Nathaniel Pierce, Staff Writer~
Saturday, Oct. 21, was Lynchburg College’s homecoming weekend and to honor that, the Westover Honors Society brought Kevin Scott back to LC to speak at a luncheon to the Westover Fellows. Scott was also honored with the Distinguished Alumni Award at the Homecoming Awards Gala on Friday, Oct. 20.
Max Rivers, a first-year Westover commented:, “The luncheon with Kevin Scott provided [a] concrete example [of] what [a] Lynchburg College graduate can achieve with determination and how a liberal arts education can bring to fruition one’s goals.”
Kevin Scott graduated from LC in 1994 with a major in computer science, and he was also a Westover Fellow. He went on to get a master’s degree in computer science at Wake Forest University. Scott is a very distinguished individual, as he was named the CTO of Microsoft in January of 2017, and that is just the most recent accomplishment of his very vibrant career.
Before Microsoft, Scott was the senior vice president at LinkedIn and helped lead the company through six years of rapid growth. Business Insider called Scott “The engineer who saved LinkedIn.” Scott has also worked for Google and AdMob, as well as started multiple nonprofits aimed at helping the underprivileged.
On Saturday, Scott was given the opportunity to get up and speak to dozens of Westover Fellows, Alumni and President Garren. He spoke of many things, mentioning how LC has changed drastically in the last 20 or so years, especially within the computer science department. He went on to give some advice to all of those in attendance. He spoke of staying curious, about the positives of a liberal arts education and how to take intelligent risks to achieve goals.
First-year Westover Fellow Sena Nomura said of Scott, “He spoke a lot about [how] persevering through tough times can get you anywhere. He was inspirational and made me believe I could achieve anything if I put my mind to it.” This sentiment was shared among many of the students in attendance.
To find more information on Kevin Scott, visit LC’s website at https://www.lynchburg.edu/news/2017/10/microsoft-cto-alumnus-to-be-honored-at-homecoming/