News & Events

Halliburton Event Recap

by Dallas SWE on in Meetings

On Tuesday, October 21, 2014, Halliburton’s women’s network, Women Sharing Excellence (WSE), and Dallas SWE partnered for an exciting and informational session and plant tour of Halliburton’s Completion Technology and Manufacturing Center in Carrollton, TX. Over 35 attendees enjoyed dinner and networking.

Great turnout for the Halliburton tour!
Great turnout for the Halliburton tour!

Jason Besly provided an overview of the center which supports over 1,500 employees. Summer Condarco, Carrollton’s Manufacturing Director, shared an overview of her career at Halliburton which included various leadership positions and an overseas assignment in Singapore. She attributed her career success to saying “yes” to opportunities and knowing when to ask for help. Attendees had some great questions for her on the topics of her experience with cultural differences in Singapore, management transition strategies, and how networking has helped her to be noticed for new opportunities in her career.  She also had some insightful comments on how to use data-based conversations to neutralize difficult personalities in the workplace.

SWE and WSE members toured the 66 acre facility which included a Manufacturing Plant, three Test Wells, several Technology Testing Facilities and a Raw materials warehouse. Our tour guides emphasized that safety and customer service are core values of Halliburton employees.  Carrollton Technology is one of 2,343 sites in the United States that is honored with holding the OSHA VPP Star Site status.

Awesome and practical Halliburton goodies!
Awesome and practical Halliburton goodies!

A special thanks to our host and Dallas SWE Program Committe Chair, Lori Wiltz, for setting up this great event and to Halliburton for providing us with awesome souvenir lunch bags and coffee mugs.

We look forward to seeing you at our November 18 meeting.  Mark your calendars!  More details to come.

Cherrie Fisher, PMP
AT&T Information Technology
Dallas SWE Vice President

Learn about Growth in Women’s Leadership!

by Dallas SWE on in Meetings

Dallas SWE and Halliburton’s Women Sharing Excellence (WSE) network invite you to join them for a networking dinner, tour, and presentation on Growth of Women’s Leadership!

When: Tuesday October 21st, 2014
Event starts at 6:00PM and should conclude by 8:00PM
Please arrive a bit early as non-Halliburton employees will have a security check-in

Where: Halliburton Completion Technology and Manufacturing Center, 2601 E. Belt Line Rd., Carrollton, TX, 75006

Cost: Free, and boxed meals will be graciously provided by our hosts Halliburton!
Other Upcoming Events
  • Volunteers are still needed for our November 1, 2014 Design Your World – STEM Conference for Girls!  Please fill out the Volunteer Response Form to let us know how you can help.
  • Dallas SWE will again be participating in the Coppell High School Engineering Expo on November 2, 2014.  Please email us at dallas.swe@gmail.com to let us know if you’re interested in helping us talk to students about what it’s like to be an engineer!
  • WE14, the Annual SWE Conference, is October 22-25 in Los Angeles, CA.  We hope to see you there!  The WE14 mobile app was just released on Android and iOS: check it out and plan your schedule!
  • Remember to reserve your housing for the 2015 SWE Region C Conference in Austin, TX Feb 6-8

Event Recap: Leading the Next Generation of Women in Tech

by Dallas SWE on in Meetings
Sheri Jenkinson
Sheri Jenkinson

Dallas SWE kicked off the FY15 year on Tuesday, September 16, with Sheri Jenkinson, founder of WATT (Women Advancing Technology Together) and Ipseity at our first professional meeting. The night started with thirty attendees mingling and networking over dinner and drinks at the Coffee House Café in Dallas.

As Sheri took the floor, she started off highlighting the diversity found within Dallas SWE by pointing out the various generations and backgrounds present at the meeting. To get the discussion started, she then asked the hard questions: What do we, as women engineers, want? Why are the participants in STEM fields while other women leave? Why do are young girls losing interest in math and science? The members of Dallas SWE had interesting insights.

IMG_6853
Great group at our first Professional Development event of FY15!

Input was given from the educators and the mid-level professionals, from long-time engineers to new graduates. The main point of discussion became why the women present in the meeting choose to stay in STEM fields, with a majority sighting solid role models of both genders, a strong support network, and the ability to be thick-skinned in our surroundings. Furthermore, the members of Dallas SWE discussed why girls and young women lose interest in math and science. Answers ranged vastly; some said it’s because girls lack encouragement at a young age, from the toys their given to the clothes they wear. Others say it’s because young girls are not taught to learn from failure and it impacts their commitment to math and science as these subjects get more difficult over the years.

The discussion Sheri led had many thinking of their own career choices, past and future. She encouraged all participants to take responsibility for their career paths and discouraged everyone to downplay their success, as women often do. Her discussion also reinforced the need for successful women in STEM fields to reach out a mentor girls from a young age, so girls of all ages have role models as they navigate through their youth.

~Zaineb Ahmed, Dallas SWE Award Committee Chair

Event Recap: Moon Day at the Frontiers of Flight Museum

by Dallas SWE on in Outreach

Kids were over the moon for SWE!

On Saturday, July 19, The Frontiers of Flight Museum hosted the MOON DAY celebration to commemorate the 45th anniversary of the first manned landing on the moon. The event featured over 25 exhibitors and plenty of fun, family-friendly activities. Dallas SWE and Fort Worth SWE partnered up to provide visitors with two hands-on, engineering-based activities.

Building and testing solar-powered robots.
Building and Testing Solar Powered Robots

Kids of all ages tried their hands at building a solar-powered robot, snapping together parts with a solar cell to demonstrate principles of Mechanical Engineering and Renewable Energy. The kids loved watching their robots roll along when under our makeshift sun (a study lamp!). One little boy said he thought engineering only involved buildings until he made the robots while a little girl was excited she could build a more stable robot faster than her brothers!

Kids got their hands wet by building boats from one piece of aluminum foil. The boat had to stay afloat while adding more and more weights. Each “boat-engineer” made a guess about how many weights their boat could hold… we had a record of 163! Several participants came back to design a better boat or go head to head with their siblings. We even had a contest between a father-son pair; the son walked away with bragging rights.

Which boat holds the most?
Which boat holds the most?

Over the course of the day’s celebration, over 150 kids visited the SWE exhibits with their families and participated in the activities with the volunteers from Dallas SWE (Zaineb Ahmad, Stephany Alanis, Sara Brandt, Teri Cate, Ashley Dunn, Barbara Read, Shelley Stracener, Tram Trinh, Jennifer Vilbig) and Fort Worth SWE (Carrie Ballester, Birdena Milligan, Candy Robinson). Several parents commented on the fun activities that made their children think outside the box and were interested in getting similar robots or giving the boats another try at home. Looks like the ladies of Dallas SWE and Fort Worth SWE met some future engineers!

The Dallas Morning News also featured our activities in their photo review of Moon Day.

~ Zaineb Ahmad, Dallas SWE Award Committee Chair

Registration is OPEN for the Fall 2014 Design Your World – Stem Conference for Girls!

by Dallas SWE on in Outreach, Special Events

DYWlogoWe are excited to announce that Registration is officially OPEN for our Design Your World – STEM Conference for Girls at the UT Dallas Jonsson School of Engineering Saturday, November 1, 2014!

The “Design Your World” event is designed to be an opportunity for girls to meet female engineering role models and see that girls can succeed in science, technology, math, and engineering (STEM). Teachers: encourage your students to attend this event! We anticipate hosting 120 students and 100 parents/educators. Throughout the day professional and college student volunteers will interact with the girls. The volunteers will share their enthusiasm for science and technology!

Students will start their day getting inspired by engineers and a dynamic, inspirational keynote speaker. Then, they will participate in three design sessions in various STEM fields. Activity choices include Bio-Medical, Computers, Electrical, Materials, and Mechanical. The day’s finale will include information on college admissions and encouraging anecdotes from engineering students and recent graduates. Student registration also includes lunch and an event t-shirt.

Design Your World also includes a session for Parents and Educators.  Adults will engage in conversation with panel members on topics including encouraging girls in STEM, tips on communication, guiding girls through their decision-making processes, and resources to assist girls interested in STEM careers. The Parent and Educator sessions will also include lunch and a tour of the engineering college.

When: Saturday November 1, 2014, 8:30am-4:30pm
Where: Jonsson School of Engineering, UT Dallas, Richardson, TX.
Cost: $10 for students and adults. Go to the Registration page for details and to reserve your spot today!

Volunteers are needed to help with the Design Your World – STEM Conference, please complete the volunteer response form!

Sponsor information has been posted on the DYW Sponsor page. If you or your company are interested in donating funds for this year’s Design Your World – STEM Conference for Girls, please review the sponsorship letter and form and follow the instructions!

Renew your SWE membership for FY15!

by Dallas SWE on in Announcements

SWErenewalDid you know that at the end of the month (September 30), if you haven’t renewed your SWE membership for FY15 it will be considered officially lapsed??  That’s a big deal!  Visit the SWE Member Services Center to renew and update your information today!!

Dallas SWE is a diverse organization devoted to supporting engineers in North Texas through professional development meetings, technical site tours, and dynamic guest speakers.  We are also committed to encouraging young women to pursue STEM careers by sponsoring outreach activities throughout the year, most notably our Design Your World: Stem Conference for Girls event series. As a SWE member, you’ll receive discounts on annual conference and other paid event registrations.  Our membership dues are also significantly less costly than other professional engineering organizations. SWE is a great value!  Please visit our website, dallaswe.org, for more information about upcoming activities and our mission. Your membership and participation enriches our section!

After you renew your membership, please take our FY14 Member Survey to let us know what you’d like to see from Dallas SWE in this fiscal year!

If you choose not to renew your SWE membership, please participate in the above-linked Membership Survey or email us at dallas.swe@gmail.com to share your thoughts on how we can improve our service to our members.   Thank you!

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