Visiting Microsoft

As we walked into the Microsoft building, we couldn’t help but feel a little awestruck. The buildings were big, shiny, and full of perks like a fridge full of sodas. “What an amazing place!” we thought.

We were greeted by two very enthusiastic Microsoft employees, both part of Microsoft’s accessibility department. The activity they had us do was to design a product to help people with a specific disability. Each group designed one for a different disability. The greatest creation was a unicorn-centaur product for people who lack a lower half.

We also had an amazing panel full of people who are associated with Microsoft’s disability department, which we all found very motivational. We then had a showcase of the three new innovations created to help people with disabilities. First, the Eye Gaze wheelchair, an app that helps mostly paralyzed people use their power wheelchairs. Second, a OneNote add-on that helps people read more easily. Lastly, an app that takes pictures and then tells someone what it is. Not only were the products amazing, they showed how people can help others. Many of the people behind these products did not have a disability but still they created these innovative, if not possibly essential, products. We truly were inspired. Microsoft was an amazing experience that we would preach to the entire world if we had soapboxes.