for us Janice, and thank you for joining the panel discussion today that was a special treat for the girls. Thank you to Mylene Padolina for making this tour possible for us and inviting us to Microsoft!! Thank you to Robin Grounds, Program Manager, who joined Janice today to help her with the visit! It was so great to meet you and welcome to IGNITE!!

I want to thank the wonderful people who came for the discussion lunch today. I have not laughed that hard in such a long time. You were such a fun group and everyone really enjoyed your delivery of your stories! And I want to welcome so many new IGNITE volunteers. We are thrilled to have you join IGNITE. It is our lucky day! Thank you to Betsy Norton-Middaugh, a volunteer who has not missed many events, and thank you to her daughter for joining us today, Casey Norton-MIddaugh, it was great to finally meet you! And welcome to all the new IGNITE members, Melanie Koss (Tester), Lara Peterson (Product Marketing Manager), Jennifer Hamilton (Software Developer), and Kevin Beto (Test Lead). You all did such a brilliant job in connecting to the young women, through your humor, and caring. Thank you all for being there....

I also want to thank the wonderful staff at both schools who work very hard in support of the IGNITE mission and really put their heart and soul into this work. Thank you to Taleaha Bradley (Technology Teacher-Sealth HS), Lisa Fabitz, (Career Center Specialist-Sealth HS), Barbara Quintana, (Career Center Specialist-South Lake and Rainier Beach HS), and welcome to Lisa Moore who runs a young women's support group at South Lake HS.

I want to share the comments from the girls , who always say it best.

• I liked the future home and the talk that we had with the employees at Microsoft. Everything was interesting.
• I really enjoyed the House of the Future and talking with the speakers. The House was amazing and the speakers were really personable.
• The most interesting thing I heard today was how Microsoft was so understanding of families and the adopting benefits. I really liked all the event with IGNITE.
• I liked everything. Everything was so much fun.
• I enjoyed everything because it was all NEW. It wasn't slow or boring at all.
• The future House was really interesting. It made me think a lot.
• I liked the house of the future. I liked learning about the different jobs.
• I think this was a great experience. I feel like I would fit in . The speakers were down to earth and make you feel like you can do anything.
• The Home of the Future was great. It just let me know that technology is growing everyday. I now am really considering this field.
• I really liked the one-on-one table time. We haven't had this much time before and really learned a lot about the person. I feel more confident now about applying for the internship because now I know I can learn more when I come in.
• The House of the Future was so cool. I like it a lot. And talking to the people who work at Microsoft. I hope there is more time to talk to them. The people are so interesting. Not hard to get close to. There are many things I want to know, and I would like to do this more.
• I liked the new creations that Microsoft showed me. This is a great opportunity. I learned its important for me to get a degree. It would be a pleasure to work there.
• Today I liked the House of the Future and learning about all the different jobs.
• What I liked best about the event is the tours and talking with the women of Microsoft. There isn't really anything else that I know of that you could change, it was great.
• The most interesting thing I heard today was some of the jobs they have to offer are ones that I could really relate to.
• Microsoft is a very good choice for me and I really enjoyed it.
• It was one of the best and fun events I have ever been to.
• I found it interesting all the women came to talk to us. It was amazing all the things they went through.
• Today I liked everything. The tour guide explained well and was really kind. I really loved the Future House. It was great to hear about everyone's job and how they got there. I want to go to all IGNITE events.
• It was very dynamic and engaging.

Thank you all for making this possible. It was a fantastic day,
Cathi
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it