REDMOND, Wash., February 27, 1997 — Microsoft will host 80 Seattle-area minority students on its Redmond campus as part of B.A.M. Minority Student Day on Friday, February 28, 1997. The program, hosted by Blacks at Microsoft (B.A.M.) is the seventh annual event for local minority students hosted by the software company.
“We are excited by the success this program has had in exposing students of color to the opportunities in a wide variety of careers at Microsoft,”
said Keith Toussaint, this year’s program chair.
“B.A.M. members take their responsibility to mentor a new generation of workers very seriously. Hopefully, with the positive experience they have at Microsoft, some of the participants will return to Microsoft as employees.”
B.A.M. Minority Student Day brings together 80 minority high school students and their advisors for an all day program. Participating students are high achievers, selected by local teachers and advisors from inner city and urban high schools in the Seattle School District.
Highlighting the day will be presentations by Darien Dash, president of Digital Mafia Entertainment (DME), a New York-based multimedia software and music production company. DME programmers include minority graduates from leading universities, such as NYU and MIT.
The program also will include hands-on demonstrations, tours of the Microsoft campus, and briefings on the latest technologies being developed at Microsoft. Students will be asked to develop their own high-tech product, using Microsoft®
tools. The day is designed to be both educational and fun.
Dash will join a team of B.A.M. judges to present awards at the close of the day to the students who have used Microsoft technology most creatively to develop their own personal Web pages.
B.A.M. Minority Student Day is part of a larger Microsoft effort to encourage under-represented groups to choose technology careers. In addition, Microsoft has an extensive scholarship program for women and minorities. Microsoft has also partnered with the United Negro College Fund to improve high-tech opportunities for students at historically black colleges and universities.
Black’s At Microsoft (B.A.M.) works to support the continued growth of African American employees at Microsoft and to reach out to the broader African American community. The organization assists Microsoft in its commitment to growing as a culturally aware, socially responsible and racially diverse corporation.
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (NASDAQ
“MSFT”
) is the worldwide leader in software for personal computers. The company offers a wide range of products and services for business and personal use, each designed with the mission of making it easier and more enjoyable for people to take advantage of personal computing every day.
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