From intern to full-time employee at Microsoft

Who: Gildas Cheung, 22, a graduate of Microsoft's high-school internship program who began working at the company full time four months ago.

Current job: Systems analyst in licensing group.

Personal background: Immigrated to the United States with his family from Hong Kong when he was in fifth grade and began working with computers at Moorlands Elementary in Bothell. Cheung's father is in the insurance business and his mother is a doctor's assistant. They bought him his first computer in fifth grade. It was a Macintosh.

Why they immigrated: "My parents wanted better opportunities, and I would say it would be for more opportunities for their children — me and my sister," Cheung said.

Computing: In sixth grade, Cheung took computer classes, and a teacher encouraged his interest, helping him to use programs like Hypercard. Cheung was soon going with the teacher when he taught elsewhere in the district. "I guess that's when everything got started with my being into computers," he said.

Connecting with Microsoft: As an Inglemoor High School sophomore, he applied for an internship and was rejected. He tried again as a junior, was accepted and did two internships. He also worked 10 hours a week during the school year. He participated in a college internship program and received a job offer six months before graduating from the University of Washington with a degree in industrial engineering.

High-school internship: "Mostly they want to nurture your passion for technology, to prepare you for the real world," he said.

What he did: Wrote a program to automate scheduling of machines used in the Office testing lab — about 150 PCs, 10 servers and a dozen printers. Testing had been scheduled on paper.

Thinking back: In the fifth grade, he didn't know he would be working for Microsoft, "but I knew I loved working with computers and I loved working with smart, dedicated, passionate people. I also knew at the time I wanted to work with technology."

Long-term goals: Stay at Microsoft: "We'll see where my passion takes me."

Coolest thing at Microsoft: Vista and Office 2007, "especially from a licensing standpoint."

Advice to future interns: "If you have the passion for technology and you're a dedicated person, you're hard-working, you'll be a successful ... intern. Keep trying. Always make sure you're doing something with technology."

And more: Does playing Xbox or PS2 count? "You could, but you would want to dive into something more than that."

— Brier Dudley