Those kids and their TechStart classmates have a very bright future ahead of them. How do I know? Dozens of TAF alumni stay in contact with me to make sure I know they're still living up to their potential every day.

This month I heard from three alumni. Jonathan Porter, now a senior at Seattle University majoring in Marketing, wanted to interview me for his senior thesis on leadership. Beza Getahun, who will graduate this year from the University of Washington with an Industrial Engineering degree, wanted some advice for her interview with Microsoft. The great thing is, I was able to connect her with Miya McClain and Chanvatha Sea, two other TAF alumni who are already working at Microsoft (I also happened to catch this profile of Miya). Finally, Reggie Cole emailed to let me know he found his way after a pretty tough time deciding what his path would be. I was so happy to hear he landed at Brown University.

Every day I think about how to build on the success of these hard working students. How do we reach more students? How can we have more of an impact? How do we handle the growth of the organization while maintaining our entrepreneurial spirit? Where will the resources come from to do it all? These are the questions I grapple with every day. This is the work. Our children are counting on us getting the work done so they have skills and a path to success.

For me, these words from Kahlil Gibran are fitting: "Work is love made visible." I do the work that I do because of the love I have for all our children. The very hard work my late mother did cleaning houses came from of her love for me. Her birthday was February 28th. She's not on this earth with me, but she is why I am here today, why I'm successful, why I have this job, why my own children - her grandchildren - have a legacy to be proud of. Happy Birthday, Mom!