Free All Expenses Paid Trip to TechEd for MCP’s: Will it be you?

If you remember that “Get On The Bus” Promotion I spoke about before, they’ve changed the game a bit more now! Now it’s not only easier, but it’s even easier than that!

Now, you have the opportunity to be rewarded like so:

  • Free admission to TechEd 2009
  • Hotel stay during the conference
  • Return airfare from Los Angeles to your nearest major airport
  • Your choice of:
    • Airfare from your closest major airport to your choice of cities on the Career Express tour route, where you’ll meet the bus and ride the rest of the way to TechEd, or
    • Airfare directly from your closest major airport to Los Angeles

That’s right! You can be flown to “get on the bus” *or!* You can get flown directly to TechEd itself! How’s that for amazing! It’s like winning one of those raffle contests we’ve all hoped and dreamed to win as children!

So, what does it take to win given light of the news of “I can go directly to TechEd!”

    • Send us an e-mail with your name, MCP ID, and preferred contact info. Include a link to the essay we asked for (“Why I’m Passionate about Microsoft Learning and Certification”) and an optional video URL.
    • You have until 9am Pacific time on Monday, April 20th to enter; we’ll select and notify up to 5 winners the next day.
    • Full legal rules and restrictions here.

And let me break that down for you a bit if you’re at all misunderstanding:

You are required to:

  • BE an MCP – Meaning you have an MCP ID, No ID, No Soup for you
  • Provide a link to an essay you wrote about “Why you’re passionate about MS Learning and Certification”
    • An essay does not mean, a resume, your webpage when it doesn’t include an Essay, or any other form of situation where in the end it does not equal your essay.  If you want an example of what an essay looks like, read mine here:
    • Get on the Bus: You mean I have to write an essay?!
  • (Optional) Include a link to a Video, further stating your passion for MS Learning and Certification.  Again, here is another example :)

Do all of this by April 20th and you’re in business! So, it’s never been so easy!

If you want to find more information about this – Read the source article from the Microsoft Learning Communities Blog Another Chance to Get on the Bus (or Fly Directly to TechEd!)

Whether you fly direct, or get on the bus – This will be an opportunity you’ll never forget!

Win an all expenses paid trip to TechEd NA 2009! Ends April 6th

What’s that you say? A free trip?! Where do I sign up, how can I win?!

If you missed my previous post Get On The Bus to TechEd! Deadline April 6th! there is an amazing opportunity to win not only recognition, food folks fun and adventure, but also a free ride all the way to TechEd!

The formal site for this contest has all of the details as does my above mentioned post, but just to give you a feel of what is required.   You are expected to:

Play the Are You Certifiable Game and generate a score.

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Write an Essay and publish it online, typically via a blog.

You get extra points if you create a video and make it available.

And then fill out your registration which you can find here and you’re on your way!

It’s very easy, and this weekend is the last chance to do it before it expires Monday at 9AM PST

Get on there, generate and compete! I really want to go, but I also really want to compete and make sure as many people as possible have this opportunity to not only Get On The Bus, but also to potentially attend TechEd as it’s an amazing opportunity and place to visit!

Also, if you have any questions about any of this, don’t hesitate to ask me, or certainly the folks over at MSLearning, but I’m a third party who WANTS you to succeed, so that’s a win :)

Get on the Bus: You mean I have to write an essay?!

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Rule #1: Don’t write blog posts, nor essays at 2AM, shortly after writing late night blog posts mentioning the educational benefits of Microsoft education programs like DreamSpark!

The question on the table at the moment is, “Why am I passionate about Microsoft training and certification?” And I feel that this question is actually very easy for me to not only explain and articulate but to discuss in great length! ;) The key word specifically is my passion around this.    This is no area I am one to shy away from, nor one which I have not done my best to cover in earnest time and time again both in this blog, but also in presentations to large groups and individuals while trying to raise the bar around what educational opportunities exist.

To discuss a bit about me, I am a founding member and currently an elected chair of the Chicago Windows Users Group, an organization founded on the premise of not only helping raise awareness and education within the Microsoft Community, but on that very point of increasing community within those of us Technical as well.     Whether I am at our meetings discussing what Free opportunities exist in a downturn economy, talking about the merits of MCP certification and availability of training courses or even offering up random marriage proposals to Trika in her Certification hey-day; I’m always looking out for the folks around me making sure they know what exists and what is available!

I get asked quite often what the current state, merit and benefits of certification are, especially for those who get overly concerned over the expiration, lack of, and re-instatement at times (deja-vu!) And I take those comments not only in stride but also in the effort of educating the individuals so we all come out stronger and can walk away knowing what it takes to become a master!   But it takes more than some Technical Offerings and a little education to really set a precedent for what Certification really means.   It is about showing the promise, the possibility and exuding my own passion for Certification, Education and Learning as an Evangelist moreso than an enthusiast.

Define: Enthusiast v Evangelist

The difference between an enthusiast and an evangelist, is an enthusiast tells you how excited they are about something.   An evangelist tells you how excited YOU are about something.

Yea, I am an evangelist, and I promote education, certification and more in this blog and through direct one-on-one communication, large group education sessions, presentations, livemeetings, webex’s, creating Post-Mortems after taking Beta Exams (within the confines of NDA’s ;)).  I even comment excessively on the Beta Exams and have participated in the creation of a number of test questions and exams (Hey, I like to make sure I don’t have to make comments by fixing some things in the beginning!)

Am I passionate about Education and Certification? You better believe it!   I’ve been told, if there were an MVP option for Certification I would have received it – Which is honorable indeed to be told that by many people (Multiple Microsoft Employees and many third party) though sadly that option does not exist in the MVP community, so sad :)    I treat my sharing of this information like I am getting paid to deliver it! But I am not getting paid for it, and I’m not so sure I’d do the job quite so passionately if I were actually paid – The satisfaction is in knowing that people are actually benefitting!

Wow, this almost sounds sappy, but it’s sincere and true and I enjoy and appreciate knowing that people I help, whether through a blog post, a presentation, or direct mentoring has a very tangible impact not only in their careers but also in their lives.

This brings me an absolute level of satisfaction, the likes of which I reap the rewards every time I get the comments, compliments and hear from people who have walked away with new jobs, promotions and salary increases, or just all around a better understanding of their environments and their lives.

Given the chance to compete for this opportunity to be on the bus, it will be a great boon for the technical community, user groups, twitter and more so :)   I love to meet people who have an interest in these very topics, whether it being around wanting to learn, or wanting to help ensure others are learning – This will be an experience like no other while leveraging technology like it is second nature :)

And the worst case, is I have an enjoyable time giving it a try, making sure that others are aware of their opportunity to compete in this as well, but above all – I’ll carry on sharing the educational love and making sure that there is no technologist left behind – And with Microsoft Funding (Often $$ Free) That’s a promise we can all agree to!

Christopher Kusek

@cxi on twitter

CXI on the Are you Certifiable Game!