Girls do science – and @Microsoft #Recruiting2027 awaits

Just read this article from Business Insider entitled This viral video from Microsoft on how girls feel about science is fantastic.

It’s awesome. Loved it. Spoiler alert – at the end of the video, the girls get a card from Microsoft that encourages them to keep on doing what they do:

Thanks @Microsoft for encouraging girls to do science.

Hour of Code, Girls in I.T., Women In Technology

I was browsing through the code.org site to learn more about the upcoming Hour of Code event that is happening on December 8-14, 2014.

Through the Hour of Code event, code.org attempts to increase students’ awareness of computer science as not just another course, but as a life skill. code.org believes:

Every student should have the opportunity to learn computer science. It helps nurture problem-solving skills, logic and creativity. By starting early, students will have a foundation for success in any 21st-century career path.

In addition, code.org:

is dedicated to expanding participation in computer science by making it available in more schools, and increasing participation by women and underrepresented students of color.

This resonates very well to the Women in Technology luncheon I attended last week at the PASS Summit 2014. Many companies have partnered with code.org for this event and for many other projects, including Microsoft.

I came across this infographic about Girls in IT from NCWIT (National Center for Women in Technology) which echoes a lot of what Kimberly Bryant mentioned in her talk. (Get the Full Report).

Reflections of a Woman in Technology

“Geek” is the new cool

If you tell me I’m a geek or a nerd, I would most likely blush and take it as the greatest compliment ever.

Yes I am one …

Yes I am a geek.
Yes I am a nerd.

• Yes I laugh at the geek jokes (think XKDC …Bobby Tables, or Regex).
• Yes I get what “Kickin’ SSAS” means. (Caption at the back of the cool Pragmatic Works T-Shirt Swag).
• Yes I read SQL Server books at night before I go to sleep. (I just dug up Ken Hendersons’s Guru’s Guide book to look up those undocumented commands that Kalen Delaney mentioned in her session).
• Yes making queries run faster, or creating these fancy reports, or troubleshooting replication are what I call fun.
• I love the movies The Matrix, and Inception. ‘Nuff said.
• And yes, I thoroughly enjoy attending PASS (Professional Association of SQL Server) and geeking out with with other SQL Professionals.

I can bore you with all the other things that I think are cool. You may disagree with me, but that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.