The Dallas SWE Committee Interest Survey for FY21 is now available! If you are looking to get more involved or stay involved in our community, please fill out the form here. This form helps us direct you to the appropriate contact whether your interests are outreach, professional development, social and more. The survey also contains a link to our committee descriptions for more information.
On Saturday, June 27th, Dallas SWE held our annual Membership Recognition Event for FY20! Dallas SWE had the pleasure of supporting our membership base this year, so this event was held to celebrate all of our accomplishments.
The event followed a tropical theme and everyone who attended dressed up in their best tropical attire! Door prizes were given out to those who were voted “best dressed” in a people’s choice award that was taken during the event.
Our membership appreciation event recognized all of the efforts that our members have taken to make us better than before. FY20 President, Zaineb Ahmad, opened the meeting and Vice President of Membership, Rana Karimi, was the emcee. After a round of introductions and icebreakers, the officer team shared a FY20 recap, highlighting our notable accomplishments in Programming, Outreach, and Membership. Then, Zaineb recognized the outgoing officer team and handed out the three president’s choice awards:
Outgoing Officers:
President’s Choice Awards:
Then, each Officer presented individual recognitions within their committees:
Dallas SWE – Programming Recognitions:
Programs Committee:
Nominating Committee:
Dallas SWE – Outreach Recognitions:
Outreach/Design Your World Committee:
Special thanks to Amanda Alsbrook, Katie Mills, and Zaineb Ahmad for stepping in as always to help with DYW & Outreach.
Dallas SWE – Financial Recognitions:
All officers and chairs for being so budget-conscious!
Investment Committee:
Dallas SWE – Social Media/Communications Recognitions:
Dallas SWE – Membership Recognitions:
We also congratulated each invidivdual who was recognized as a past member of the month, and Dallas SWE scholarship recipients.
Scholarship Committee:
The event closed with a poll asking everyone what their favorite part about Dallas SWE is. The results were captured in a the below Word map.
Throughout the event, everyone shared how their experience went with Dallas SWE this year. Dallas SWE is very grateful to have such an engaged, diverse and talented member base. It was an incredible year of accomplishments and we would like to thank each of our members for making it possible!
Check out the slide deck from the event here!
On May 12th, Dallas SWE held a virtual trivia social! The trivia consisted of three rounds with the top scorers from each advancing to the final championship round. The categories were Engineering 101, SWE History, and Women in Science. Engineering 101 testing our engineering skills such as Newton’s laws of motion, Lean manufacturing principles, and famous historical engineering feats. The SWE History category tested our knowledge on SWE’s roots. Our third and final category, Women in Science, tested us on famous female Nobel prize winners and notable breakthroughs made by women scientists. It was a fun night full of learning and friendly competition! The highest scorers were invited to participate in a final round, consisting of Fortune Women in Business which tested us on prominent female CEOs leading top Fortune companies. It was a fun and successful event with over 40 attendees. Congratulations to SWE Member Hope Schwalls on winning the trivia! Fort Worth SWE participating in this social and contributed to excellent networking and competition! Dallas SWE would like to thank our counterparts in Fort Worth SWE for their engagement in this event.
Kate is one of our few K-12 educator members and she creates high school engineering curriculum for a private school network based out of New York. She basically gets to play with engineering “toys” for a living. Kate has an aerospace engineering degree from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and her masters from Kettering University. As a traditional engineer, she worked with cargo aircraft, missile defense, spacecraft, business jets, helicopters, and unmanned aviation. She enjoyed getting to break things intentionally, aka test engineering. She was honored for a group effort with a NASA award and SWE has awarded her Outstanding Collegiate Member and Distinguished New Engineer.
From Reno to South Africa, Kate has spoken on gender biases and creating change. Her passion on the subject translates to deep questions and change at the college campuses and businesses that invite her to speak. Kate’s currently starting her seventh consecutive year serving SWE on the Senate. She’s also served SWE in the Society Membership Committee and in local positions. She recently celebrated her 15th year of SWE membership.
“SWE is my constant. I’ve moved across the country four times, and each time SWE has been there to welcome me with open arms.”
Kate Van Dellen
“One of the best choices of my life was studying engineering because it has been rewarding and has opened so many doors, but what allowed me to actually complete my degree was the support of SWE.”
Kate Van Dellen
On June 11, Dallas SWE hosted our second virtual professional development event with speaker and local member Pam Duffy! Her presentation “Productive from Anywhere: Practical Tips to Get Stuff Done” was not only helpful in offering ways to stay focused and organized, especially while working from home or in shifting environments, but it was also entertaining and engaging. Using a polling app, attendees were able to send in responses to Pam’s polling questions in real time.
One highly effective method included in her presentation was the Pomodoro Technique which help keep you focused and motivated by breaking up time into 25 minute working intervals followed by a 5 minute break. Pam shared how she has used the technique and where to find apps and tools to help you carry out this strategy. To watch a similar presentation given by Pam for ASHRAE earlier this year and to download the presentation, please visit her website. The link also contains additional resources and time management tips. You will be glad you visited!
Dallas SWE truly values the opportunity to have served our membership throughout the year. We also value all of the feedback from our members and use this as an opportunity to reflect on what went well and any potential areas of improvement so we can continue to serve our membership even better. Please take a few minutes to fill out our membership survey and let us know your thoughts! We truly value your input!
