On April 4th, Dallas SWE President, Rana Karimi, spoke at UNT SWE on the topic of gender and negotiation. The evening began with an icebreaker for attendees to get to know each other. Once everyone was acquainted, Rana delivered her talk, with a keen focus on empowering women in the workplace. Rana provided invaluable insights and strategies to help attendees effectively negotiate their first starting salaries. Through engaging discussions and Rana’s storytelling on real world negotiation experiences, participants gained a deeper understanding of the negotiation process, learned to identify their value, and developed confidence in advocating for themselves. Rana’s anecdotes made the event both enlightening and informative, increasing awareness of the tools and knowledge to navigate their future salary negotiations successfully. The future of UNT SWE members is bright, as the attendees are more aware of the gaps and focus areas to proactively pursue equitable compensation in their professional endeavors.
Dallas SWE would like to thank and recognize UNT for their partnership on this opportunity, with special recognition to UNT SWE President, Jordan Rider, for coordinating and hosting this event.
Join Dallas SWE for our June Book Club on June 24 at 10 AM at Civil Pour Dallas! We will be discussing The Book Eaters by Sunyi Dean. We will be meeting at Civil Pour. They have coffee, beer, wine, and food available for purchase. Register by June 22.
Congratulations to Aamina Masood, Dallas SWE’s June Member of the Month!
Aamina became a member of SWE through Collin College’s chapter in 2021. She had recently started her Associates in Cybersecurity to update herself and found out about SWE. Later that year, she volunteered for Design Your World. Aamina has been a volunteer with Girl Scouts for more than 12 years so was excited to help out with DYW.
Aamina then volunteered to help with the Outreach committee and helped with the activity ideas for DYW 2023. She enjoys working with girls and wants to further interest in STEM for girls.
Aamina is a graduate of Imperial College, London, UK having completed her Bachelors and Masters in Information Systems Engineering. She has worked in web development and is currently studying cybersecurity. Aamina also holds associate degrees in Pastry Arts and Culinary Arts. Currently, she teaches Baking at Collin part-time and is searching for an appropriate position in the cybersecurity field.
This summer, Aamina’s goals are to pass the CCNA and Security+ exam certifications and volunteer with the Collin Robotics Summer Camp as Lego is one of her favorite things.
Having been in the computing industry for a long time, Aamina has this to say about SWE, “When I graduated from Imperial, there were very few women in my graduating class and even fewer in the industry. I was very lucky to find a woman run firm that gave me great experience. However, I love how SWE has so many supportive women. It makes my heart happy to see such appreciation.”
Dallas SWE Book Club read and discussed Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus in April. We had a great discussion talking about the various roles people can play in elevating women, particularly women in STEM. The book club has really been discussing the world through the eyes of fiction books. We are reading The Book Eaters by Sunyi Dean for our June discussion. Join us at Civil Pour for another great discussion!
On Saturday, May 6th, Dallas Society of Women Engineers hosted Design Your World 2023 at Collin College’s Frisco Campus. Dallas SWE partnered with Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas to host this year’s event for middle school girls from all over the DFW metroplex. Design Your World gives students a glimpse into the world of engineering through a day filled with hands-on STEM activities and interactions with engineers from various disciplines.
Dallas SWE thanks our nearly 40 volunteers who represented various industries and engineering fields as they served as expert guides for the students throughout the day. This amazing volunteer turnout was instrumental in ensuring the day ran smoothly and that all girls received support and guidance during the activities. A huge thanks to our Dallas SWE Volunteers who went above and beyond to guide students through activities and serve as role models throughout the day.
Dallas SWE thanks our Design Your World Event and Activity Sponsor, Qorvo, for their gracious support of our Outreach Efforts. Due to Qorvo’s time and generosity, the Design Your World Program was able to offer innovative activity programming that will help shape the future path of the next generation of engineers!
Dallas SWE also thanks our organization sponsors Collins Aerospace, Pepsico, Analog Devices, and Dave & Lynn Mortensen for their continued support of Dallas SWE.
The day started with a welcome from Cyonna Holmes, VP of Outreach, as she introduced the students to a wide range of engineering disciplines. The students then rotated through three activities and lunch: building a transmitter, hurricane house, and space science.
Building a transmitter was led by Qorvo, a Platinum Sponsor of Dallas SWE. Kurt Cimino and PT Ton-Nu from Qorvo led the girls through an exciting hands-on activity where they built electrical circuits that transmitted sound through an AM radio. Thanks to the Qorvo team, the students gained an amazing glimpse into the world of electrical engineering! Several students noted that this was the first time they had ever built a circuit using a breadboard, wire, oscillators, and transformers! Dallas SWE greatly appreciates the time and effort from the Qorvo team and especially thanks Kurt and PT for planning and enthusiastically leading such an engaging hands-on activity!
The Hurricane House Activity was led by Ashley Johnson who guided the students through a hands-on activity focused on building a house with enough stability to withstand “weather forces”. Ashley led the students in this structural engineering activity by allowing them to build their houses out of items like plates, straws, tape, and other items. The houses were then wind tested using a blow dryer. Students were thrilled to find that their careful planning and iteration led to stable houses. Thanks to Ashley for leading this activity!
The Space Science Activity was led by Jordan Rider who guided the students through an activity designed to test their creativity and research skills. Students learned about ultraviolet light by using cyanotype paper whose chemicals react when exposed to UV rays. The reaction resulted in a print that served as a take-home memento for the students. Thanks to Jordan for leading this activity!
During lunch, students heard about different engineering careers from volunteers Terri Ho, Rana Karimi, Jerrica Weeks, Danielle Henry, and PT Ton-Nu. The volunteers rotated around lunch tables sharing their college and career experiences with the students. They learned about a day in the life of different engineers from SWE Volunteers who represented a wide range of careers.
The students were energized and enthusiastic throughout the entire day with several highlighting that the activities gave them hands-on design experience that they do not routinely get.
Dallas SWE Volunteers described the event as:
“An incredible opportunity to engage with young girls and inspire them to pursue STEM Careers”
“Happy to be a part of this initiative and able to contribute to empowering the next generation of female STEM professionals”
“ I had such a great time volunteering. This was a great event Dallas SWE put on with Girl Scouts.”
Thank you again to our DYW event and activity sponsor, Qorvo, and our organization sponsors. Thank you to our DYW Leads, Ashley Johnson and Aamina Masood, and to our outreach committee consisting of: Kimberley Reid, Liz Biru, Domanique Johnson, Liberty Cortes, and Anmolika Singh! We are also grateful to the Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas Team for their partnership and support of the event. Thank you to all of the volunteers who graciously spent their Saturday with Dallas SWE Outreach!
Overall, Design Your World 2023 was a great event that helped show students the world of STEM. We could not have run the event without our sponsors 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.
Our annual Membership Appreciation Event is on June 10th, from 3-5 PM at Freeplay in Richardson. Join us while we wrap up FY23 by celebrating all our wonderful members and their amazing contributions. Network with fellow SWE members while challenging them to arcade games! We look forward to seeing you!
