It took a proposal from Steve Ballmer to entice a promising computer science student to consider a career at Microsoft. Now she’d like to see more women and minorities follow her lead.
By Fred Albert
March 3, 2008
Steve Ballmer asked Miya McClain to intern at Microsoft when the two appeared at a technology event five years ago.
Miya McClain was 18 years old when Steve Ballmer made her an offer she couldn’t refuse.The college freshman was at a Seattle hotel demonstrating an internship project for a gathering of high-tech executives when Ballmer stepped up to the dais. After delivering his keynote address, he stood before the crowd and offered McClain an internship at Microsoft.
“I wasn’t going to apply for the Microsoft college internship,” confided McClain, now 24 and a software design engineer in test for Office. “I was just going to intern at other, smaller companies like I had in high school.” But when the CEO of Microsoft offers you a position in front of a room full of industry hotshots, how can you say no? Representatives from other companies swooped in to counter Ballmer’s offer, but it was too late. The die was cast.
Continue reading →
Alex Turner wants to save your day
The geek in question: Alex Turner
The job title: Program Manager, C#
Continue reading →
Five times Fola Adeleke-Adedoyin interviewed for an internship. He finally got it, and ultimately, his blue badge.
By Brian Donohue
Growing up in Nigeria, Fola Adeleke-Adedoyin didn’t even see the Internet or a Microsoft product until he was 15. Once he did, he knew he wanted to pursue a technology career. He had no idea, though, how much pursuit it would entail.
A middle-class background, solid academic skills, and competitive swimming talent gave him the opportunity to attend Howard University in Washington, D.C. Fola worked on a four-year degree in systems and computer science. Each year, Microsoft visited the historically black campus to interview for internships and full-time positions. Each year Fola showed up, hopeful, but left empty-handed.
Others might have given up, but Fola didn’t. Now he sits in a Sammamish, Washington, office, wearing a blue Microsoft badge and a well-earned smile about his application developer job.
Continue reading →
