Community Mentors Program: Cycle 3 is now in full swing!

Community Mentors Program: Welcome Cycle 3 Participants!


 


First up, a big shout out to our Cycle 2 participants! We loved meeting some of you in person at Microsoft Ignite, and we’re thrilled to hear about your progress!


 


Here’s what some of our Microsoft Ignite attendees had to say:



  • “I just spoke about the CommunityMentorsProgram last week at a DiversityandInclusion conference last week about what a powerful platform it was. Big things ahead!” – Allie Magyar, Founder and CEO of hubbdotme

  • “Thank you for all the work you do with this program. As a father with some amazingly diverse kids, I appreciate everything you do to help make the world a better place for them.” – Paul Warren


cmptwitter1.JPGMVP mentor Jaap Brasser from the Netherlands got to meet his mentee in person for the first time at Microsoft Ignite 2018!


 cmptwitter2.JPGYet another Community Mentors Program mentor-mentee pair meetup in person at Microsoft Ignite! Will you be next? 🙂


Many of you shared memorable moments and stories, and we’d like to hear even more! Comment below if you were an attendee at Microsoft Ignite 2018 and would also like to share about your thoughts and experience about the #CommunityMentorsProgram and #IdeaSwaps!


 


Mentors and mentees from Cycle 1 and 2: If you haven’t already participated in our mentor survey and mentee survey, please take a few moments to fill it out so we can be sure to incorporate your feedback/input into our program, and make it a better experience for future participants!


 


While we’re on the topic of Microsoft Ignite, we had the honor and privilege of welcoming a whopping 409 new registrants for the Community Mentors Program onsite at Microsoft Ignite! This means that the Community Mentors Program now has well over 1000 members worldwide, and a truly staggering 12,614.30 years of combined tech industry experience! YOU made this possible, and we can’t wait to reach another new goal by Microsoft Ignite 2019.


 


Like the current fall season here in the US, Cycle 3 promises to be colorful and vibrant, with 40 new pairs (double our number of pairs from Cycle 2!) with 654 years of combined industry experience. Cycle 3 features participants from 14 countries, including: Australia, Belgium, Canada, Dominican Republic, France, Germany, Nigeria, Pakistan, Slovakia, South Africa, Switzerland, Taiwan, UK and US. This cycle’s mentors and mentees have expertise in Azure, Cloud, coding, Dynamics 365, Infrastructure, IT Pro, Office 365, Security, SharePoint, Software Development, Teams, Windows, and Yammer, to name a few.


 


Special thanks to our Cycle 3 MVP mentors as well – the MVP community continues to be a strong mentor base and the tech expertise and life experiences that you bring to the table is invaluable!


Cycle 3 MVP Mentors - image.JPGCongratulations to our Community Mentors Program Cycle 3 mentors!Huge thanks to our awesome non-Microsoft, non-MVP mentors as well – many of you have said you’d like to remain private (like hidden warriors/ unsung heroes! We love that too!) so we don’t release names for your personal privacy. However, if you did want to get a mention/shout out on this blog post, drop us a DM and we’ll be sure to acknowledge you as well 🙂 This month’s special shout out goes to Suren Konathala from Adobe, who was a Cycle 2 mentor for our Microsoft Ignite Diversity and Tech student ambassador from the University of Central Florida, Varnika Kuthuru!


 


suren k-mentor.JPGSuren Konathala | Cycle 2 mentor to Diversity and Tech Student Ambassador Varnika Kuthuru, University of Central Florida!


While there is a wide range of technical expertise, nationalities, and ethnicities in Cycle 3, the common theme is an appetite for diversity and inclusion. Here’s just glimpse at what some of our Cycle 3 participants have shared about regarding their current efforts, experience and goals for the program:




    • Promote work with TechGirlz

    • Provide insight/guidance to young people starting in the industry

    • Learn from other women in similar career path

    • Encourage more minorities and girls to join tech

    • Serve in an informal role for young technology majors

    • Provide valuable advice to help further other companies in their quest to be more inclusive and promote belonging especially for underrepresented minorities

    • Share coding expertise with recent female graduates

    • Help other women in technology navigate the gender gap



 


Eager to hear more? Want to give back and foster growth within the industry? You can sign up here, and follow/interact with us on the blog. Tell us what moves you, what’s working well, what’s not, and we’ll work as a Diversity and Tech community to get even stronger!


 


Spread the word, and let’s keep learning and growing together!


 


Happy mentoring! #BridgeTheGap

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