Richard Williams, Dr. Seymour Papert
Groveland Park Elementary School
St. Paul, Minnesota
1984


At the time, I don't think I realized the significance of Dr. Papert visiting my elementary school. The classroom was my first exposure to computers, but it never occured to me that the idea of having computers in the classroom was a new one. I didn't realize that the computers had only just arrived the year before me.

I started programming in LOGO during first grade. Two years later, some friends and I were invited to present our creations before the St. Paul / Minneapolis board of education. Later that year, the creator of LOGO came to visit us at Groveland and to talk with us about our experiences creating with LOGO.

During the subsequent 15 years, my interest in computers grew, as did my affinity for using them to help myself learn and create. My experimentation with LOGO continued through the fifth grade. This was complemented with my exploration of other applications of computers at home - a process which is still ongoing.

I majored in Computer Science (and Physics) in college, and was accepted into a Ph.D. program at MIT, writing computer simulations for the Nuclear Engineering Department and Los Alamos National Labs.

Richard Williams, Dr. Seymour Papert
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cambridge, Massachusetts
1999


It's clear that the path of my education and career have been very strongly influenced by my exposure to computers via LOGO in elementary school. However, the impact that Dr. Papert's ideas had on my development as a thinker only became clear to me in the last few years.

Using LOGO didn't just make me comfortable with computers. It also fostered my self confidence and gave me a tool with which I could create anything imaginable. Ever since I began to understand just how important this was to my intellectual development, I've felt obligated to help ensure that others are given the opportunity to create and learn on their own using computers.

This drive has led me to volunteer some of my time at MIT to working on projects like organizing the MIT Autonomous Robot Design Competition and helping with the Media Lab's gathering of playful inventors, "Mindfest."

The keynote speaker at Mindfest was none other than Dr. Papert himself. After 15 years of being inspired by his work to achieve my own aspirations, we met again at the very place where his LOGO language was developed.