Boston Youth Voice Series Comes to An Amazing End!
“On Wednesday, September 14th, we wrapped up our Boston Youth Voice series. Our final event was held in partnership with Microsoft at the Prudential Center. Our city’s diverse youth population was represented by Boston Asian YES, Press Pass TV, Resilient Coders, and South End Technology Center. An empanada dinner was provided by Fresh Food Generation.
25+ individuals came together in Microsoft’s storefront and open theater to participate in an active panel discussion, have an in depth conversation regarding careers in creative sector and find inspiration from panelists and peers alike. Our three panelists [Joanie and Jade, two Programming Managers at Microsoft and Steven, a developer at Resilient Coders] had the opportunity to share their personal evolution and how they arrived at their present careers. They shed insight and provided valuable tips for achieving similar success, including extracurricular activities, coding bootcamps, and potential internships at one of Microsoft’s west coast sites. Some additional advice imparted by the panelist is shared below:
- Believe in yourself. You don’t need to fit into a mold, just follow the opportunities that present themselves.
Believe in yourself. You don’t need to fit into a mold, just follow the opportunities that present themselves.
- Figure out what you’re passionate about and be passionate about it. Passion is so important; it’s the key to excellence and contentment.
- Visualize your future. Write down your goals. It will plant a seed in your mind and create an everyday learning process.
- Find a mentor. It will be invaluable regardless of your circumstance. It will only open doors.
- Pursue internships and you’ll discover what it is you really enjoy. Even if you discover it’s not an ideal fit, it still serves as a short-term learning experience.
- The more you learn, the more you’ll earn.
The passion in their dialogue and their active engagement was evident. Once the panel came to a close, they broke up into small groups to focus on the day’s interactive activity: designing and coding their own video game which they could easily publish and share with their friends. For the next 45 minutes you could find the youth working intently, bent over the Microsoft Surface Pros. Before packing up for the day, Microsoft provided complimentary gifts [sunglasses, headphones and baseball caps] to share their appreciation and encourage continued creativity.
A big shout out to Aimee, Eliza, Joanie and Jade at Microsoft and Cassandria at Fresh Food Generation for coordinating this great event. We want to thank all the great organizations that have collaborated with us on this journey.”
