Microsoft Leap

Today, we are thrilled to celebrate @Yolanda Natal Santos, the new Director of Microsoft Leap! Yolanda's journey with Microsoft Leap is nothing short of inspiring. After taking a break from her early career to raise her son, she discovered the program and became part of its very first cohort. Since then, Yolanda has been a beacon of inspiration, proving that career success is achievable regardless of life's circumstances. Yolanda has led multiple cohorts, driving the growth of the program and expanding its reach across the US, LATAM, and EMEA. Her dedication and vision have been instrumental in transforming countless lives. As the Program Director, Yolanda will: - Continue the mission set by Leap's founders to recruit, develop, and upskill diverse talent for employability. - Inspire individuals from all backgrounds to explore exciting career opportunities in tech. With Yolanda's passion, leadership, and deep commitment to creating new opportunities for others, we eagerly anticipate amplifying the impact of Microsoft Leap and reaching even more communities around the world!

Last Friday, we hosted an incredible Intern Escape Room event during our Discovery program. The scenario? New interns were “locked” in a building after their interviews and had to crack the secret code to escape! This engaging activity included four different tasks that reinforced everything they learned throughout the day about "All Things Tech Recruiting." It was a fantastic way to challenge their critical thinking and problem-solving skills while also requiring them to use logical reasoning, teamwork, collaboration, and communication. And of course, we had a ton of fun in the process! A huge shoutout to our amazing volunteer moderators Juliann Makey, Monika A., and Natasha M. who supported the activity and helped us pivot seamlessly when needed. Their dedication and enthusiasm made the event a huge success! #MicrosoftInterns

We're excited to support the Microsoft Discovery Program for the third summer in a row! This program is an opportunity for local high school graduates in Atlanta (pictured below) and the Puget Sound Region to participate in a Microsoft internship. Our Leap instructors designed an interactive Learning Hub for the group of Discoverers and weekly professional development sessions for the group, focused on key topics like discovering your passions in tech and all things tech recruiting. Thank you to our collaborators on the Global Talent Acquisition - Early in Profession team who helped bring this program to life!

Next up in our Leapers in the Limelight series: Donyea Cooley-White! Donyea is a graduate of our 2017 Program Manger track and now excels as a Senior Project Manager at Mojang Studios (XBOX). He describes his experience in the program as a fulfilling opportunity that ultimately gave him the tools and skills needed to create the career he has today. He still utilizes his learnings from our program, and shares his advice to future Leapers: “Don't be afraid to take on a new challenge, even if that means pursuing a completely new career path.”

This week, we're celebrating the completion of our second faculty skilling cohort, launched in partnership with Microsoft Africa Development Centre! This program featured Leap curriculum and instructors, and brought together faculty from nine Kenyan universities who were eager to enhance their skills in emerging technology. Earlier this month, they hosted a graduation event to shine a light on the cohort's hard work and honor their achievements – we wish them the best of luck and are eager to hear about how they incorporate their learnings in their university classrooms. Thank you, as always, to our ADC partners for their support and continued commitment to empowering educators to prepare the next generation of tech professionals!

We're back in the game with the second season of our summer program, The Circuit! This year we're partnering with the Chicago Bulls and continuing our successful collaboration with Urban Initiatives. This program is all about teamwork, strategy, and agility, helping young professionals navigate through challenges, shoot for their goals, and score career wins. A huge shout-out to our amazing organizing team: Nisaini R., Paige Michals, Jasmine Macklin, Juan Llovet de Casso, Adrienne Scherenzel (Curry), Leonidas Caldwell, Yilian Condinanzo, and Yolanda Natal-Santos. We also want to recognize our two incredible interns who participated in our inaugural run: Natorion Johnson and Charles Tinzie 🌟🏀

And that's game, everyone! Congrats to our inaugural #LegendsCohort2024 on their completion of our Technical Program Management pathway! Our graduating class of NFL Legends (now Leapers!) gathered on the Redmond campus on Friday for a day packed with guest speakers, interactive presentations, and more. Big thanks to Charles Lamanna, Sameer B., Aaron Amendolia and Joe Whittinghill, who joined us to share their insights around the importance of investing in learning opportunities and advice to experiment with new tools every day. In addition to our cohort participants who dedicated their time and effort into this learning experience, we also owe thanks to our incredible team of instructors, cohort volunteers, and collaborators NFL Player Care Foundation (PCF) and Atrium, who helped us bring this experience to life – it was truly a team effort!

Meet Leigh Torrence. Leigh is an NFL Legend and Super Bowl Champion – who is now becoming a champion in the tech industry. With a diverse and dynamic background spanning coaching, education and business – the Stanford University alumnus is eager for his pivot into the Technical Program Management (TPM) space. As a member of the Microsoft Leap NFL Legend cohort graduating on Friday, it's clear that Leigh's dedication to excellence and learning knows no bounds – and we can't wait to see him thrive in his new venture. Keep raising the bar, Leigh Torrence.

Meet Hurley Tarver – our latest Legend Spotlight! Hurley brings an impressive 8 years of NFL experience to our #LegendsCohort2024. After retiring, he began his professional career off the field, excelling as a human resources generalist. Hurley has a passion for winning and is eager to share his self-motivated, competitive, and results-oriented approach with the cohort. Only one more week to go for this group! We can't wait to see all you accomplish.

Big shout out to our guest speakers from EA SPORTS who spoke to our #LegendCohort2024 last week. Panelists Clint Oldenburg, Patrick Lamont 🎮🏈⛳️, and Raghib Tyler met with our Legends to discuss what it takes to succeed while making a career transition. They also shared their experiences of working at EA SPORTS, including how to leverage opportunities within the recruitment process and the vital role project management plays within their teams. Their advice for those transitioning careers? Lean into your tangible skills. Thank you again Clint, Patrick, and Raghib for sharing your valuable insights with our cohort!