Leaders from Microsoft, Starbucks and T-Mobile Pull Back the Curtain for Giant Campus Students

SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Giant Campus, a nationally recognized leader in innovative technology, marketing and business education programs for youth and adults, today announced the availability of its interactive speaker series, Giant Campus Career Connections (www.giantcampuswa.com/our-programs/career-connections). The newly launched online series will enable high school students to learn firsthand how some of the leading marketing, business, and graphic and game design professionals from Burger King, Microsoft, Starbucks and T-Mobile turned a passion into a successful life-long career. This series regularly exposes Giant Campus students to real-world insight into technology, entrepreneurship and marketing that they cannot get anywhere else. Each of the speakers helped develop products and designs teens use and see every day.

“I am excited to share my experiences with teens from all over the world that are obviously as passionate as I was about pursuing a rewarding career”

The students will connect with:

Denny Marie Post– Former Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Office at T-Mobile USA, Senior Vice President at Starbucks, Senior Vice President at Burger King, and Chief Innovation Officer at Kentucky Fried Chicken.
Dan Price– 26-year-old Founder/CEO of Gravity Payments, the largest credit card payment processing company in the Northwest. Price started Gravity while a freshman in college and was named the Entrepreneur of the Year by the SBA and President Obama for 2010. He consults with President Obama and other high-ranking officials on issues important to entrepreneurs.
Clayton Kauzlaric– The Senior Design Director at Microsoft Game Studios has worked as an artist, game designer and creative director on console and PC titles for nearly 20 years. Kauzlaric also created the Xbox action-adventure game Voodoo Vince.
Chris Novak– Design Architect for Microsoft Game Studios. Over his career, Novak has designed for game franchises like Crackdown, Project Gotham Racing, NASCAR, and Knockout Kings.
Mark Popich– As Design Director at the branding and creative agency Hornall Anderson Design Works, Popich has received numerous awards for work with companies like Eos Airlines, the Seattle SuperSonics, Microsoft, AT&T Wireless, T-Mobile and HTC.

“I am excited to share my experiences with teens from all over the world that are obviously as passionate as I was about pursuing a rewarding career,” said Career Connections speaker Denny Marie Post. “By giving them insight into my business experiences at T-Mobile, Starbucks, Burger King and Kentucky Fried Chicken, hopefully they will pick up on what worked and what didn’t and apply them as they begin their careers.”

Every month, each speaker will give a live online presentation, and conduct a question and answer session that will last a total of 45 minutes. Some talking points of the virtual chat will include:

What steps are absolutely necessary as teens begin exploring careers
What qualities are needed for careers in digital arts, computer science, or business and innovation
What inspired the speakers
Is there anything the speakers wished they knew sooner about their field

“Since teens today begin building their resume in high school, it’s important that they arm themselves with the most essential steps and skills to building careers in fields like technology and business early on,” said Giant Campus Founder and CEO Pete Findley. “Giant Campus Career Connections gives students unrivaled actionable insight into these fields while also breaking geographical barriers since it is offered exclusively online.”

About Giant Campus

Giant Campus is an education and learning experience company that empowers teens and adults through in-person and online technology classes. These programs provide education on cutting-edge technology including game and Web design, digital photography, video production, computer programming, business applications, and much more. Students are encouraged to reach their full creative potential, with classes focused on building collaboration, communication and critical thinking skills. Millions of students worldwide have participated in Giant Campus programs since 1997 in a wide variety of environments, from K-12 classrooms to U.S. military installations, and at camps at prestigious academic institutions such as Duke University, MIT, Stanford University and UCLA. For more information on how Giant Campus is connecting people with technology, visit www.giantcampus.com.