On March 7, we had the pleasure of celebrating International Women’s Day with University of Washington (UW) Bothell STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) scholars and faculty members at our Avanade office in Seattle. It was a truly remarkable day for everyone involved especially our new Avanade STEM scholarship recipients, UW Bothell STEM and business students, to be introduced to their new Avanade mentors.   

The event was well attended too. More than 26 students were joined by Elaine Scott, the Dean of the STEM School, Sandeep Krishnamurthy, the Dean of the Business School and six faculty members, along with our Avanade executives and 20 mentors. What a turnout!

Since 2015, we’ve focused our Corporate Citizenship efforts on young people and especially young women by awarding scholarships to female students to pursue an education in STEM through our Avanade STEM Scholarship. As leading digital innovators, we are inspired to make a genuine human impact on the lives of young women, ensuring they have access to STEM education and empowering them by investing in their future.

And although students admitted to feeling overwhelmed by the whole experience at first — after a day packed with activities, including a warm welcome from Katrina Zamets, General Manager of Avanade Seattle, a compelling roundtable discussion with Pamela Maynard, President, Offering & Innovation and our seventh annual International Women’s Day celebration themed Innovate for Change, their excitement level grew.

“I was really nervous about meeting industry professionals like you, but you helped me realize that industry professionals are normal people too and everyone has their own path to success.” –UW Bothell Student and Avanade STEM Scholarship recipient

Events such as these give us an opportunity to enrich our scholars’ experience and broaden their industry exposure by enabling them to interact with Avanade executives. Through activities such as a round table discussion with Pam Maynard, the young women get to hear first-hand from a female executive who has climbed the corporate ladder and get tips and advice from her.  They also get an opportunity to meet their potential mentors and soak up their wisdom in person.

“I want to thank you so much for everything you put into the event; I had such an amazing time. Thank you for connecting with me!” –UW Bothell student and Avanade STEM Scholarship recipient

Mentorship remains a key component of our Avanade STEM Scholarship program. It provides scholars with an insight into what lies ahead for them in the professional world, helps them understand life in the corporate world and guides them through some of the tough questions and decisions they may be facing today and in the future. It also gives our employees an opportunity to work with these young people, to develop their mentoring skills and give something back. It’s a win-win for us all.

We’re thrilled that the support we offer through our scholarship program is having such a positive effect on our STEM scholars — all 62 of them, across 11 universities and in nine different countries to be precise. We’re even more thrilled that four of our inaugural scholars have chosen to start their career with Avanade. It’s incredibly rewarding, knowing that we’re creating opportunities for young women and transforming their lives.

The cherry on the cake came two weeks later when Avanade received an award from Cal Poly Pomona (another of our Avanade STEM Scholarship university partners) during their College of Business Administration 50^th Anniversary Celebration.  Avanade were awarded the Corporate Partnership Award as a reflection of the relationship we have built with Cal Poly through our STEM Scholarship and the memorial endowment of the Mitchell C. Hill Center for Digital Innovation. David Oskandy, Avanade General Counsel and Secretary was on hand to collect the award on behalf of Avanade— and speaking on behalf of David, I know we could not be prouder.

To learn more about our partnership with Cal Poly Pomona, read this article in their Ovation Business Magazine.