Oscar!

Matt Kinsinger - Q-School starts today

Pulling for our new friend Matt Kinsinger to get off to a good start today in first round of Web.com tour Q-School. You can follow his results here. Matt played his college golf at UNLV, then took a few years away from the game before gearing back up for a professional run. While living in Australia, he took an interest in ballet, in part because of the strength, conditioning and balance benefits. Check out his ballet video here! We had fun hosting Matt, while he practiced and took some lessons at ACC. My putting definitely improved, thanks to some cool tips from Matt.

Guy Liljenwall - ACC Junior Club Champ

Emily and Guy - Battled it out all summer long for Best Putter in Texas!

Had a blast caddying for Guy in 12 year old division: 37-42-79 won by a shot!

Lucy brightening the world in 8th grade!

Lucy looking beautiful and ready for first day of eighth grade and her last year at Hill Country Middle School.

• Let the game come to you, Lu!
• Remember who's you are - loved by your parents, your sisters, your grandparents, and a child of the Lord.
• Wear a smile, be a friend.

Fit as a Fiddle Friday

Emily with her coach Lonny Alexander: She has worked hard this summer. Proud of her!

First day of school in Charlotte!

Lu and Bailey - resting up for back-to-school

Emily's room layed out for back to school

Notice how E sleeps with her driver and her putter; as well as her alignment sticks so she can always work on her posture and spine angle.

Back to school - week two for Sally

Sally's desk - final year of school!

Surfer girls - Women Power Wednesday

Kate, Carly, Paige and Allie surfing in Mexico

Stay Whole Tuesday - Sharing about Autodesk Internship Program

Emily - I saw that Autodesk is going to be hosting several events at SCAD this fall. Keep an eye out for my friends. Here is something that I found interesting. It is a summary of our internship program. I know you may not think of Autodesk as being in the fashion business, but with the advent of 3D printing, we are working with many companies in that space.

Autodesk is hosting nearly 400 internships globally in FY14!

This year, our Global University Recruiting Program enthusiastically recruited top students at recognized schools to join our emerging talent pipeline. Students participate in a variety of project-based assignments focusing on Software Development, Graphics, Product Design, User Research, Mobile & Cloud Technologies, Product Marketing, Strategy, Finance, Business Management, Sustainability, Social Media and more!

In most locations, we host an enrichment program consisting of talks and activities to introduce them to Autodesk and to enhance their development which includes starting with a structured orientation to welcome and on board students.

Global Program Highlights
 
Bay Area – Program elements included a welcome session with Carl Bass and Jeff Kowalski as well as Tech Talks featuring Brian Mathews discussing the 7 Design Technology Trends and Ben Thompson and Brian Young discussing our initiatives Beyond Sustainable Design. Additionally, Alissa Sykes hosted an Education brown bag to inform interns how they are helping students pursue careers in design, engineering or the digital arts.

Lake Oswego - Students participated in a Town Hall with Buzz Kross where they discussed the importance of being bold, curious and inquisitive during their internship. Interns from Novi, Charlottesville, Pittsburgh and Toronto were also included.

Novi - Interns went off-site to pursue their interest in invention, inspiration and innovation by visiting the Henry Ford museum and Tech Shop.

Waltham and Manchester -  Jim Lynch hosted a lively roundtable discussing all things BCG and answered questions about his own career path. Paul McRoberts held an interactive session highlighting InfraWorks.  Interns also joined a facilitated BIM in Real Life tour of the Waltham office, including a trip to the rooftop, to understand how Integrated Product Delivery was used in the build out of the Waltham sustainable office.

APAC - Students in ACRD participated in a Meet ‘n Greet session with Larry Peck where they received an overview of the Global Engineering structure.  Future plans include a tech talk series where each division will conduct a 1-hour informational session.   This August, the ACAD team will cover an overview of CPG, AutoCAD Family, Cloud Platform, Reality Capture and Research. In Singapore and India, there was strong “virtual” participation by the leadership members located in the United States to support the intern project showcase presentations.

Canada - Events for interns have included The Road to the Clouds, where they learned how Autodesk is applying the fundamentals of computer science to applications built on the public cloud. Additionally, students learned about Autodesk's Life Sciences and Molecular Visualization initiatives and the achievements our customers have made from nanobots to DNA origami. We also facilitated an Agile 101 session, where students gained an understanding of the Agile development process and everyone’s role and responsibilities.

For the grand finale, each intern participates in a Project Showcase where they share their internship results and reflections with the executive in their division.

Interns also organize their own after-hours gatherings including happy hours, movies, baseball games and outdoor activities.  They are also invited to attend special events hosted at their location or within their division including cultural events, division-specific tech talks and Design Night.

We often hear comments from our employees about how exciting and rewarding it is to show students the meaning and value associated with having a career designing cool software that changes our world.   We continue to hear great testimonials from the students themselves about the value the program provides them in choosing their career path.

Thank you to all of our interns, hosting managers and mentors that are working every day to imagine, design and create a better world!

Make it a great Monday and Happy Birthday Sam!

Chi O rush speech

Proud of Sally for being selected to give the Senior Speech for Chi O Rush Week. Here is what she said:

Hi everyone! I have gotten the chance to talk to a bunch of you through out this week, but for those of you who I haven’t, my name is Sally Singletary and I’m a senior from Austin, Texas. 

Weirdly enough, it seems like it was yesterday I was standing where you are about to make this decision.  I remember how difficult it seemed at the time, but if I had had even a glimpse of how much fun I was going to have the decision would have been effortless.  I was reflecting and thinking about what to say today, it sort of hit me that even though it was impossible for me to realize it at the time, choosing Chi O was a decision that truly has determined my amazing college experience.  

I came into college so naive. True life: I whipped out my history flashcards at a social. And I can promise you there is no way I would have stood up here and given a speech in front of all of you. While that’s really embarrassing, it literally is a perfect example of how this sorority and the friends I have made have helped me grow and become who I am. 

The neat thing about Chi O is that I cannot give the credit for my experience to one defined group of people.  I know a lot of houses say that after rush is over everyone stays friends, but I am really proud to say that that’s actually the case here.  Some of my greatest friends are not only the girls in my pledge class, but also the sophomores, juniors, and the girls who recently graduated and took us under our wings when we were freshman.  I can’t tell you how many texts I have received this week from girls who have graduated asking about rush or just sending words of encouragement during this week.  Although it’s a small gesture, it says a lot that they still care enough to do that. I think I speak for everyone when I say that what you see with is what you get. I have realized my favorite thing about Chi O is that WE HAVE NO BOUNDARIES- whether they be age, interest, state- we cross all boundaries and it makes us full versions of ourselves.  We are all different and there is no pressure to fit into a certain mold or expectation.  We’re simply a group of people who care a lot about each other and not only accept each others' differences, but celebrate them.  So whether you are a freshman walking around a social memorizing American history or a senior about to graduate and take on the world, you feel an unbelievable amount of support and love.

It’s inevitable that you are going to change during these next four or five years, that is what it is meant for, and I honestly wish for every single one of you that you experience this change surrounded by people who are going to challenge you, laugh with you, cry with you, and then celebrate really hard with you when its all over. I guarantee you will have this experience if you go Chi O! 

Emily and friends

Design Night at The Gallery

Hey my girls who are into fashion. It looks like my big Google meeting might be on September 5th in San Francisco at The Autodesk Gallery. I wish I could take all of you to this one. The topic is 'How technology is transforming the world of fashion.' The guest speaker is Francis Bitonti, co-designer of the famed Dita Von Teese 3D-printed gown. Emily, I will try to make some good internship connections for you!

To do each day with your mate

Pat and Dianne celebrate 50 years of marriage today! How do you make 50 years the best they can be? Dianne shared these five A's at the beach and I am excited to share them on Nuggets today:

AFFECTION . . . through your eyes, your words, and your actions of kindness;

AFFIRMATION . . . affirm and confirm the importance of your mate in your life, and how your spouse makes you a better person;

APOLOGY . . . apologize for any misgiving of the day (intentional or unintentional);

ASK . . . what can you do to make your mate's day/life better;

AMEN . . . pray together . . . for yourself and for each other.

And, she added 'smile constantly' and 'hug frequently'! I think we call that WASBAF!

Congratulations Uncle Pat and Aunt Dianne. We love you very much!

Dinner time

On the beach

Subarctic Challenge

Back at the ranch known as Barking Springs