At Summer Study, the Phase I Scholars and Interns went to Microsoft headquarters located in Redmond, WA. We left the UW at 10:15 a.m. and returned to campus at 4:00 p.m. We began our tour in one of Microsoft's many conference rooms. Once we were all settled, we were introduced to a panel of Microsoft employees with disabilities. After introductions, we asked about their professions, disabilities, and their lives in general. We then heard a presentation on the computer dictation program for Windows Vista that responds to voice commands. It was amazing!
After all that excitement, we went to Microsoft Studios where training videos and executive presentations are created. Split into two separate groups, we visited the control room, the green studio room, and the white studio room. The white studio room is used to film high definition video.
The studios were great, but the real fun began after the tour when we visited the Microsoft Museum and Visitor's Center. We saw Microsoft's timeline that showed important milestones from the company's beginnings to the present. The timeline displayed Microsoft's growth and contributions to our world, especially in the lives of people with disabilities. For this we are grateful and we say thank you from the bottom of our hearts. The world is ours to grasp and do what we are most passionate about!