Letter from the President, Arizona Technology Council

Some of the greatest accomplishments of humankind were the work of young people. Bill Gates was 20 when he launched Microsoft; he and Paul Allen were in high school when they began conceiving the personal computer. Steve Jobs was 21 when he founded Apple. Sergey Brin and Larry Page were in graduate school when they developed their first search engine. Charles Darwin and Albert Einstein were 26 when they developed the basis for their theories of natural selection and relativity, respectively. Isaac Newton was 23 when his discoveries formed the basis for calculus.

Consequently, there is nothing more important to the future of Arizona's technology sector than improving the performance of our K through 12 education system. Arizona currently ranks an abysmal 50th out of 50 states in the annual ranking of "Smart States."

You can make an immediate impact (see accompanying article) on the state's educational outlook. A team of high school kids from Gilbert, Arizona's Highland High School were winners at the 2008 FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Competition, Las Vegas Regional.

These talented students now have an opportunity to go on to the 2008 FIRST Championship on April 17, 18 & 19 in Atlanta, GA. To make it to this national-level competition they need financial support. Help Arizona's kids make it to the next stage; let us know if you want to get involved and we'll get you connected.

Young people are not inhibited or constrained by the burden of experience. They don't really know what's impossible. This gives them an edge over the rest of us when it comes to creating innovation. We must all do better at helping to give them a chance to change the world. Please pitch in and support FIRST.

Sincerely,

Steven G. Zylstra

More information at: http://www.aztechcouncil.org
Contact: aztechtalk@aztechcouncil.org