The Dallas ISD STEM EXPO is a day-long event that focuses on STEM-related
careers and coursework. Over 6,000 participants (of all age groups) engage in
hands-on and interactive sessions (provided by local colleges and universities,
museums, engineering organizations, and STEM-focused organizations).
Dallas SWE will be supporting this effort! We will have an activity booth
to get students excited and share information about our organization and how
they can participate in SWENext.
Below are the event details.
When: Saturday, January 18, 2020 from 9 am – 3 pm
Where: Kay Bailey Hutchinson
Convention Center (650 S. Griffin Street, Dallas, TX 75202)
Register on Eventbrite and choose either the morning or afternoon shift, with 10 spots available per shift.
After registering, make sure you complete the DISD volunteer orientation, or else you will not be able to participate in the event. Volunteer orientation is through VOLY.
Please select “General” for your Volunteer Application
Please select “STEM Department” as your selected school, department, and
volunteer activity. Once approved, you will receive a clearance notification
from the Volunteer and Partnership Department.
Complete the online orientation
Go to My Connections
Click on I’m a Fan Of
Click STEM Department
Click Schools and Search for “STEM Department” and add this as
a school
Then, Under Opportunities, search for “2020 Dallas ISD Stem
EXPO” and select a timeslot on the calendar to register to volunteer for
this event *** Required step to be registered and approved **
Congratulations to Gretchen Landego, Dallas SWE’s December 2019 Member of the Month!
Gretchen Landego is originally from Chicago,
Illinois, and she received her Bachelors of Science in Mechanical Engineering
from The University of Alabama in May 2018.
Her senior year, she was recognized as the Undergraduate Student of the
Year for Mechanical Engineering and Pi Tau Sigma’s Outstanding Senior. After
graduation, she moved to Dallas, Texas to work for GAF Materials Corporation as
a project engineer. Project Engineering
is a blend of project management and mechanical engineering, and her job’s
focus is to implement new equipment that adds value to the site’s facilities
and/or products. She is one and a half
years into her job and she still enjoys the challenges that her work provides
her. Gretchen aspires to acquire a
Professional Engineer’s License, so her next goal is to pass The Principles and
Practice of Engineering (PE) exam.
Gretchen joined the Society of Women Engineers
when she first moved to Dallas to make friends and get involved. She has a passion specifically for STEM
outreach, and she found many opportunities through the Dallas SWE chapter. Her first event with the Dallas SWE Chapter
was 2018 Moon Day at the Frontiers of Flight Museum. Fellow SWE members encouraged her to become
more involved with the outreach program, so now she serves as the Design Your
World Committee Chair and is also a mentor to Woodrow Wilson High School’s
SWENext club, The Mechanicats.
Outside of work, Gretchen enjoys yoga,
reading, and hanging out with friends.
“My favorite part of SWE is the people! I am so lucky to be surrounded by a group of strong, successful, smart women that are also kind and encouraging. I was very nervous to become the committee chair for Design Your World because I had never served in a leadership position before. The whole process was a wonderful experience because I received nothing but encouragement from all the members that were involved in the event planning. I look forward to future opportunities where I can embolden other young women to pursue their passions and help make a difference in the world.”
Dallas SWE was ecstatic to hold the 8th annual
Design Your World on Saturday, November 2nd, 2019.
In partnership with Dallas ISD and Woodrow
Wilson High School, Design Your World (DYW) hosted over 105 children, parents,
and educators from our local DFW community. Our participants traveled to our
DYW 2019 event from Dallas, Plano, Lewisville, The
Colony, Ferris, Denton, Irving, North Richland Hills, and Rockwall. 53
elementary school, 33 middle school, and 13 high school students participated
in six STEM activities celebrating fields such as biomedical, electrical
engineering, civil engineering, computer science, and aviation.
One high school participant shared her
delightful experience with the aviation activity, led by Lieutenant Colonel
Cynthia Whisennand: “I learned about how aerodynamics affect planes. It’s
something I had never thought about when I took my first plane ride.” Another
activity, led by Jennifer Gamboa-Copeland and sponsored by Women of AT&T,
taught the participants how to code in C++, a common programming language. When
asked what she was learning, one middle school participant proudly shared, “I’m
learning that I love coding!”
“I’m a sophomore in high school, but I’ve never gotten to work with robots before. Here, I’m learning that I really love working with robots.” – High school #DYW2019 participant.
Another integral part of DYW is our efforts to connect parents with STEM educators. During DYW 2019, parents were invited to learn from three panels: How to Raise A STEM Girl, Next Steps, and Voices From The Field. Panelists included Judith LaPlante (Computer Scientist, Advanced Computer Science High School Teacher), Morgan Merriman (Chemist, Advanced Chemistry High School Teacher), Dana Barnes (Educator, Director of EMS-ISD Educational Services), and Sadia Saeed (Undergraduate Student, University of North Texas College of Engineering).
“I always fostered science over forcing science on my two girls,” panelist Ivan Zellner. “I did my STEM and programming projects openly at the kitchen table, and my daughters naturally wanted to know what I was working on.”
Dallas SWE thanks Woodrow Wilson HS for
celebrating #DYW2019 in addition to their newly-opened $20 million STEM wing.
Daniel Garrison, an Engineering Woodrow Wilson HS teacher, thanked Dallas SWE
for bringing #DYW2019 to Dallas ISD: “We are excited to share this new space
with you and the community. We look forward to a long partnership with Dallas
SWE and our corporate sponsors.”
Other
activities during the event include a demonstration by the Woodrow Wilson
Mechanicats All-Women Robotics Group, a presentation from the Woodrow Wilson HS
SWENext group, and a round table social with the Coppell HS SWENext group. “I
attended a Design Your World in 8th grade, and it changed my life. Now, I am
the Coppell HS SWENext President, and I am present to influence the next
generation of engineers at the 2019 DYW,” reflected volunteer, Abigail.
The Woodrow Wilson HS Mechanicats posing in front of the #DYW2019 photo booth.
Dallas
SWE thanks the following sponsors for making this great event happen:
On Wednesday November 13, 2019, Madison McCracken, Director of Client Experience at Dale Carnegie North Texas, introduced to Dallas SWE a technique to build trust when networking or meeting people. By introducing a mental picture mnemonic in order to form a conversation path, awkward silences can be avoided when meeting others or during casual encounters at the office or anywhere. Over time, these personal facts can lead to a stronger relationship between coworkers, thus building trust. Once the skill was introduced, we practiced to master it. Everyone got out of their seat and practice with other ladies in the room. By the end of the night everyone walked out knowing someone new.
Additionally, attendees asked questions about uncomfortable casual social situations at the office like meeting someone when you are on your way to a meeting. Ms. McCracken offered advice on how to avoid and walk away tactfully. During other scenarios attendees in the room discussed ways they have dealt with similar social encounters.
As a special treat, Ms. McCracken gave all attendees a “Golden Book”, which summarized Dale Canagie’s principles mentioned in the book “How to Win Friends and Influence People” and “How to Stop Worrying and Start Living”.
Thank you to Dale Carnegie North Texas for your insightful presentation!
Malia Kawamura is a multi-disciplined engineer
at Raytheon Company. She received her B.A. in physics and mathematical sciences
from Colby College in 2014 and a B.E. in mechanical engineering from Dartmouth
College in 2015. In 2017, she received her M.S. in mechanical engineering from
the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). Her graduate work
focused on modeling and hardware-in-the-loop testing for chemical processes and
electro-thermal systems in the Alleyne Research Group. Currently, at Raytheon, Malia
works as a process engineer for electronics packaging, where she focuses on
process optimization, adhesive material properties, and statistical process
control for automated machines.
Malia first became aware of what SWE could
offer during her final year of undergrad, while on a grad school visit to UIUC.
She was able to attend the annual weSTEM (Women Empowered in STEM) conference
at Illinois and see what an amazing community SWE could provide and learn about
how many different career paths would be available. In grad school, Malia
served as the Professional Development Lunch Coordinator at UIUC. She organized
20 events with speakers from industry and academia, with participation of over
180 individual students, with the purpose of creating a supportive community
and providing useful professional development opportunities. Her first Dallas
SWE event was Design Your World 2018 and she is looking forward to this year’s
Design Your World event and the opportunity to serve on the “Voices from the Field
Panel”.
Outside of work, Malia plays soccer, travels to
visit family and friends, and enjoys playing board games.
“My favorite thing about SWE is the people. I’ve been able to meet such talented, hard-working, caring, and fun people through SWE who inspire me. Additionally, SWE has exposed me to the great the diversity of both career options and career paths available. One main lesson I’ve learned is that there are so many great and challenging opportunities in engineering, there will always be a good fit for me and anyone else interested in engineering.”
SWEten the holiday with Dallas SWE’s annual Holiday Party!
Come celebrate the holiday season at Dallas SWE’s annual holiday party!
This event will be on December 5th from 6-8 PM.
We will be celebrating with a paint party at Sip ‘N Drip Paint Studio! Food and non-alcoholic drinks will be provided. Feel free to BYOB if you like. Supplies will be provided.
As always, there will be great networking, excellent food and drinks, and lots of cheer as we get into the holiday season.
