Girls Who Code: Utah Launch

~~~ Guest post by Darcie Mayne ~~~

Last month, we hosted more than 200 seventh and eighth grade girls from across the state at our Dell EMC office in Draper. We were joined by Reshma Saujani, CEO of Girls Who Code, Lieutenant Governor Spencer Cox, and Julie Simmons of Women Tech Council to celebrate the launch of the Girls Who Code Club network in Utah.

Vance Checketts, Reshma Saujani, Julie Simmons, Spencer Cox

Adobe and Microsoft, along with the Utah STEM Action Center, are supporting the commitment to create nearly 50 new clubs launching in Utah throughout the year. This Fall groups will begin meeting in Utah schools, community centers libraries and company offices to inspire middle- and high-school-age girls to learn computer coding. A key part of the Dell EMC effort includes leveraging our Women In Action Employee Resource Group. They are a powerful force for good that extends well beyond the 100's here in Utah.

200+ girls excited about Girls Who Code

The goal is to raise awareness and visibility of technology among young women and help shatter the perception that the tech industry is only for males. Reshma implored the students not to buy into stereotypes that girls are not suited to math, science and computing. She said, "I spend my life trying to harass girls like you and make you want to code. You're being duped by a culture that tells you this subject is not for you."

Workshop: Using technology to solve world problems

Learning coding skills is a "great equalizer" in society. Students from diverse backgrounds are all sitting at the same starting line. One girl said, "I wasn't really interested before, but now I am. Boys get more chances than girls." Our Utah girls are ready to solve big problems using technology.

Lt Gov. Spencer Cox takes a selfie with the girls

We have an incredible opportunity to drive human progress through technology. We can't realize the full potential without our girls. More information about the program is available on the STEM Action Center website and the Girls Who Code website. See previous announcements from Dell on our website.

Salt Lake Corporate Games Winter 2018

~~~ Guest post by Windie Darrington ~~~

What makes a Tradition? 

A tradition is a belief or behavior passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. 

After competing in our 2^nd Winter Games it is safe to say we have a new tradition at the Dell EMC Utah office, competing in the Salt Lake County Winter Corporate Games. The Winter Games are done on a smaller scale of the Summer Games. The events are played with the same intensity, commitment and desire to have fun in an "Olympic" style competition among 30+ companies with an estimated 2,500 participants, and opportunities for all levels of athleticism contribute to the team’s success and make an impact in our local community.

Opening Ceremonies

The games began with a glow in the dark 5k wellness walk for all employees, family members and even their dogs. Followed with the first two competition; a chili cook-off for all to enjoy and our “winter” obstacle course where Mother Nature failed to participate and provide snow. Instead our team built a Hula Hoop snowman, scooped tennis balls, snowshoed through the grass and power sled across the lawn to a 2^nd place podium. 

Hula Hoop Snowman

Troy Darrington scooping tennis balls

2nd Place!

Who needs daylight?

The Games

With a total of 24 competition events Dell EMC participated in the following 15:

• Men’s Bowling
• Women’s Bowling
• Coed Bowling
• Broomball (hockey in tennis shoes)
• Ninja Warrior Course
• Obstacle Course
• Pistol Shoot
• Scrabble
• Table Tennis
• “Mystery” Event
• Poker
• Sand Volleyball
• Chili Cook-off
• Wellness Walk

Dell EMC earned a combined 8 Medals! 

4 Gold, 3 Silver and 1 Bronze

 

Ninja Warrior 

Dell EMC took home the Bronze!

Among our competition events we are also able to participate in an executive challenge, volunteering, and the Heart & Soul Award. The executive challenge consisted of 3 assigned C-level, Director or Sr. Managers checking in at competition events. This was a piece of cake for our crew. Not only did we have an executive check in at EVERY event, they were also playing on the teams.

Mystery Event Team completing 10 different
tasks while tied together in a circle

Mystery Event Gold Medal Winners!

Broomball Team

Thank goodness pads are required!

Heart & Soul Award

The Heart & Soul Award was originally started as a “$200 minimum requirement” of donated food and blood to our local banks. Our Utah office received a very warm thank you for turning this into a real competition. After 4 consecutive years of earning the Heart & Soul award through thousands of dollars and pounds donated to the Utah Food Bank and with hundreds of lives saved through blood donations, we quickly became “the ones to beat." It is a honor to say that we drove the top 5 companies in the competition to raise over $15,000 dollars in food donated to the Utah Food Bank and hundreds of units of blood donated to the American Red Cross. Dell EMC came in a very close 2nd for this year's award. 1st place went to one of our fierce Corporate Games competitors, NetFlix. In the end, it is with great pride that we all say the real winners are the Utah Food Bank and American Red Cross!

Heart & Soul Competing Companies

Thank you to the Red Cross!

Volunteer Company of the Games

The Winter Games could not be held let alone run as smooth as they do without the participating teams providing volunteers. In true Dell culture our team members answered to call for help and earned the Volunteer Company of the Games Award.

Dell EMC team members Tyler Stevens, Troy Darrington,
Windie Darrington, and Stephanie Hill 

Winter Games Wrap up

The Salt Lake Corporate Games moto is ‘friendly competition boosts employee morale” and for a few short weeks in the winter Dell EMC team members huddle around the work place replaying the last nights events, laughing, strategizing and energizing our winning culture inside and outside of the office.  Corporate games brings together our team members across different business units with the same desire to “Make it Real."

1st Place overall!