News & Events

Event Recap: Design Your World March 2015

DYWlogoThis spring’s Design Your World-STEM Conference for Girls was an outstanding success!  Two events for the 2014-2015 fiscal year were generously supported by Exxon Mobil, Capital One, Pryor Packaging and an outreach award grant from SWE International.  The March 2015 DYW event was executed completely by volunteers and a new partnership with the Dallas Independent School District. Dallas SWE has been keen to expand access to this event after receiving feedback from local school teachers during a Sci-Girls workshop in January 2014.  They identified logistical challenges of metroplex travel and an increased need to reach out to newer regions in the Dallas/Fort Worth area.

Zan Wesley Holmes Jr. Middle School
Zan Wesley Holmes Jr. Middle School

Dallas SWE reached out to Dallas ISD’s STEM Department Executive Director Oscar Alvanrenga and Director Crystal Alexander.  They identified Zan Wesley Holmes Jr. Middle School as the optimum facility for an event of this kind. Jane Didear of Dallas ISD Volunteer and Partnership Services provided additional assistance.  The SMU SWE student section, counseled by former Dallas SWE President Jennifer Vilbig, selected Kelly Howey to be the student Co-Chair to partner with professional Co-Chair and Dallas SWE VP of Outreach Nandika D’Souza. Lynn Mortensen, Co-Chair of the November 2014 Design Your World conference for 6-12th grade girls, continued her phenomenal volunteer recruitment efforts.  120 girls, 64 adults and 92 volunteers registered through Eventbrite, managed by DYW Webmaster and Registration Chair Shelley Stracener.

Upon arrival at Zan Wesley Holmes Jr. Middle School, students picked up a lavender-colored t-shirt and goody bag made possible by AT&T and Raytheon.  The opening session was held in the school’s auditorium with plenty of space for everyone. Meagan Pollock, Director of Professional Development for the National Alliance for Partnerships in Equity (NAPE) led the opening program communicating the excitement and limitless potential of STEM careers. She engaged the audience in a teamwork game engaging all their senses.  Kendria Johnson, a teacher at Zan Wesley Holmes Jr., then brought her nationally recognized STEM dance troup that highlighted the importance of personal value over peer pressure. Inspired, attendees then made their way to their STEM activities. Six activities were run in 3 sessions allowing each girl to experience the design paradigm for three engineering fields.

  • Mechanical Energy- Marshmallows and Spaghetti was led by Lori Wiltz Halliburton and Ophelie Herve, SMU-SWE
  • Computer Science- Fun with Alice was led by Mayaria Johnson, UNT-SWE and ACM-W
  • Biomedical: Clearing a Path the Heart was led by Cynthia Markbreiter and Mar McCreary    SMU-SWE
  • Chemical Engineering-Polymer Jewelry was led by Alicia D’Souza, STEMcess.com    and Andres Garcia-UNT Society of Plastics Engineers
  • Aerospace Engineering: Rocket Fun, was developed by Rachel Shepherd, SMU-SWE
  • Electrical Engineering: Lights, Sound, Action was led by the Women of AT&T Jennifer Gamboa-Haker and Arianna Santiago, SMU SWE

Dallas SWE continued the SWE Outreach Award winning Parent/Educator Panel sessions this year, chaired by Anita Pacheco. After the joint opening session, the parent/educator group convened in the auditorium. Amber Scheurer moderated a panel discussion, “Helping students prepare for a STEM career,” with Joey Jiang (Halliburton), Cherrie Fisher (AT&T), and Justa Trevino (Raytheon).  The panelists shared challenges they faced such as being the first in the family to go to college or having to learn English as a second language. They also discussed their experiences overcoming bias in the workplace and strategies they used to encourage their children in STEM.

Zan Wesley Holmes Jr. Middle School is home to a nationally competitive underwater robotic team!  Students on the team demonstrated their robot for the group of adults and the team’s teacher sponsor, Michelle Thomas, shared her best practices for parents and educators to work with their schools to replicate their success.  Then parents and educators had time to connect with each other and professional engineers over lunch.

They reconvened in the auditorium for a panel called “My Engineering Life” moderated by Anita Pacheco (Oorvo, Inc). The panelists, recent engineering graduates, included Jennifer Vilbig (Vilbig & Associates, Amber Scheurer (Texas Instruments) and Shelley Stracener (Heads Up Technologies).  They talked about the impact of an engineering degree on their income level and financial independence, how they enjoyed working in teams, and how their work experiences were very team-focused. They highlighted this last point because engineering is often misunderstood as a reclusive job with little social interaction.  After the panel, Nandika D’Souza then went over the steps that are involved in college admissions using materials provided by Landon Ellison, Admissions Officer, Engineering, UNT. The adults found the session to be very rewarding in providing a road map to assist children.

As the end of the day drew near, students and volunteers moved back to the auditorium. Dallas SWE members elicited squeals of excitement as they put on an Engineering Fashion Show, displaying all the different careers and clothing an engineer uses in her everyday work!  Then, an AT&T-led high school robot team showed a design they created.  As children and adults filled out assessments and left, the excitement from attendees was unmistakable: engineering unleashes energy, ideas, and possibilities!

Engineering Fashoin Show!
Engineering Fashoin Show!

Volunteer organizations that supported the event included Women of AT&T, Halliburton and Abbott; student sections of UNT-Society of Plastics Engineers, UNT-Society of Women Engineers and UNT-ACM.

Visit the DYW Facebook page for more great photos!

Check out these great videos from our day of fun and learning!
Video prepared by Student Co-Chair Kelly Howey
Dallas ISD Education Technology department’s video

 

~ Nandika D’Souza, PhD
Design Your World March 2015 Event Co-Chair

Reminder about this week’s events!

Tuesday (tomorrow!) is our monthly professional development meeting, this time as a joint event with ASME, SWE SMU, SWE Ft. Worth, and all DFW SWE collegiate chapters!  Guest speaker Jennifer will be speaking to us about her engineering career, her SWE life, and ASME.

When: Tuesday, April 21, 2015, 6:00pm – 8:00pm
Where: SMU Embrey Engineering Building. Huitt Zollars Room. 3101 Dyer St, Dallas, TX 75205
Cost: Professional attendees: $5, Collegiate attendees: FREE.  Boxed lunches will be provided.

RSVP: Register here!


This Saturday, please join us for a very special Leadership Workshop with SWE Leadership coaches Jennifer Bell and Carol Bachman.  As you may know, Region C did not hold a Leadership Summit this year, as it traditionally has held in the summer.  This Workshop is the next best thing, with two SWE LCC (Leadership Coaching Committee) members here for the sessions.

When: Saturday, April 25, 2015, 9:00am – 2:00pm
Where: SMU Embrey Engineering Building. Huitt Zollars Room. 3101 Dyer St, Dallas, TX 75205
Cost: Professional attendees: $10, Collegiate attendees: FREE.
RSVP: Register here!

FY16 Dallas SWE Officer Slate

We are proud to announce the slate of candidates for our FY16 officer positions!  Stay tuned for candidate bios and a link to vote, coming soon!

President – Barbara Read
Vice President – Cherrie Fisher 
VP of Membership – Zaineb Ahmad 
VP of Outreach- Nandika D’Souza 
Secretary -Marzia Monty and Elizabeth Gentry 
Treasurer (2 year term) – Elizabeth Hainey
2 Section Representatives – Amanda Posadas  and Sadia Khan
1 Board of Trustee (3 year term) – Arwa Kassamali and Justa Trevino

Upcoming WITI Event: April 30, 2015

Women In Technology International (WITI) and one of our corporate sponsors, Capital One, are hosting a networking and speaker event on April 30, 2015.  Dallas SWE is invited!  This is a FREE event with refreshments provided by Capital One (beer, wine, sodas, and appetizers).

Location: Capital One Campus, 8036 Dominion Parkway, Plano, TX 75024

Schedule of Events:
5:30PM-6:00PM: Registration
6:00PM-6:45PM: Event Open and Welcome – Networking
6:45PM-7:15PM: Keynote Speaker Address
7:15PM-8:00PM: Resume Networking and Event Close

To find out more about the guest speakers and to register, visit the event’s website here.

 

Call for FY16 Section Leadership Nominations

Looking for ways to improve your leadership skills and get more involved in Dallas SWE?  Have some great ideas for what you want to see from us?  Join our leadership team!  Dallas SWE is an all-volunteer organization so the more people get involved, the better we can serve our membership!

Terms are 1 year from July 2015 to June 2016, except where noted otherwise. You can view a chart of our leadership structure here and a description of each elected position’s roles in our bylaws here.

Elected positions include:

  • President
  • Vice President
  • VP of Membership
  • VP of Outreach
  • Secretary
  • Treasurer (2 year term)
  • Two Section Representatives
  • One Board of Trustee Member (3 year term)

The slate of officers for elections to be announced April 15, so don’t delay! Self-nominations encouraged. Send an email to dallas.swe@gmail.com to submit a nomination or request information.

April Events: Please Join Us!

March was a busy month for Dallas SWE!  If you missed those opportunities to connect with us, please join us at one of the following upcoming events.  We would love to see you!

April 11, 2015: Younger Members Brunch and Senior Upgrade

Are you a recent college grad? New to the DFW area? Looking to meet other engineering or STEM professionals who are also early in their career? Join the Dallas SWE Younger Members Listserv!  At this month’s brunch from 10:45am-1:00pm, we will be joined by Dallas area SWE collegiate seniors who will have the chance to learn about upgrading to Professional Dallas SWE Memberships.  Please RSVP by April 10!

April 17, 2015: #AskSWE Tweetchat with @SWEtalk

Topic: SWE’s Expanding International Reach.  Join us at noon CST,  follow @SWEDallas and @SWEtalk (the SWE HQ account) and use the hashtag #AskSWE to participate in the discussion!

April 21, 2015: April Professional Development Meeting

Join Dallas SWE for our April Professional Development Meeting featuring speaker Jennifer Bell!

Jennifer will be speaking to us about her engineering career, her SWE life, and ASME!

Boxed lunches will be provided. Come listen to this engaging speaker and connect with members of SWE Dallas, ASME, SWE SMU, SWE Ft. Worth, and all DFW SWE collegiate chapters.

When: Tuesday, April 21, 2015, 6:00pm – 8:00pm
Where: SMU Embrey Engineering Building. Huitt Zollars Room. 3101 Dyer St, Dallas, TX 75205
Cost: Professional attendees: $5, Collegiate attendees: FREE.

RSVP: Register here!

Jennifer Bell, SWE LCC
Jennifer Bell, SWE LCC

Jennifer is a native Houstonian and currently resides in Houston, Texas. She received her Bachelors of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Texas Tech University. She has had roles in downstream, midstream and upstream oil and gas industry with positions that include Risk and Reliability Consultant, Intervention Engineer, Subsea Systems Reliability Engineer, Subsea Systems Integrity Management Team Lead and Offshore Interface and Coordination Manager. She left Chevron in 2012 to purse her MBA and Master in Reliability and Quality Engineering. Her responsibilities have included Offshore Interface and Assurance Manager, Integrity Management Team Lead and Offshore Installation Engineer. For the last 2 years Jennifer has used her spare time outside of school to focus on Reliability and Safety training.

April 25. 2015: Leadership Coaching Workshop

The SWE Leadership Coaching Committee provides proactive leadership coaching to SWE organizational units, including sections, regions, and Members at Large (MALs). Trained Leadership Coaches provide Society leadership with the coaching and support essential to maintaining healthy, vital, and growing section, region, and MAL organizations. Training modules on various aspects of SWE operations, and/or necessary leadership and management skills for SWE success, are delivered to sections at the local level, delivered to sections and regions through the Region Conferences, and are delivered to all levels of SWE at the Society Annual Conference.

Please join Dallas SWE as we hear from Jennifer Bell (photo and biography above in April 21 event) and Carol Bachman about SWE Leadership Coaching Committee Modules (Knowledge of SWE, Tactical & Strategic Planning, Effective Meetings and Succession Planning).

Boxed lunches will be provided. Come listen to this engaging speaker and connect with members of SWE Dallas, SWE SMU, SWE Ft. Worth, and all DFW SWE collegiate chapters.

When: Saturday, April 25, 2015, 9:00am – 2:00pm
Where: SMU Embrey Engineering Building. Huitt Zollars Room. 3101 Dyer St, Dallas, TX 75205
Cost: Professional attendees: $10, Collegiate attendees: FREE.

RSVP: Register here!

Carol Bachman, SWE LCC
Carol Bachman, SWE Leadership Coach

Carol Bachman, a Project Engineer at Peterbilt Motors for 13 years, spent 4 years as an FAA Liaison Engineer & Project Manager for Boeing Commercial Airplane Group and 8 years as a Design & Test Engineer for Texas Instruments Defense Div/Raytheon. She graduated from UTA with a BSME in 1990 as her daughter finished 3rd grade and her son  turned 5. She has been an active Fort Worth SWE member since 1998, serving as Region C Governor for 3 yrs, Lt. Governor 1 yr, Leadership Coach 9 yrs, Fort Worth Section President for 4 years, Counselor for UTA SWE 3 yrs and Charter & Counselor for UNT SWE Collegiate Section 7 yrs and currently the Region C Rep on the SWE National Nominating Committee.  She has lead Girl Scout Workshops for over 2000 girls over 5 years.  She loves Country Western/2 Step dancing and pop-up camping at all the parks with her favorite cowboy photographer Boyd and their little pug mix Buster!

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