DallaSWE

The Newsletter of the Society of Women Engineers

Dallas Section

November2003

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November18 Section Meeting

You just have to come!

NOTE: LOCATION CHANGED TO NEDLEY’S

SPEAKER: Jill Almaguer

Rex Saoit, Fujitsu Networks

TOPIC: Career Visioning Bead Simulation: An interactive presentation.

DATE: Tuesday, November 18

TIME: 6:15 PM, start networking

LOCATION: Nedley’s Restaurant – Community Room

1801 North Plano Rd (west side between Campbell and Collins Blvd)

www.nedleys.com

CONTACT: LeEarl Bryant; 972-699-1649

FRESH FROM APPEARANCE AT THE SWE NATIONAL CONVENTION:

CAREER VISIONING BEAD SIMULATION:

.
How do people select their careers? Where do people start?

Never before has the U.S. Labor force been given more career options in its history, nor has the U.S. Labor force been given less guidance and less education on choosing a
fulfilling career. This is especially true with our high school and college students. What's the cost? The cost could be choosing the wrong job at the wrong place and the wrong time.

Participants are exposed to a 15 minute action learning simulation of trading colored beads. The exercise is fast-paced, easy to learn, and has extreme interaction. The object of the simulation is to transform the individual's mindset in 3 career setting principles.

Wednesday, October 29

ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY CAREER NIGHT

Was a great success

Thanks go to UPS for the great facility and refreshments

Thank you also to Chair Eric Stromberg

Volunteers Kim Benson, LeEarl Bryant, Barbara Vilbig, and Dr. Lynn Peterson

Speaker/volunteers Dr. Krishna Kavis; Dr. Dona Mularkey, Afrin Naz; Jennifer Ray, and Jennifer Brown

President’s Corner LeEarl Bryant

SCHOLARSHIP ANNOUNCEMENTS

Scholarship Chair LuAnne Beckley has informed me that she’s reviewed and selected our scholarship recipients for fiscal year 2003 and 2002. With concurrence of Treasurer Karla Siedel, they are being notified and asked to provide confirmation of their enrollment in engineering degree programs.

LuAnne regrets that these announcements are so late and thinks that the problem is solved since we arranged for more rapid transfer of applications to her possession.

The scholarship recipients are:

2003 Dallas-SWE Scholarship Recipients (alphabetical list)

Erin Fleming - volunteered with SWE and IEEE when she was in high school.. She attended Plano West Senior High and was ranked 15th out of 897 students in her class. (Erin, the daughter of SWE friend and textile engineer – Maura Schrier-Fleming, is now enrolled as a freshman in bio-engineering at Washing University).

Tishauna Jones - definitely wants to be an engineer. She attended Naaman Forest in Garland where she was ranked 91 out of a class of 572. Tishauna was working while in high school and a volunteer, with letters from her boss and church as well as her math teacher.

2002 Dallas SWE Scholarship Recipients (alphabetical list)

Connie Curtis – is from Wills Point and was top in her class of 161 students. She wants to be an engineer or architect. Her favorite subjects are physics and any math

Erin Mallard – attended Coppell High School and was ranked 7 out of 533 students at the time of her application. She wants to be an EE at UT Austin.

Brittany Montgomery - began a science fair in the White Oak elementary school. She was top in her class of 88 students from White Oak High School.

CHANGE OF PLANS

As everyone knows, flexibility represents one of the many keys to having career success. Surprise – it’s also important when volunteering with an organization such as Dallas SWE. We experienced several perceived setbacks this month but recoveries are in process.

MEETING LOCATION CHANGE

As may remember, my goal for this year was to have a regular meeting night (3^rd Tuesday except for Dec’r) and a regular meeting place. The meeting night is holding firm (except for Dec/r), but so far each meeting has been at a different location and November now follows the pattern - so much for trying to stabilize. Central Market is not working out as a reliable site so we have found another alternative in the Richardson/Plano area where the majority of our members presently reside.

As a result, we will be trying to stabilize around Nedley’s with hopes that we won’t lose any of those who have been regular attendees on the 3^rd Tuesdays.

RETREAT – PUT OFF

In a similar manner, the Richardson area retreat center was booked for February by the time I tried to negotiate a meeting and then their April slot was filled before I could get details set in concrete. So…. I’m delaying this until next fall OR until another cost-effective appears.

In that regard, the Reg’n 5 Career Vitality Committee is trying to schedule a region retreat for mid-July/early August. I’m investigating the area center for this possibility and we should know soon. Though I was hoping for an activity during the time when all of our student members were in the area, this may prove to be a short-term opp’y for Dallas/Fort Worth area members to also gather for a social event.

LEADERSHIP NEEDS

We need more of you to step up to the plate as committee chairs and other volunteer responsibilities that we need to address. I’m particularly concerned about the need to train future leaders and the fact that so few of our members are participating at the present time in these positions. In the past, we’ve lost the presence of active members because that’s the only way they could “resign” from a position. That’s a terrible visible loss of friends, role models, and cheering section. Surely, we can find an alternative to browning out dedicated volunteers.

At the same time, I think it’s amazing that so many of you step up to the plate and helped out at the time that activities such as Career Night and Girl Scout Badge occur, but we need a few more who are willing to commit for “running” the programs. Remember that these leadership opportunities eventually return pluses for your career and are confidence builders. In addition, you get to know more members, more contacts for employment opportunities, and often gain new skills.

Present requirements include a need for a vice chair to assist Margaret Bareis with our Certificate of Merit Program, a web-master, a newsletter editor, a Section Rep, a program chair, and a treasurer-assistant. The Section Rep is an official section officer with the most time consuming requirement being to represent us at the convention, which is now over. Kim single-handedly did our Certificate of Merit program last year and she reports it took a total of about six-hours, which included time for printing and mailing the certificates. The main purpose of having the vice chair is to have someone in training for next year. The program chair is a good learning position and varies re time requirements, depending upon how you approach the task. I have lots of program ideas and acting-chair Jill Almageur will continue in a support capacity. Frankly, I enjoy being program chair for organizations and am thinking about volunteering for this position next year. The success of the programs can make/break most organizations and is very important to our section. IF there’s any chance that you’re willing to take on one of these assignments, you’ll have a great support network from the present and past officers. Please contact me with your questions and we’ll go slowly from there.

UPCOMING EVENTS

DECEMBER SOCIAL

Date: Monday 8, December

Site: Richardson Holiday Inn Select

South service Road U.S. 75 south of Campbell

Time: begin around 6:15ish

Networking: with SWE and IEEE Consulting Network friends and guests

Cost of basic refreshments: IEEE members - $5

Others $10

Alcoholic beverages – buy your own

Special activity – hypnotist

JANUARY MEETING

Tuesday, January 20 – Section Meeting

SPEAKER in process Plano Junior League – Jeri Chambers

TOPIC: SciTech Discovery Center and Zap!

DATE: Tuesday,

TIME: 6:15 PM, start networking

LOCATION: Nedley’s Restaurant – Community Room

February 2004

Tuesday February 17 - Section Meeting

SPEAKER: Marianne McKenney – chg mgt consultant

TOPIC: TBD

DATE: Tuesday, February 17

TIME: 6:15 PM, start networking

LOCATION: Nedley’s Restaurant – Community Room

Feb 15 - 22 National Engineers Week Observance

March 2004

Tuesday, March 16 - Section Meeting

SPEAKER: TBD

TOPIC: TBD

DATE: Tuesday, March 16

TIME: 6:15 PM, start networking

LOCATION: Nedley’s Restaurant – Community Room

Saturday March 27 – Girl Scout Badge Event

Chair/contact - - Jean Cathcart

Volunteers - needed

Location - Tejas Girl Scout Council Office
6001 Summerside Dr, Dallas, TX 75252.

The Council Office is located about 2 blocks west of Preston Rd on
Summerside Dr. Summerside is a stop light on Preston, south of Frankford Road and North of Campbell Rd. Summerside is a T-intersection with Preston. At the intersection of Preston and Summerside, the east side of Preston road is a strip mall that includes Texas Land and Cattle Steakhouse. Turn west at the stoplight, and the Council Office is on the north side of Summerside Dr.

Volunteers Needed

APRIL 2004

3^rd Tuesday, April tbd – Section Meeting; Nedley’s Restaurant

TBD SWE UTD – Student Section Banquet – Upgrade Recognition

TBD Certificate of Merit Program – Chair Margaret Bareis; vice chair needed

MAY 2004

3^rd Tuesday, May ?? – Section meeting; Nedley’s Restaurant

May 15 – Dallas Scholarship Application Deadline

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HELP IS NEEDED RE OTHER ENGINEERING ORGANIZATIONS

I have several ideas of how we might work with other engineering organizations in our area on some new, joint projects. I’m having problems getting contacts within these organizations. So, I need members to volunteer to serve as SWE-liaisons with other organizations. Please reply to l.bryant@ieee.org with your name and affiliation with any other Dallas area organization with an engineering, technology, and computer science slant.

SWE Cares

Recognizing that going through career transition is normal, SWE helps its members by offering a dues discount to members who are experience a period of unemployment. We want to help you find not just any job, but the right job and that meets your career expectations.

www.swe.org/careers You know what to do and you know how to do it! Visit the SWE career center where job opportunities meet SWE member resumes.

Join the SWE resume database where hundreds of recruiters identify new candidates all the time.

OBJECTIVES OF THE SOCIETY OF WOMEN ENGINEERS

• To inform young women, their parents, counselors, and the public in general of the qualifications and achievements of women engineers and of the opportunities open to them.

• To assist women engineers in readying themselves for a return to active work after temporary retirements.

• To serve as a center of information on women in engineering.

• To encourage women engineers to attain high levels of educational and professional achievement.

CHECK US OUT! www.dallaswe.org

If you haven’t had the opportunity to check out our updated website, please take a few minutes to browse. If you need to update your contact information, please feel free to use the submission form on the web. This is for our local chapter use only – it does not connect in with www.swe.org. There is also a survey page. Please take the opportunity to let us know your opinions. We would greatly appreciate your input.