Tuesday, December 21, 2010

BETF Executive Director Wins BAM Award for Excellence in Education and Technology in North Carolina

I was surprised and honored to receive the following notice from the Blacks at Microsoft (BAM) folks down in North Carolina.

You have been selected to receive the BAM Award for Excellence in Education & Technology, in celebration of our 20 Year Anniversary & BAM Minority Student Day (BMSD), which will be held February 11, 2010 at our Microsoft Charlotte Campus. Following the awards presentation, we invite you have lunch with our High School students from 12:00 Noon – 1:00 PM.
This Award recognizes four national and community leaders including yourself that have made significant contributions in the field of Education or Technology. Honorees include the following:
  1. Dr. Ronald Carter, President, Johnson C. Smith University
  2. Dr. Peter Gorman, Superintendent, Charlotte-Mecklenburg School System
  3. Wayne Hicks, Executive Director,  BDPA Education and Technology Foundation (BETF)
  4. Johnny Taylor, President/CEO, Thurgood Marshall College Fund & Ebony Power 100 Leaders in America for Academia
BMSD is a Microsoft signature program that give’s high school students the opportunity to learn about careers in technology, listen to executive speakers, connect with Microsoft employees, participate in hands-on computer demonstrations, cutting edge technologies, and learn about High School Internships and College Scholarships. The ultimate purpose of the event is to expose students from underrepresented ethnic backgrounds to the exciting opportunities in the field of technology.


We anticipate 150+ High School students in attendance throughout the Carolinas Region, including media coverage.  As part of this event, we are also inviting students pursuing STEM careers from Central Piedmont Community College (CPCC), Johnson C. Smith University, and UNC Charlotte as participants.

One of our key highlights will be showing CPCC/UNC Charlotte as our Gaming & Simulation Division Winners of our Microsoft 2010 US Imagine Cup student competition. Imagine Cup is the world’s premier student technology competition hosted by Microsoft. Open to high school, college, and university students across the globe. Prior BMSD speakers have included: Bill Gates, Microsoft Executive Chairman & Co-Founder, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; Steve Ballmer, CEO, Microsoft; and Mike Rucker, Retired NFL Carolina Panther & Pre-game Commentator as examples.

Microsoft Charlotte is one of 4 large field campuses outside of our Redmond, Washington headquarters. Most of our 1,250 employees who live and work in North Carolina support Fortune 500 and other enterprise customers and partners to provide sales, consulting, and support services for many of our Flagship Products and Developer Technologies. We work with more than 2,665 partner companies that build technology tools and services on the Microsoft platform, creating jobs and revenue in North Carolina. Since 2003, we have given and matched employee gifts totaling more than $62.5 million in cash, curriculum, software and volunteer hours in North Carolina.
We are pleased to announce that North Carolina is the first state in the nation to adopt a Microsoft IT Academy in all 628 NC High Schools. The program will give students the opportunity to learn in-demand software and technical skills as well as earn industry-recognized certification as a Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) or a Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP).

I am humbled by this honor. I look forward to visiting with BDPA supporters in Charlotte for the BAM Minority Student Day in February 2011.

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