No person survives as an island, and no career grows spontaneously. In this session, we will discuss how to strategically grow your professional opportunities by participating in technical communities. Whether an open source, cross-platform, .NET, iOS, Android or Linux developer (or all of the above), this panel will let you tap into the real-world experiences of Microsoft Most Valuable Professionals (MVPs). You will also learn about what it takes to receive and benefit from the MVP Award, and how to get started with the MVP Mentor program. Raucous (or at least mildly amusing) stories guaranteed.