I received the email of acceptance into the program on 4th June 2022. The day was special for me as I was getting bored during my internship and did not have much to look forward because of COVID-19 back then.
Anyways, On receiving the mail I shared it on LinkedIn and the response from my connections was amazing. I had previously worked as a Student Partner for companies like Internshala and Bolt IoT.
Company Description
Being selected as an Ambassador for a company like Microsoft with more than 40 years of history in Technology and Software felt like an enormous honor.
Their are total 4 stages of being a Microsoft Learn Student Ambassador these are as follows:
- New
- Alpha
- Beta
- Gold
Gold being the topmost levels has the best privileges and you get to be mentored by Microsoft employees and even get nominated for Microsoft’s Most Valuable Professional (MVP) program.
Responsibilities & Perks
When you get enrolled into the program, one of the first things that happens is that you get your own “@studentambassadors” Email Id along with perks like Visual Studio benefits, subscriptions to Microsoft Azure, TechSmith, Office 365 and LinkedIn Learning till you are part of the program.
Also you’ll become part of Microsoft Learn Student Ambassador teams channel where updates and benefits for the program will be shared. A Youtube live session was organized by MSPInspire group on their Youtube channel where Pablo Veramandi, Director of Microsoft’s global Student Developer programs briefed us about the program and answered our questions.
Learning
Conducting my first event as part of the Program. My first event I conducted was on 21 Nov 2022 on topic of “Github Universe watch party & Introduction to code spaces” with one of my fellow MSP (Microsoft Students Partner) and college friend. The event really changed my outlook about how I looked at teaching and conducting online technical events. The registrations we received were more than 100+. The experience of managing so many people and explaining concepts to them while typing was engaging and insightful. And after about 2 hours 40 minutes of teaching and answering questions the event was over and I really felt fulfilled. Knowing that you have done good to someone with no expectation of anything in return, is one of the best feeling in the world.
The first event although we were proud of what we were able to achieve (considering the number of participants), it did left a lot to be desired.
The good thing was I got promoted to Beta after this event.
Pros
- Social support
- Networking opportunities
- Personal growth
- Leadership
- Cultural exposure
- Community service
- Building lasting friendships
Cons
- Time Commitment
- Conflict of Priorities
- Limited Exposure
- Peer Pressure
- Academic Distraction