From Legos to Microsoft
Based on an episode with Pablo Veramendi 🇪🇸
Welcome to Latinx in Power, a podcast aiming to help to demystify tech, the way we do that is by interviewing Latinx and Caribbean leaders all over the world to hear their perspective and insights.
We talked with Pablo Veramendi (he/him), the Director of Audience Evangelism at Microsoft. He is passionate about building meaningful communities and leveraging technology for innovative solutions. Pablo leads Microsoft’s global Student Developer programs, including Imagine Cup and Microsoft Learn Student Ambassadors. He enjoys inspiring others to believe in and achieve what is possible in the ever-evolving digital landscape.
In this episode, Pablo will discuss his Hispanic identity, passion for building communities through technology, and involvement in the Imagine Cup and Microsoft Learn Student Ambassadors programs. Pablo will share inspiring moments, insights on the future of technology, and teased upcoming projects at Microsoft.
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What does it mean to be Hispanic for you?
So, first of all, a little bit of my background on my father’s side. My father is from Spain, and he moved to the US to marry my mom. My mom’s from the Midwest, from the US. But she actually lived in Argentina for many years and in Spain, and so they merged the cultures in our family. And for me, for my life, it’s really been about family and about the importance of being with family and the importance of feeling that community around family and that love and care.
I have a huge family in Spain. I think it’s 21 cousins in Spain, and so it’s just massive. And anytime we went when I was a kid, we used to go quite often every year or every two years. Then as I grew older, that got a little more complicated. But my heart and my soul have that Latin culture. That need for the desire to build family and build community around that. And it’s always been a part of me.
I married a woman from Ecuador, and so very much that South American Ecuadorian culture is now part of me too. It’s very similar, obviously, to the Spanish culture, and so it adds a little more. When I traveled to Spain as a kid, it was very similar to what it’s like to live in the US, just with a different language, very similar access to food and to culture and all that.
Traveling to South America really changed my perception of what life is for most people around the globe. While my wife and her family are very upper middle class or upper class, really, probably for Ecuador. As you travel through Ecuador, you see a lot more poverty. You see a lot more people that are struggling every day to make a living, and that had a really deep impact on me, I should say. So, something that I’ve carried through my life, wanting to make a difference, wanting to be able to lift up communities and caring about those communities. It’s been something that I strive to do both in my personal life, with my own family.
I have two kids, and we very much imbue Latin culture with them. We always sit at the table together. We try to speak in Spanish at home as much as possible and show them the importance of family. So that’s something that we hope that they take with them as well. So, yeah, it’s very much part of my cultural identity. Although I was born in the US, obviously grew up in the US culture, I’ve always felt that I don’t fully belong to the US culture, but I also don’t fully belong to Spanish culture.
I also don’t fully belong to Ecuadorian culture. So, I feel like I’m in the mix in all three, but don’t really identify as any of them fully because I never lived in Spain, I never lived in Ecuador, and then living here, I never felt like a full 100% American. I have dual citizenship as well. It’s interesting. It’s a complex question, but I touched on the surface of it. Hopefully, we’ll get to dive in a little bit deeper with some of the other questions you have.
One thing I would say that I also struggle with is that I have zero English accent. The only thing that would really identify me as Latino is my name. But a lot of people see my name and they see Pablo and they go, “Maybe Spanish,” but they see Veramendi and they have no idea what Veramendi is; they think, “Maybe he’s Italian.” They have no clue. Sometimes, I feel guilty that people can’t identify me by who I am. They don’t know unless I tell them that my heart is Latin or that’s what we’re bringing to our family. So, I struggle with that a lot because, again, no accent; you saw me walking down the street, it’s not like you’d say, “Oh, this guy is from Spain, or whatever.”
So, although the eyebrows [chuckles] sometimes give it away, but yeah, it’s something I struggle with too, in terms of how I want people to perceive me. And, yeah, it’s interesting because I can fully be in either world at any time. If I wanted to, I could pretend that I’m not Latino. Sometimes, I might do that and not even realize it.
And in fact, when I was a kid, my brother and I, we grew up speaking Spanish, and we lived in Dixon, Illinois, which is like the middle of nowhere, two hours west of Chicago, and we were the only Spanish speakers in the entire town. So, my brother and I grew up speaking Spanish, but then kids would make fun of us because we were the weird kids that spoke Spanish. I had a strange name. My brother’s name was Gregory, so it was a little more, well, I don’t know about common, but a little more English based.
So, my brother and I at some point said, “Okay, we’re not speaking Spanish anymore.” We don’t want to be associated with Spanish because these kids are making fun of us. So, we ended up speaking only English at home. And my sister, when she was born, was eight years younger than me. We changed the dynamic of the household because we were only speaking in English. So, she actually grew up not in an immersive Spanish environment like my brother and I did. It was because we were ashamed or we were embarrassed that we were different. And that hurts. That bothers me when I think about it. But we’re young, we didn’t know any difference and didn’t really know how to deal with that dual identity, I guess.
I think as a culture too, we’re transforming. I mean, I just watched a Disney movie with my kids the other day on Disney Plus. When I started it said — I can’t remember exactly what the disclaimer is, but this movie was made in a time where things were different. I can’t remember what the disclaimer is, but it’s because the portrayal of — I mean, I think in this case it was Peter Pan and they had a really terrible portrayal of Native Americans or Native — I think they’re the portrayal of Native Americans. So, they have these disclaimers now and what I try to do with my kids is tell them why that’s there. They may not even notice it, but I’m like, “Hey, let’s pause on this for a second. And this is here for a reason. I’ll explain when we get to that place why they have it there.”
It’s part of other people, but at the same time, it’s our culture not only in the US but globally and how those cultures have been portrayed and how that has a lasting effect. And yeah, we are starting to break that down. And podcasts like this and people like you that are having a large impact on that by getting people to talk about it and getting people to listen and hear about it and telling their stories. So, I think it’s super important.
What inspired your passion for building meaningful communities and leveraging technology for innovative solutions?
So, I mean, the tech thing is just that I am a geek. I’ve always been somebody that likes technology and wants to understand how technology works. I think for me, it started with Legos. Just being able to build things and take them apart and build new things and combine different things together. And my mom is an author, so she got a computer at a very young age. Well, I was at a very young age in the family. I think it was eight or nine. And that’s like one of the first computers anybody that I knew had. I’m aging myself here, but I wanted to understand how it worked. I wanted to play games, really what I wanted to do, is play games. Nobody can see this, but I have floppy disks. Actual, honest-to-goodness floppy disks, and my wall behind me because that’s one of the first games I played on a computer. And that really started my journey with tech.
Part of it turned into this new me as the one that could help them with technology. And that made me feel good. My neighbors knew that I could help them with their computers. I actually ended up helping my mom. She’s an author. And back then, she would have to print her manuscripts and ship them via FedEx to her publisher. She would always be rushing out the door at the last minute, trying to get to the UPS before they close, doing her last-minute edits. And then one day I asked her, “Mom, why don’t you just send it to them via modem?” And she’s like, “Well, what’s that? And I’m like, “Well, it’s a device that connects computers, and we have one.” And she’s like, “Like a fax,” and I’m like, “No, no, no, it’s a modem.” “You can actually send the file so they would open it as if you gave it to them on a floppy disk.” And she’s like, “Well, I have no idea how to do that.” I’m like, “Well, I’m happy to help explain it to them if you want.” She’s like, “All right. Sure.”
So, it’s Houghton Mifflin, which is a huge publisher here in the US. She set up a call, and she’s like, “Okay, my son would like to help us transfer it via modem.” So, she hands the phone over, and I think they didn’t expect a 12-year-old boy to be on the other line. So, here I am at 12, and I’m like, my first question was, “Are you running Windows?” Because I knew how Windows worked. I knew where things were and how to — So, now double click on — I think it was Accessories or whatever, “Now double click on HyperTerminal, put this command in, and now I’ll call you and your modem will pick up.” So, I went through this process, and within 20 minutes, we had sent this file. And this is me also instructing them, and they were completely blown away. I transformed the way they were going to do business without even realizing it. And they were so grateful. I ended up doing three more calls with three different authors showing them how to do it. And then I’m like, “I should write these instructions down.”
So, here I am at 12 years old, doing technical documentation for a huge publisher in the US. None of this is paid, by the way, of course. This is all me just wanting to help and help my mom too. This is her job. And it felt good to help her too. And eventually, they asked my mom for my picture and they put it up in their lounge in the lobby because I made such a huge difference in the way they do work.
I mean, it was digital transformation before anybody knew what digital transformation was. I was 12. And it made me feel good. It made me feel good to help my mom. It made me feel good to help this company, to help these other authors, and to know that me showing them how to use technology, which to me was super easy, was changing the way that they worked.
And obviously when I was a kid, I didn’t think of it in those specific terms, but it made me feel good. It made me feel satisfied and realized I was able to accomplish something and it was meaningful to me. Then I would add, I traveled. So, I got to see different cultures, different countries, and started to see what other people need across the globe. And that’s always been something that’s been a part of me. My parents are very much that way too. They volunteer, they give back to the community. And so that’s been my view to me.
I went to a Jesuit high school and it was an all-male Jesuit High School and our motto was men for others. So, what can you do as a man for other people? We ended up going co-ed. So, it was people for others or I can’t remember what it was after that when I went co-ed, that giving spirit was imbued to me from a very young age. So, I always just wanted to make a difference. Technology, I learned very quickly and I was always on the cutting edge and so I felt like that was a skill that I could use best to help other people and then that just continued as I progressed in my career.
Did you tell this story when you were interviewing at Microsoft?
In fact, at my interview, so we can get into this later or we can get into it if you want, but I worked in a nonprofit for six years before coming to Microsoft, and it’s a big jump going from a small nonprofit to one of the largest multinational technology companies in the world.
I spent a lot of time focusing on my resume and applying for this one specific job that I thought I would be most qualified for and then preparing for the interview, and that story was part of the interview. After that interview, I can tell a whole story if you’d like, but after the interview, I had two people come up to me and said that was the best interview they’ve ever seen from anybody that’s applied for a job at Microsoft.
Can you share more about the Imagine Cup and Microsoft Learn Student Ambassadors Program and how people can be part of it?
I came into Microsoft working in services, so I did support contracts for the public sector, and I liked that because I felt like I was helping these nonprofits, universities, government agencies, and empowering them to do more with technology. So, I very much enjoyed that job. This was only in the Midwest. My clients were only in the Midwest. I want to do something grander, greater. I was also volunteering for a nonprofit that helped inner-city kids in Chicago learn how to refurbish computers, and then they would take those computers to their communities in Mexico. And so that was super meaningful for me too.
We actually created a little bit of a competition like the Iron Chef, where we’d have a bunch of computer parts and the students would have to put them together, and whoever built the best computer with the parts that were available in an hour won that competition. I was the MC. So, this was something I volunteered on in Chicago. So, I was looking for jobs at Microsoft that would be more meaningful for me, that would let me use all this cultural awareness. I gleaned with the privilege of being able to travel across the globe throughout all these years. I found this job that was managing this Imagine Cup competition. I’m like, even though I worked at Microsoft, I wasn’t super aware, but I’d heard of it, but I didn’t know what it was all about.
It’s about empowering students across the globe to bring their ideas to a global stage and then hopefully bring them to market. I read the job description and I got chills. I’m like, “This is a job at Microsoft. This is exactly what I want to do.” It’s empowering students. It’s using skill sets that I already have. It’s global. It’s at Microsoft. It meant that I had to move. So, I was in Chicago at the time, but the job was here in Seattle, here in Redmond, the headquarters. But, yeah, I was again super prepared for that interview, used my network at Microsoft to help me get as many positive referrals to the hiring manager, but ended up getting a job. And the Imagine Cup is a global student developer competition for university students.
And any university student, even grad students, are eligible. It’s about what ideas that you have that can bring a product to market. So, are you interested in becoming a founder or a startup? If you have an idea but you don’t know what to do with it, at Microsoft, we’ll give you the tools, we’ll help you find your team. We will give you credits for our cloud services, even OpenAI, which is an organization that we partner with to help bring those ideas to life. And then we help you prepare to learn how to pitch to investors. We help you think through your business plan. It’s really an incredible journey that students go through as part of the Imagine Cup. And every student that I talk to says, “Don’t even think twice, just register.”
Go to imaginecup.com and click on register and just look to see what’s available to you. Because there’s so much that Microsoft has for students. We have, like I mentioned, Azure credits. So, you don’t have to use your own money to build something. You can get cloud credits. We have training, we have tons of training that you can do online for free to help you take that first step into artificial intelligence or into building a cloud application. So, it’s really this amazing thing that I get to lead, that I get to help direct and bring these students together from across the globe to compete. And when I say compete, it’s a friendly competition. What I love about it too is that these students are rooting for each other. Everyone wants each other to succeed.
And even after the competition is over, yes, we pick a winner that’s the world champion. We have a big show. If you go to imaginecup.com, you can see last year’s World Championship competition. But everybody who takes a step to bring an idea to a competition or a hackathon or anything like that is a winner.
After leading these programs for so many years, I wanted to hear from you, what are the most inspiring, insightful things that you have seen?
I think that what’s most inspiring in general is just the desire that these students have to empower their communities and make a difference in the world. Last year’s winners, for example, Team TAWI from Kenya, created an app which, in and of itself, doesn’t seem that impactful. But when you plug it into all the different things they are trying to solve, it’s amazing. So, what it does is essentially use any cell phone, any Android, and they’re creating an iOS app too. It’s compatible down to Android version five or something that you can use your phone to not only get a live text-to-speech or speech-to-text of what somebody’s saying but can also focus individually and amplify their voice.
The reason they created it was that one of the team members’ brothers suffers from APD, which is essentially an auditory processing disorder, making it harder for them to process what they’re hearing. In a classroom, for example, where there are other students making noises or other ambient sounds, trying to focus on the teacher is very difficult for them. So, they created this app that would essentially amplify only the teacher and not only amplify it but also show you the text on your phone at the same time to help them focus, concentrate, and understand what’s happening. It seems like a simple thing, but it’s using a lot of AI, it’s doing it in real-time, and it’s just incredible. And it’s also using a commodity device.
Hearing aids cost anywhere from $3000 to probably $10,000. For kids in Kenya, that’s not something they can afford. So, they are missing out on education and being able to participate in conversations because of this audio processing disorder. And this app helps solve that for them. It’s just really incredible to think about the difference they want to make because this is a need that they’ve seen. I think they said it affects five million youth in Kenya, whether or not they’re students. So, that can have a huge impact. They were initially focused on Kenya, and during the Imagine Cup, they realized, “We can open this up to the world,” and there’s just a much higher need for that. So, that’s incredible.
There was a student team back in the day that created a bionic arm using commodity devices — an Arduino device inside the hand, a 3D printed prosthetic hand, and a camera. All it does is take a picture of the object as you approach it and then decides on what grip the finger should use to pick up that thing. It seems like a simple idea, but they built it for I think, $250 of commodity components. An arm that connects to somebody that can do that thing is usually tens of thousands of dollars. This just makes it much more accessible, especially for people who wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford it. And it can change, it will, it does, it changes their lives.
What’s inspiring about them is that not only did they win the Imagine Cup despite a demo failure at the World Championship, but they are bringing it to market. They’ve gotten funded, and I think they’re just in the process of bringing their first device out to market this year. So, it’s just incredible to see and think about all the different use cases that you and I may not think of because it doesn’t impact us, but it impacts so many people across the globe. That’s what’s so incredible — these students are thinking of how they can make a difference and empower others. It’s super inspiring.
Do you want to talk more about the Ambassadors program?
I’d love to. I’ve been involved in the Imagine Cup for eight years now, and about four years ago, I took over the leadership of our Student Ambassador Program. I love working with students and empowering them to do more, so when the opportunity came up, I jumped at it. The Student Ambassador community is all about students who are passionate about tech and want to share that passion with others. You apply to be in the program, and once you join, we provide you with a ton of benefits to help you share your enthusiasm. We offer a variety of online learning opportunities, including workshops hosted by other ambassadors. There are over 3000 students in 104 countries across the globe who are part of this vibrant and diverse community.
What I love about the program is that it brings together people from different backgrounds and cultures who share a common passion for technology. Ambassadors work on their campuses to showcase what can be achieved with Microsoft products and technologies. They demonstrate how their tech knowledge can make them more employable or empower them to become entrepreneurs, bringing their ideas to market. Being part of this community is truly amazing.
Ambassadors often collaborate on projects, and many of them bring their projects to the Imagine Cup. The program fosters a sense of belonging, especially for those who might be the only ones interested in tech in their local communities. We’ve been intentional about making sure the program is inclusive, and today, over 40% of our ambassadors are women. This inclusivity is something we continually work on to show everyone, regardless of gender or background, that they can and should participate. We strive to maintain a welcoming community and encourage more people to join us in sharing their passions.
How do you see the future of technology evolving and what impact do you think it will have on society?
It’s interesting. If you had asked me this question six months ago, I might have given a completely different answer. However, with the rapid progression of AI, it has become increasingly crucial to teach and emphasize the importance of responsible AI use to students. AI is already causing significant transformations, and while it excites me, it also raises concerns. In my interactions with students, I’ve encountered instances where some express a desire to use AI for dishonest purposes, such as cheating. This is worrisome, and it underscores the need to instill a sense of responsibility in AI usage.
I’ve observed changes in the applications from the Student Ambassadors since the advent of technologies like ChatGPT. They are more detailed, and English proficiency has improved noticeably. This is not coincidental, and it’s clear that Ambassadors are leveraging these technologies. While using AI tools for tasks like grammar checking is acceptable, it’s crucial to ensure that the ideas and thoughts are genuinely your own. AI should be a copilot, helping you reach your destination, not the entity doing all the work for you.
The challenge lies in striking a balance — leveraging AI to enhance one’s capabilities while avoiding the temptation to use it as a shortcut or to gain an unfair advantage. The next generation needs to be aware of responsible AI usage, understanding that AI should be a supplementary tool, not a replacement for personal growth and learning from lived experiences. My concern is that as AI evolves rapidly, we must guide students globally to use it judiciously and responsibly.
On the positive side, AI can offer numerous benefits, such as assisting non-native English speakers in writing or coding. However, accessibility remains a concern. The potential for a growing divide between those who can access these tools and those who cannot is real. Community efforts play a crucial role in making sure that the benefits of AI are accessible to everyone and that we don’t leave anyone behind.
Interestingly, the landscape of coding has evolved. You no longer need a powerful computer; coding can be done in the cloud. Some individuals even code on their phones, emphasizing the point that a connection to the internet is the primary requirement. It’s not without challenges, especially with small screens or shared devices, but it opens up possibilities. Moreover, AI is becoming increasingly accessible through various devices.
In conclusion, the key is to remain authentic. While AI can assist in translation or other tasks, your ideas and thoughts need to be genuinely yours. In job interviews, authenticity is valued. AI should be seen as a tool, much like calculators were once viewed skeptically in education. The goal is to use AI as a tool to augment your authentic self, not as a means to be something you’re not or to exploit the system. The evolution of AI mirrors the acceptance of calculators in education — it becomes an essential tool, but one must learn how to use it responsibly to bring their full, authentic self to the forefront.
Which resource helped you in your journey? Is there anything you want to highlight and share with us?
Curiosity has been a driving force for me. Back in my early years, without internet access, I had to be endlessly curious, asking questions, seeking out people who could help me find answers. My curiosity stemmed from my early experiences with Legos, wanting to understand how things work, and constantly thinking about improving by gaining a deeper understanding of different components. I would encourage all of you to identify what you are curious about and pursue that curiosity tenaciously. This is a key to being your authentic self, fostering learning, growth, and contributing to society.
Today, the availability of free resources for learning, coding, and exploring technologies like Azure and the Cloud is immense. I urge you to leverage these resources and take advantage of the vast amount of knowledge that’s easily accessible nowadays. For me, curiosity has been the driving force behind my journey, and I believe it can be a powerful motivator for anyone.
If you’re interested, I’d like to mention both the Imagine Cup and the Student Ambassadors programs. You can find more information about Imagine Cup at imaginecup.com, and for Student Ambassadors, you can visit studentambassadors.com. Taking the first step can often be simpler than you think. Whether you’re interested in joining as an ambassador or participating in the Imagine Cup, I encourage you to explore the applications and questions we ask. There’s a global community of students passionate about technology, and joining these programs can be a great way to connect with like-minded individuals. I would love to see some of you join either the Imagine Cup or the Student Ambassadors community.
Where can people find you?
For those interested in connecting, you can find me on X (formerly known as Twitter) at @IamPablo or on LinkedIn. I’m welcome to conversations and am open to sharing my knowledge and insights.
I hope you enjoyed the podcast. We will have more interviews with amazing Latinx leaders the first Tuesday of every month. Check out our website Latinx In Power to hear more. Don’t forget to share comments and feedback, always with kindness. See you soon.
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Additional Reading Mentioned in the Interview
https://news.microsoft.com/inclusionisinnovation/Families/
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