I still remember seeing a Microsoft recruiter invite me to submit an application for the Microsoft Learn Student Abassador program in the summer of 2021. Despite not knowing what it was about, I decided to give it a try because, since beginning of october, I have been a part of various communities and have created courses, workshops, and events. I joined the local Microsoft Team after being admitted in October of that year and was motivated to see what other students were doing globally to have an influence on their local communities.

Beginning

One of the first things that happens after you enlist in the program is that you receive your own “@studentambassadors” email address along with benefits like subscriptions to Microsoft Azure, TechSmith, Office 365, and LinkedIn Learning while you are a part of it.

You will also join the Microsoft Learn Student Ambassador teams channel, where information about program upgrades and advantages will be discussed. Pablo Veramandi, Director of Microsoft’s global Student Developer programs, informed us on the program and answered our questions at a Youtube live session arranged by the MSPInspire group on their Youtube channel. When I first entered the program, Alpha 1 tier was my given tier. The Program has multiple levels, and in order to advance to the next level, you must perform specific objectives at each level. Different perks are attached to each rank.

When I participated in the program, there were 4 levels: Alpha 1, Alpha 2, Beta, Gold. The best rights are found at the highest level, Gold, where you can even be nominated for Microsoft’s Most Valuable Professional (MVP) program and receive mentoring from Microsoft staff.

Organizing events for the program

My first event, which I organized alongside a fellow MSP (Microsoft Students Partner) and college classmate, was on the theme of “Introduction to Git and Github” in December 2021. The experience significantly altered my perspective on teaching and running online technical events. We received around 550 registrations in total. To be quite honest, we were unable to host many of these attendees due to Microsoft teams’ then-current 300-person online meeting capacity limit.

It was interesting and illuminating to manage so many people while typing and conveying ideas to them. And after the event was complete, after roughly 2 hours and 40 minutes of teaching and fielding questions, I truly felt satisfied. Even though we were proud of what we accomplished with the first event (given the number of attendees), there was still much room for improvement.

Lessons Learned from the Program

I loved being able to communicate and make friends with kids from all around the world. You can communicate with some of the brightest and most motivated individuals on the planet using Discord, Microsoft Teams, or WhatsApp.

To be very honest, the program won’t directly assist you in getting the internship or job offer you actually want. You will be let down if you enroll in the program with this attitude, I assure you. Except if you wish to work as a Developer Advocate, which is a lucrative employment role, no tech business employs a candidate solely based on their involvement in the developer community.

Join the program to gain knowledge from the top minds in the field, participate in sessions together, and form amazing relationships with individuals. Attend the weekly learning sessions that are held throughout the program and make an effort to participate and ask questions. Build fantastic projects using the benefits you have been provided. The most crucial step is to highlight everything you do on LinkedIn.

The program’s goal is to develop students’ leadership qualities and assist them in creating technical communities using the skills they acquire through the program. My fellow program participants have grown their startups, Youtube channels, and personal brands simply by participating in the program.

On LinkedIn, there are innumerable instances of people who, after participating in the program for a little over a year, were able to accomplish some great things.