News & Events

Design Your World Spring 2022 Recap

by Dallas SWE on in DYW

On Saturday, March 19th, Dallas SWE delivered our award winning flagship outreach event, Design Your World, to over 60 Girl Scouts from across the Northeast Texas area. Dallas SWE partnered with Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas to deliver this year’s program and the event was held at the Girl Scouts STEM Center of Excellence at Camp Whispering Cedars in Dallas. 

Design Your World Spring 2022 was held after a two year break from in-person, hands-on outreach. Dallas SWE greatly appreciates all of the volunteers that helped support the continuation of this event post-pandemic. Dallas SWE had a terrific volunteer turnout, with over 60 volunteers from across the Dallas metroplex representing a variety of industries and backgrounds. 

The event consisted of rotating through three hands-on, STEM activities: Structural Towers, Prosthetic Design, and Floatation Devices, with guided mentorship from our volunteers. Through these activities, the girls were introduced to a variety of engineering concepts and methodology. 

The Structural Towers activity was led by Ana Gonzalez. Ana explained the concepts of structural engineering and common design elements in architecture. Ana then led the girls through the marshmallow tower activity where the girls were able to design and build a tower using these structural principals and compete for the tallest structure. 

The Prosthetic Activity, led by Cyonna Holmes, introduced biomedical engineering and the real-world impact of prosthesis on society.  Cyonna explained the design thinking process and the iterative methodology used when designing a new device. During the activity, the girls applied this methodology to design, build, and test a prosthetic leg that had to withstand their body weight while being comfortable and easy to put on. 

The Floatation Device activity, designed to explain materials science to the girls, was led by Ashton McCary. Ashton shared. The girls were able to explore and test physical properties of common materials and test their buoyancy by designing a floatation device designed as a life vest for a corgi. During the activity, the girls utilized the iterative design process by refining their designs after testing.  

Between the activities, the girls heard an engaging panel of professionals in engineering discuss their careers and STEM journeys. Our panelists, Ashanti Napper, Ashley Johnson, Kimberley Reid, Liz Hainey, and Carla Blickensderfer, gave advice on learning about STEM as a girl and shared their experience on how they overcame any challenges they faced. After the panel, the girls participated in speed networking with the volunteers which allowed the girls to learn more about STEM fields in a small group setting. As there were a variety of volunteers with different backgrounds and paths, the girls were able to hear about many exciting engineering disciplines. 

Here is what some of our volunteers had to say about the event: 

“The students were very engaged, and it was fun working with them and seeing how they came up with ideas for the prosthetic activity!”

“The activities were great, very well organized, fun and engaging for the girls (and volunteers!)” 

“It was very inspirational to see the panelists and girls being inspired.”

“I had so much fun volunteering with SWE today! I love talking about engineering careers, so being on the career panel was an honor and pleasure.”

“I am honored to have had the chance to experience this event and I am excited for more opportunities to volunteer and give back to the Dallas community.”

Dallas SWE would like to thank several teams that helped make this day possible. First, the Design Your World Outreach Committee, consisting of Sammy Zellner, Zaineb Ahmad, Pratiksha Jaju, Ana Gonzalez, Cyonna Holmes, Ashton McCary, Amanda Alsbrook, Lynn Mortensen, and Rana Karimi, for helping to plan and coordinate the event. In addition, we would like to recognize the 60+ volunteers that supported this event. Thanks to our committed volunteers, we were able to have a strong ratio of volunteers to girls, allowing the girls to explore many engineering fields and opportunities. Dallas SWE would also like to recognize the support of our partner, Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas, for allowing us complete creative control in designing the program and activities for the girls. Finally, event sponsor, Amazon, graciously provided all of the funding to deliver a day of quality programming for the girls. 

Design Your World Spring 2022 was a highly impactful day of learning and engaging in STEM for girls from our community. Dallas SWE would not have been able to conduct this event without the support of our volunteers and community partners. If you would like to be a part of a future offering, or if your company would like to help sponsor a future event, please contact us at dallas.swe@gmail.com

Posted in DYW

Slate for FY23 Dallas SWE Executive Board

by Dallas SWE on in Announcements

The Dallas SWE FY22 Nominating Committee is pleased to present the following slate of candidates for your consideration to serve during FY23 (July 1, 2022 – June 30, 2023). Please note, the role of treasurer is not on the ballot this year, as it is a two year term; Katie Mills is currently serving as Dallas SWE Treasurer through FY23. Ballots will be distributed to members electronically on May 1st and voting will conclude 30 days thereafter. Final results will be announced on June 1, 2022.

President: Rana Karimi

Executive Vice President: Open*

Secretary: Sammy Zellner

Vice President of Membership: Claire Jordan

Vice President of Outreach: Cyonna Holmes

Investment Committee (3-year): Amanda Alsbrook

Per the Dallas SWE Section Agreement with the Society, as amended in FY21, additional candidates may be nominated by petition, provided that:

1. The member is eligible for the position;

2. The member has given written consent to being placed on the ballot;

3. A minimum of two percent or five of the voting members of the section, whichever is greater, have signed a petition or endorsed an email to place the candidate’s name on the ballot and

4. The petition, together with the written consent, is submitted to the chair of the nominating committee by April 30 or fifteen days after the slate is announced to the members of the section, whichever is later.

*There is currently an opening for the role of Executive Vice President. If you or anyone you know is interested in EVP for FY23, please reach out to the Nominating Committee Chair during the petition period. If no candidate is slated, Dallas SWE will move forward with elections as scheduled and the FY23 board will have an open EVP position as this role is not required to be filled by the SWE Bylaws.

The petition endorsement minimum is 5 members. Please send any nominations by petition with the required endorsements and consent of the candidate to the FY22 Nominating Committee Chair, Haley McKeefer, at haley.jm.mckeefer@gmail.com by April 30th.

Thank you!

Dallas SWE FY22 Nominating Committee

Zaineb Ahmad, Malia Kawamura, Gretchen Landego and Haley McKeefer

Recap of the Dallas SWE Book Club

by Dallas SWE on in Meetings

The Dallas SWE Book Club met on Saturday, March 5th for a discussion on our latest read, “The Courage to Be Disliked: The Japanese Phenomenon That Shows You How to Change Your Life and Achieve Real Happiness” by Ichiro Kishimi.

We had a great conversation around psychology and the concepts of self-forgiveness and mind decluttering. We contextualized the conversation by bringing in examples from our work places. We discussed some of the uncommon ways to develop the courage to change and ignore the limitations that you might be placing on yourself. It was a deeply stimulating chat!

Dallas SWE Speaks at Cristo Rey Dallas

by Dallas SWE on in Outreach

On February 18th, Dallas SWE spoke at the Engineering Club meeting at Cristo Rey Dallas, a College Prep high school committed to academic excellence for students of all faiths.

Rana Karimi, VP of Outreach, was a guest speaker at one of Mathematics & Engineering Teacher, Ms. Estrada’s, afterschool offerings of the Engineering Club. The club was eager to hear about many of the exciting possibilities a career in engineering can unlock. The opportunities are endless, as Rana’s journey spanned from oil and gas manufacturing to chip production to consulting. We discussed some of the most fun projects and the more unique aspects that come with a career in manufacturing. Rana shared advice that helped her along in her journey, which included not to doubt yourself, be open to taking on new opportunities, how to find a mentor, and finally, to listen to your teachers! Dallas SWE thanks Cristo Rey for the opportunity to speak to such enthusiastic students.

Join Us for Our April PD Event!

by Dallas SWE on in Meetings, Professional Development

Join Dallas SWE on Tuesday, April 26th for our first, in-person, professional development event in over two years! The local non-profit, A Sister’s Legacy, has graciously offered to host us in their office space at Common Desk in Oak Cliff. Our PD event will focus on setting and achieving goals. Doors open at 6:30 pm for pre-event networking, and the actual event will start at 6:50 pm. Also, make sure to bring your business card for a raffle with a chance to win a Starbucks gift card! Finally, if you want to see more of your SWE-sters, we plan to grab ice cream afterwards at the local ice cream shop, MELT.

Register for the event below or on Eventbrite.

Register on Eventbrite

April Member of the Month: Ana Gonzalez

by Dallas SWE on in Membership Appreciation

Congratulations to Dallas SWE’s April Member of the Month, Ana Gonzalez!

Ana Gonzalez graduated from The University of Texas at Arlington with a B.S. in Civil Engineering in Dec. 2014. She has been involved with SWE since 2010 as a collegiate Ana held multiple leadership roles all 4 years of college. After graduating Ana continued to be a SWE advocate and held other leadership roles in the Ft. Worth SWE Chapter as well as serving on the National Finance Committee focusing on the EIN Sub-Team. Aside from construction Ana’s passion is community outreach she has volunteered at various Design Your World STEM Conference, Robotics Competition, introduce a Girl to Engineering, Cookie Box Competition partnered with the North Texas Girl Scouts, Girls Inc. and the FT. Worth Science and History Museum. SWE has allowed her to continue to give back to the community by building and creating hands on engineering activities which encourage young kids to pursue a STEM career. As a young girl Ana did not know what engineering careers were out there and pursued Architecture for the first year and a half in college. It wasn’t until she stumbled across the engineering building where she found her true career path. “I want everyone to know what engineering is” 

Ana is currently a Team Lead at JLL – Bank of America Account managing a team of project managers completing renovations for financial centers in Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Arizona. Prior to becoming a Team Lead Ana was a Sr. Project Manager working on ground up and interior fit out new financial centers. Ana’s other passion is construction the feeling of accomplishment is unmatched when you see your project completed. Working through unforeseen challenges and finding a solution is the most rewarding part of her job. Ana enjoys the fast-paced environment of the construction industry and with her strong communication skills she has built lasting relationships with clients, contractors and stakeholders. 

 In her new role Ana enjoys passing along her knowledge and lessons learn to her team. She is also involved with the Women’s Business Network, and Latino Employee Resource Network at work where she has coordinated sock drives for local women’s shelters in her region, fundraised for No Kid Hungry, Wreaths Across America and Great Strides – Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

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