We all remember what we wanted to be when we grew up. In fact, I think most of us probably had different fantasy jobs as we moved through our childhood. I'll never forget a trip to the Ringling Circus when I was eight; it left me with an intense desire to pursue a career in horse vaulting. Unfortunately, as the years passed reality set in.

Last summer, Lili Cheng invited Microsoft employees to come and checkout the summer camp her team was hosting. The camp was focused around a program they were developing for kids called Kodu.

Lili is the General Manager for FUSE Labs here at Microsoft and her very smart team built this wonderful free PC application that enables kids to actually build their very own video games without any prior programming knowledge. Imagine that, without any previous coding experience, a kid can actually create their own unique digital virtual world.

I was very excited to go see this program because, as the mother of a preschooler, I am filled by thoughts of, "what will my child be when he grows up?"

When I walked into the room I was immediately struck by a couple of dozen kids - as young as 9 - sitting at desks, staring at their instructor, and hanging on his every word. They were engaged; they asked phenomenal questions of the teacher (kids as young as 9) as he walked them through the details around building games through Kodu. These kids were glued to their seats and actively using their imaginations, but most importantly... they were using logic!

I chatted with Lili while I was there and I told her how impressed I was with the whole experience, not to mention the ice cream melting in the corner of the room, but also how great it was to see older kids acting as enthusiastic tutors for the younger children.

I imagine that if you asked parents what they wish their child to be when they grow up; the majority would still say a doctor or a lawyer. But as a parent, one of the things you might want to consider is exploring programs like Kodu which not only encourages studies in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) disciplines but helps them to develop useful skills such as problem solving and creativity which are applicable to any profession or job.

With more than 2 million job openings in STEM-related fields by 2014, we need new innovators to fuel our U.S. economic competitiveness.

So now, even though I am a grown up, I would like to revisit my statement for when I grow up. I want to be Lili Cheng.

Download Microsoft Kodu Game Lab for the PC (at no cost) and learn more about the nationwide Kodu Cup competition. We're inviting students, aged nine to 17 to design, build and submit their own video games.