Bill Gates and Paul Allen began working on microcomputers while still at Seattle’s Lakeside School. They founded Microsoft in 1975, and nearly a decade later, the company was recognized as the world's most powerful producer of microcomputer software. In the 1990s, a group of Black employees of Microsoft began holding an annual Minority Student Day program to encourage minority students to complete their education and pursue careers in tech.

This image shows Nathan Hale High School senior Priscilla Wong and Gates at the 1995 Minority Student Day. The event brought 80 students from five high schools to the Microsoft campus to receive tours and presentations and to see people of color represented in high-tech jobs. Here, Gates writes his email address for Wong upon her request.

Caption information source: "Minority students meet technology face to face," by John Iwasaki, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, October 27, 1995, page C1.