In a company with over 90,000 employees, it’s okay if you don’t know everyone. Actually, it would be extraordinary if you did. What is equally extraordinary is that in a company this big, interns would have the chance to interact with executives. Well, guess what!? That happened at Microsoft NERD last week. Chief People Officer Lisa Brummel traveled all the way from Redmond, Washington to meet our Foundry Students.
”It’s really cool that Lisa wanted to meet us and see us demo our apps. We think executives are so busy managing the company, but this is part of their jobs. Without her support we wouldn’t be here,” said Sue Yee, a rising junior at MassArt.
During Lisa’s 23 years with Microsoft, she has contributed to marketing initiatives, worldwide development, consumer products and technical innovation. She understands the importance of attracting the next generation to Microsoft’s team and thus The Foundry was born. Microsoft’s Cambridge location was selected for the first Foundry because of the proximity to top universities. The Foundry, focused on building Windows 8 apps, is comprised of 22 students from all over the northeast including Harvard, Wellesley and Wentworth. These students are exactly the type of next-generation talent Microsoft is looking for. Well done, Lisa!
Lisa spent her day at NERD meeting the students and learning about their summer experience so far. Each team welcomed Lisa into their work space and presented their projects at their own desks! If you put yourself into intern shoes, you might be nervous presenting to a Microsoft Big Wig. But Lisa’s down-to-earth approach put everyone at ease. She was here to observe and learn, not to grade or judge.
“It felt good to have someone important validate our work. She gave us valuable feedback that will help as we continue to develop our apps. She was easy to talk to and she asked about our career goals and what attracts us to a company,” said Rishabh Kabra, a computer science major at MIT.
Despite her big deal status, her presence instilled comfort and confidence in the students. Each presentation was more of a discussion and everyone walked away feeling good about themselves and their work. The presentations were followed by a delicious lunch with more conversation and storytelling. Lisa’s time at Microsoft has been nothing short of exciting and The Foundry assures it will continue to be so!