Hi All

We had a fabulous day at MIcrosoft. The girls were appreciative and had a captivating experience. The women who volunteered to spend time with us and help the girls understand their opportunities were so dynamic and inspiring. What a fantastic day.

I want to thank Janice Hunter who makes sure we have everything we need for all our tours, she is wonderful to us and works so hard to make sure it's all just right. Thank you to Mylene Padolina who also works so hard in supporting IGNITE by inviting us to these tours and lunches. We appreciate Mylene and Janice for all these years of unwavering support and kindness.

First, we split off and Franklin girls went to the Home of the Future. Flora Goldthwaite was our tour guide. She is so awesome and makes this tour mesmerizing for the girls. We can all tell how much she cares about giving the girls an empowering experience. She is treasure and we are so grateful to have her!

The Ballard girls went to the museum, and they had a electrifying and capitvating visit. There is so much technology to explore at the museum and when I asked the girls what they thought about the visit, they all said that they wished they could go back. They really didn't want it to be over and asked me if they could go back next year. They thoroughly enjoyed it! I want to thank the wonderful Tami Gallupe who went to the museum to chaperone and generally be supportive to the Ballard HS teachers and students. Its hard to be in two places and Tami was there in a moment's notice to help out. It was such a wonderful thing to do for us and it really made my day so much sweeter to know that the group was well taken care of. Thank you Tami, for caring so much!! And being there for the girls!

WE then had lunch and an unforgettable Presentation event by the biggest group of women ever! It was so exciting to see that line up of high powered women who came to talk to the girls and also answer their questions. You all did such a great job and it was obvious how much each one of you cared about being there for the girls. I want to thank Betsy Norton-Middaugh, Program Manager, Juzen Ruelos, Sr, Program Manager, Kathie Flood, Program Manager, Molly Cooper, IT Manager, Jeanette Jarvis, Group Program Manager, Tami Gallupe, Security Program Manager Layla Driscoll, Program Manager, Jacqueline Russell, Product Manager, Leah Lease, Senior Security Program Manager, and Lina Lin, Lead Virus Researcher. You are all such awesome and dynamic role models, and your time and efforts with the young women mean so much to them and to all of us. We are very fortunate to have such a dedicated group supporting the next generation of women into IT and Engineering. I could go on all day about all of you, you are all inspirational and your generosity is heartwarming.

Thank you to the wonderful teachers from Franklin and Ballard HS We are so fortunate to have such splendid teachers who care so much about their students. Barbara Lynch, Department Head of Business and Marketing at Franklin, she is also the best Cisco teacher I have ever met. She has translated the Cisco textbook and literally rewrote the book so the kids could really understand the program. She then puts it up on the screen, each and every lesson and the kids are so successful in Cisco because of Barbara Lynch She is a visionary teacher and a role model for the Cisco program. Thank you to Pete Bawden, Project Lead the Way teacher at Franklin. PLTW is a cutting edge curriculum for teaching high school kids engineering. Pete does a fantastic job and also works extra hard with IGNITE to make sure young women are represented. He has signed up more girls for ignite trips than any teacher, Congratulations Pete!! Thank you to Craig Nelson, Project Lead the Way teacher at Ballard HS. Craig is also extremely dedicated to making sure the young women at Ballard know about his classes and he has more girls every year. He is being active in so many ways with IGNITE and I want him to know how much we all appreciate his efforts. Great job Craig! Thank you to Lilna Givan-Williams, Worked Based Learning Coordinator, Seattle Public Schools. Lilna has been a Marketing teacher in Seattle for over 17 years and this year her work is all about work based learning. She and I have started a special collaboration this year, where the girls can earn school credit, 1.5 credits to be exact for participating in ignite activities. Next year our goal is 100 girls and it's called IGNITE plus. Thank you Lilna for your support and efforts to help the girls. Thank you to Susan Waterworth, Ballard Librarian, who has her heart in the mission of ignite. She was glowing in the event yesterday, and she was clearly excited to be on board the ignite train!

Here are the comments from the girls evaluation sheets:

• The women elaborated on their struggles and showed us that they are very passionate about what they do.
• I loved the encouraging stories, it was so inspiring.
• I liked learning about how other women got to where they are now. And how much work you have to do to get this kind of job. The workshop was great!
• I loved the home of the future it was the most amazing house I have ever seen. I was excited to learn that not all IT jobs consist of sitting at a computer all day.
• I liked going to the museum and seeing all the new technology.
• I really liked playing the games in the museum.
• The women on the panel were great and very well informed. I found out that Microsoft has paid internships. I also found out to start looking for a job my senior year in college.
• the Museum was great and I enjoyed hearing how the women reached their careers.
• I was interested in learning how to reach this kind of careers and really now understand a lot more about it.
• the panel of women really emphasized that women are really needed in the technology fields.
• The internship programs was interesting to learn about.
• I liked hearing the women talk about how they got where they are today.
• I liked the part where the ladies talked about their jobs and they talked about college and what they majored in.
• The museum was very cool and interesting and I loved hearing about the job testing games.
• I liked learning about all the different kinds of fields at Microsoft. I was amazed how the women were not interested in tech careers and now they love it.
• I was surprised to learn how few women work in these fields and now see opportunity there.
• I loved hearing about the women's college experiences.
• I loved the smart house.
• I liked how each person told us their experiences and about their education.
• The things that the MIcrosoft women told us about their lives and experience was very inspiring.
• Loved the home of the future.
• I loved the museum and seeing the different programs.
• I loved visiting the Home of the Future. I learned that lots of women in the tech field didn't want to start out in technology and now they love it.
• I really loved the speakers. The info about college was very helpful.
• I liked the fact that the women told us about their experiences. Most interesting thing was learning about all the different kinds of jobs at Microsoft.
• I liked exploring the Home of the Future. I was interested in learning all the different kinds of careers there are in high tech.
• I loved the Future house and now want to explore careers in Engineering.
• I loved the House of the Future and loved meeting all the women at Microsoft. The women didn't like IT and then found out they loved it, that was amazing to me.
• I loved hearing the women's stories and seeing the real job environment.
• I liked learning about the different career fields. The women who didn't finish High school and went back to school and now works at Microsoft. That was impressive.
• I loved hearing the personal stories, nothing can stop you from learning new things.
• I liked hearing the women talk about their college experience.
• I liked learning about the different career opportunities.
• It made me interested in getting a technical degree. Careers don't have to come about in a straight line, I can study something else and still end up in an IT career.
• I loved the home of the future.
• I loved hearing the women share their experiences with us.
• Meeting women in the technology field was great and meeting the woman who came from China 7 years ago and didn't know English and she is working at MIcrosoft, I was impressed.

Thank you All!!
Cathi