Black Girls Code Day at Yammer
A couple weeks ago, Microsoft was able to host 75 girls from Black Girls Code’s Bay Area chapter in the Yammer offices. As the girls started to fill the office, it was clear that this was going to be a very special day. As we began the planning process a few months ago and started to develop the curriculum, we intended to find ways to inspire the girls to pursue their dreams and work hard to accomplish their goals. An unexpected outcome of the day was the inspiration the girls imparted on our staff by sharing their stories, their dreams, and their overwhelming drive to be successful in this world.
When asked what the girls wanted to be when they grew up, we heard doctors, engineers, and nurses, but when one girls shouted out that she wanted to be an entrepreneur, there was an overwhelming response from the room that they too wanted to blaze the path of being an innovative leader, regardless of the field they break into. As the day kicked off, the girls were welcomed by Yammer’s GM, followed by Adam Pisoni, Yammer’s co-founder and former CTO. After sharing his inspirational story, Adam opened the floor for the girls to ask him questions. Whilst some of the questions reflected the tween age we had represented in the room, some of the questions blew us away with their complexity and depth. The young women were not only interested in the path to success, but also in understanding why and how mistakes and regrets can be used positively to shape personal outcome.
The girls then broke out into selected disciplines, including Product & Analytics, Design, Security, Games, Mobile, and Web Apps. Each group had 3 hours throughout the day to learn and work on projects related to their discipline. Lunchtime was filled with office tours, mentoring, and a “Get to Know Microsoft Employees” Bingo game (the winner of which took home a Microsoft Surface!).
The afternoon brought a diverse panel of Yammer employees. Panelist shared their backgrounds, the various ways they overcame adversity, and the sheer willpower, tenacity, and perseverance they had to succeed in the world of high tech. The day then closed out with group presentations chronicling how they put movements in order to create a video game, their hypotheses on user engagement and retention on a platform like Twitter, and the mobile app invention of “Teenores”, a teen chore app parents can use to see via picture that their kids actually washed the dishes and made their beds.
Overall, the day was a roaring success in that the girls left saying they had a better understanding of computer science and are excited for the next Black Girls Code event. On our end, we can’t wait for them to come back and spend the day with us!
