NJIT Avanade Scholars Meet CEO Pam Maynard
Written by Shravanthi Budhi
On Wednesday, Oct. 30, the NJIT Avanade Scholars joined several of Avanade’s top leaders and executives at their New York City (NYC) office for the privilege of meeting with CEO Pamela Maynard (eighth from right in the photo above), as well as Stella Goulet, chief marketing officer; Suzanne Dann, general manager for the Northeast; and Brett Newton, vice president, market unit leader and executive sponsor of the NJIT Avanade Scholarship program. The students invited to attend were Tracey Brereton, Shravanthi Budhi, Emily Costagliola, Katharine Ilyutovich, Shana Dominique, Rachel Ogungbile and Julia Lizik. NJIT alumna and full-time consultant at Avanade, Dikasse Zalla, and several of the student’s mentors also joined the students during the meeting.
Avanade, a joint venture between Microsoft and Accenture, is comprised of skilled innovative leaders and consultants who transform businesses with the power of the Microsoft ecosystem. Through the Avanade Scholarship program, the company has been able to make an incredible difference in the lives of bright young women pursuing their education in STEM-related studies by awarding scholarships globally over the past five years. This initiative also aims to cultivate a network of students by providing access to mentoring, internships and an alumni network that will support them as they progress in their education and careers. In the past, the scholars have been invited to attend the 2017 Tech Summit, 2018 Regional Innovation Summit and the 2019 FUEL Innovation, Leadership, and Technology Conference that was held earlier this summer.
During their visit, the scholars were able to join a roundtable discussion and Q&A session with Avanade executives to hear about the journeys each leader has embarked upon to gain insight into the tech industry, how they have identified their passions, and key lessons they have learned over the course of their careers. Although it is evident that Avanade takes great pride in the diversity of their employees, we often find that this inclusive culture is not always prevalent at other organizations in and out of this industry. Therefore, this opportunity to tap into the wisdom the executives were willing to share proved to be tremendously fruitful, as many of the scholars that were a part of the conversation come from a variety of backgrounds, cultures and interests within technology. The mentors in the room, who all have extensive experience in the field, were also able to add their knowledge and expertise to the incredibly meaningful and memorable discussion.
Prior to concluding the visit, Anita Jivani, who is the Innovation lead and director of the NYC Innovation Center at Avanade, eloquently gave the scholars a tour and demo of the various Microsoft technologies that have disrupted and transformed the way we do business in the high-end retail and mining industry.
Our partnership with Avanade and the amazing opportunities it continues to provide for our young women exhibit time and time again how organizations can take revolutionary and thoughtful steps toward investing in the future generation of women that will soon be successful leaders in STEM careers.
