Google Hosts Inclusive Workshop for HTS Students

Google Inc. made personal their effort to be a different type of corporation when they opened their doors to young adults with Down Syndrome on June 9, 2009.  The event was called an "Afternoon at Google" and it surpassed all expectations for our Hope Technology School students who participated.

Google has an extraordinary campus in Mountain View. It was on this campus at 3:30 p.m. that participants began to arrive at Building 40.  Each of the young adults involved was met by one of the Google employees who call themselves Googlers. Ushered into a beautiful auditorium setting with lecture hall style seating each person was paired with their own personal Googler as an afternoon partner.

From beginning to end this experience helps one to understand why Google is consistently ranked as one of the world's most admired companies by Fortune magazine. Each Googler made the maximum effort to create an inclusive environment where the participants felt respected and successful.  

The ice breaker drew out the personality in some very charismatic participants while making the fearful comfortable enough to enjoy themselves. The tour was creatively paced to maximize enjoyment for all.  

The most memorable scene was produced during the computer and internet basics activity. As these very talented and gifted Googlers partnered with each participant to explore the invisible world of cyberspace observers received a snapshot of the future.This future was one where those with special needs were seen as partners rather than dependents. 

At the end of this educational and enjoyable experience each participant was presented with a certificate and symbolic t-shirt marking their participation in this "Afternoon At Google."

There is little question in the mind of this writer that those in attendance will never think of Google in the same way. Before today Google was a search engine, corporate behemoth, or employer.  On this day it was a welcoming home to a group of people it could easily have ignored.   It wasn't simply a place of employment but one where you can make a difference.

Thanks to Google and the HTS Students who participated for letting us all share in this moment.