Love What You Do and Do What You Love

What type of work are you involved in now? Can you name your organization and its mission?

Currently I work at TAF – http://techaccess.org. TAF’s mission is to equip students of color for success in college and life through the power of a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) education.

My role is STEM Integration Program Manager. As the STEM integration program manager, I lead TAF’s efforts to engage students and teachers in interdisciplinary exploration of STEM in the context of today’s social and global issues. This interdisciplinary approach contrasts sharply with status quo disciplinary instructional approaches in which teachers have students do work that is virtually independent and of little relevance to other subjects, and often lack an authentic connection to professional work.

I am responsible for development and implementation of strategies to increase adult and student learning around STEM including but not limited to pilots and adoption of established, emergent and innovative practices in STEM education. This includes course-based, online and blended learning solutions that increase STEM knowledge for students and adults.

What did you do before your current work?

Before working at TAF, I was a Software Design Engineer in Test at Microsoft. I worked on Excel and Excel Services. In this role, my job was to ensure product quality through testing and automation. I was also responsible for educating my team on accessibility initiatives, standards, and compliance, enabling physically handicapped users to utilize our software. After three years, I left Microsoft and worked as a “Genius” at Apple for a year, and also helped numerous people and businesses with their technological endeavors.

Why did you leave what you were doing before?

I got a chance to be a mentor while working with Kappa League, a youth program of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity. Realizing the impact that mentors and tutors had on me, I started a tutoring company, Dream Allies. Witnessing the achievement gap steadily increase between minorities and their counterparts gave me a sense of urgency to take action.

After three years at Microsoft, I decided to go down another road on my journey and help bridge this gap. On my path I’m concentrated on serving my community through education and technology.

What are some of your most notable achievements in your current line of work?

With the help of a few Software Engineers from Microsoft, I planned and implemented a program called Teacher Scientist Partnership (TSP). One of the main goals of this program is to engage professionals in the STEM community in meaningful ways that increase student learning and achievement.

Weekly, the engineers plan with teachers and teach Computer Science concepts to high school students. The students use their skills in conjunction with concepts in their humanities, math, and science classes to deliver interdisciplinary projects.

It is VERY satisfying for me to see a 9th Grade student, who previously had no interest in computer science, get excited to use JavaScript to create an online calculator that calculates the supply of natural resources in Nigeria over a certain period of time. This satisfaction happens almost everyday of my job.

Other notable achievements over the past year include:

• Sailing trip

  http://commons.tafacademy.org/fw/blog/2012/01/02/2011-salish-sea-expedition

• Lego Robotics team

  http://commons.tafacademy.org/fw/blog/2011/12/14/techno-tigers-win-award-at-2011-first-lego-league-regional-robotics-competition

• High School interns

  http://commons.tafacademy.org/fw/blog/2012/04/22/fred-hutch-interns-on-kiro-tvs-incolor-segment

What was some (if any) sacrifices/uncomfortable decisions you had to make in order to pursue what you are doing now?

The biggest thing I had to consider before leaving my job at Microsoft was my authenticity. I had been thinking about leaving Microsoft for over a year. I had even been shopping around my resume and received a couple offers doing similar work. At the end of the day, I realized that I would never find the perfect time to leave and I would be wasting time and my happiness by trying to save enough money to be comfortable.

I’ll never forget the conversation I had with my manager the day I put in my notice. I told him that I was not being honest with myself by working a job that I had no passion for. Because of my sincerity, he worked with me on a 3 month transition plan, and 3 months later I left.

WIth no huge stockpile of cash and no solid plan, I had to sell my car and most of my belongings, rent out my condo, and crash at a friend’s house. It hit me at that time how attached I was to things and titles. I felt vulnerable, but then I realized that instead of the glass being half empty I had a blank canvas to do WHATEVER I wanted. It was a good feeling. It was one of the roughest times of my life, but one of the most happy times as well.

What would you do differently if you had it all to do over again?

I believe that everything happens for a reason. I couldn’t have planned how things ended up, but I also couldn’t imagine things happening any differently. I had some failures that were also some of my biggest life lessons.

With that being said, I definitely would have saved more cash while I was at Microsoft. I could argue that being put in the uncomfortable position to survive fueled my ambition and success as well.

Do you think of yourself as a leader? Why/why not?

I think of myself as a leader because more often than not I find that people look to me for ideas, guidance, and motivation. I am a lifelong learner and also a passionate student of leadership. Also, I find the best way to learn leadership is to be a great follower.

Other relevant items:

• “The 4 Hour Work Week” by Timothy Ferriss
• “The Alchemist” by Paulo Coelho
• “Drive” by Daniel Pink

  http://ddharris.com/2012/05/14/what-motivates-us

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