On November 13, Halliburton’s Women Sharing Excellent (WSE) group hosted Dallas SWE for an insightful industry tour of the Halliburton Carrollton Technology and Manufacturing Center! The evening started with a introduction to the company and lifecycle of the well. For the tour, the attendees split into four groups lead by knowledgeable Halliburton employees. Included on the tour was the state-of-the-art testing and design center and manufacturing areas. We would like to thank everyone who helped with the coordination and execution of the event, especially the tour guides, speakers, and organizers. We appreciate all your hard work and the fascinating evening you provided!
News & Events
Event Recap: Design Your World STEM Conference For Girls!
Dallas SWE’s 14th Design Your World STEM Conference for Girls was held on November 10, 2018 at Southern Methodist University! Tickets for the event sold out with the attendance of 120 middle school aged girls, in grades 6th-8th, spending the day learning about multiple industries where a STEM career can lead them.
This day would not have been possible without the multiple volunteers, parents, and educators that took time out of their day to be a part of this inspirational event. Additionally, a special THANK YOU to our generous corporate sponsors: ExxonMobil (Platinum) and Lennox (Gold). Finally, we would also like to acknowledge the resolute efforts of our event coordinators: Terriekka Cardenas (Dallas SWE VP of Outreach and DYW Event Chair), Amanda Alsbrook (Registration Chair), Shannon Cruise (Student Activities Chair), Teri Cate (logistics), Sandy Rolon (opening/closing ceremony), Thi Dao (Volunteer Coordinator), Kim Concillado (marketing and media), Rana Karimi (T-shirts), Zaineb Ahmad (Parent/Educator Track coordinator), Katia Gomez (planning committee), and Liz Hainey (fundraising/finance and food order).
Photos
You can find all of our event photos on our Facebook page album for this event! Below are a few of the highlights.
Opening Session
Sandy Rolon jump started the DYW event with an inspirational speech about working hard towards your goals and pursuing your career, whatever those may be! Subsequently, she held an ice breaker with all of the participants to get them excited about the day ahead of them.
Student Activities
We had a wonderful variety of activities for the students to choose from this year! The students broke into six groups, which rotated through three of the activities listed below during their day:
- Biomedical Engineering – Sponsored by Accenture
Students simulated a blocked artery using clay and learned about the different technologies utilized in the medical industry to clear them.
- Computer Science – Sponsored by Codestream Studios
Students were able to participate in app/web development by making their own webpage. They also learned about the most influential women in computer science.
- Electrical Engineering – Sponsored by Girls in STEM
Students designed and built their own circuits while learning about the basics of electrical engineering. They were also given the opportunity to build small scale bridges and understand best practices for strengthening the structure.
- Telecommunications – Sponsored by Fujitsu
Students learned how to send messages through Morse code and were able to decipher messages created by the instructors.
- Mechanical/HVAC Engineering – Sponsored by Lennox
Students learned about the basics of HVAC by comparing the various components to the human body. After a short presentation, they built the circuit for a thermometer using an Arduino.
- Renewable Energy – Halliburton
Students learned about the principles of renewable energy and built salt water powered vehicles.
Parent & Educator Sessions
During the Design Your World STEM conference, three Parent-Educator panels were held: a young engineers session (Voices from the Field – What’s Really Out there?), an engineering collegiate session (What’s Next? Collegiates Share Their Paths), and an engineering campus tour, hosted by SMU engineering students. Each panel had content aimed for parents and educators to aid in their students’ STEM education and motivation.
The first panel allowed panelists to share their collegiate and early career experiences, as well as overcoming difficulties, surprising things, and any advice for the STEM students. The goal was to answer any questions that the parents had about their STEM students’ education and future career. Many of the panelists discussed their careers from their points of view as well as their support systems, hardships, and perseverance. The parents asked several questions about how the panelists handled the difficulties that came their way, how they motivated themselves, and what drove them to choose their fields.
The second panel consisted of collegiate SWE members in various engineering majors. The objective of the panel was similar to first session, but the panelists spoke to their support system and schooling that got them to this point in their college career. They also provided advice on college admissions, financing their educations, and finding internships.
The last session of the day gave parents and educators a view into engineering campus life, with a tour of the engineering school by current engineering students. The students were able to showcase their lives on campus, while providing the attendees more opportunities to ask questions and discuss their students’ futures.
The parents and educators that attended were very open and communicative about the needs of the STEM students and appreciated the panelists and the content that was focused on. They happily asked questions and participated in each of the panels.
Closing and Engineering Fashion Show
Sandy Rolon took the stage again to recognize participants that were the most involved with the activities during the day. These students were brought up to the stage and rewarded a Bitsbox, which is a subscription box that teaches kids how to code!
To close the event in true Design Your World fashion, the volunteers and SWE members strutted their stuff on the catwalk, wearing apparel that is typical of their STEM job. We had field engineers, design engineers, and even a nuclear physicist show off what they wear day-to-day on the job.
Impact Highlights
Here are a few highlights from our student evaluations:
I enjoyed the HTML/CSS part. I like coding, so it was fun to do some.
I liked how the volunteers made building and learning things fun. I loved the salt water cells.
I liked all the events because I learned new things.
It was great. I learned things that I did not know. I want to come back!
I liked learning about Morse code and learning about STEM. It helped me realize that we need more women in that field.
December Member of the Month: Shelley Stracener
Dallas SWE is pleased to recognize Shelley Stracener as Member of the Month for December 2018!
With our Member of the Month program, Dallas SWE seeks to recognize some of our non-officer members whose technical contributions, leadership accomplishments, or SWE volunteer service are particularly noteworthy. If you would like to nominate a Dallas SWE member for his/her contributions, please email us at dallas.swe@gmail.com.
Our December Member of the Month is Shelley Stracener! Shelley received her Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Baylor University in 2005. During her thirteen year career, she has made technical and leadership contributions in three major industries: business computing (Dell), airborne electronics (Heads Up Technologies), and now medical devices. As a Senior Electrical Engineer at Abbott’s Neuromodulation division in Plano, Shelley designs implantable pulse generators for the treatment of chronic pain via spinal cord stimulation and movement disorders via deep brain stimulation. Shelley also recently started new Women in STEM and Women Leaders of Abbott Employee Network Groups in her division.
As a sixteen year SWE member and recent Life Membership convert, Shelley has held a variety of appointed and elected leadership positions in SWE. She used her passion for communication and advocacy as Webmaster and Social Media Manager for two SWE sections and, prior to its dissolution, for Region C (the Gulf Coast Region). She also served as Region C Secretary in FY16. She is in her fourth year of service on the SWE Magazine Editorial Board and has authored several articles and All Together blog posts. As your Dallas SWE President in FY17-FY18, Shelley made great strides strengthening the leadership pipeline by recruiting new volunteers to the leadership team and recording best practices and practical tips for officers in a Dallas SWE Leadership Guide. Shelley is currently serving a two-year term on the Society Nominating Committee, vetting candidates for the highest levels of SWE leadership.
Shelley is also an enthusiastic outreach volunteer and mentor to local high school and college students, especially when they have questions about helping people through the medical device industry. She also serves as the Counselor for her alma mater’s SWE section and visits several times per year to offer guidance and stay connected to SWE collegiates.
Outside of SWE, Shelley is an active cyclist and rides a recumbent bicycle in long-distance charity fundraiser rides including fourteen MS150’s, each covering 150 miles in two days. She also enjoys crochet yarn crafts and spending time with her husband and two dogs.
My favorite thing about SWE is meeting diverse women from every culture, engineering discipline, career stage, industry, and school of thought. My friends and mentors in SWE were a great resource in my early career and I’m excited about our organization’s future. Here’s to continued strength and inspiration for our Dallas section in service of SWE’s mission and goals!
~Shelley Stracener
Upcoming Events in December
We have two exciting events coming up in December you won’t want to miss!
First, come SWEeten the holiday as we celebrate the holiday season at SWE’s annual holiday party on Thursday, December 6th at Flying Saucer in Addison. As always, there will be great networking, excellent food and drinks, and lots of cheer as we get into the holiday season.
Then, join Dallas SWE for our quarterly book club and networking! This quarter, we are reading The Confidence Code: The Science and Art of Self-Assurance – What Women Should Know, by Katty Kay. Come join for excellent discussion and networking! All are welcome.
We hope to see you at one or both of these events!
College 2 Careers Leadership Conference: Event Recap
On Saturday, November 3rd, Dallas SWE along with the Dallas – Fort Worth Professional Chapter of Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) and National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) DFW Professionals organized the first College 2 Careers Leadership Conference aimed at high school juniors and seniors. Approximately 30 high school students attended the day-long event held at Blackstone Launchpad at UTD and sponsored by BNSF Railway, BlueAlly, UTD, and Verizon. Both students and professionals had opportunities to network throughout the day.
Attendees heard presentations from three inspiring and informative speakers: The Value of a Mentor by Gina Otts, Verizon; Change Your Mind, Change Your Life by Jonathan Jones; and The Art of the Interview, Connie Smith, BNSF. At lunch former and current interns ranging from high school student to college student to professional participated in the Panel discussion “The Value of a Summer Internship.” Several panelists became interns through the National Academy Foundation (NAF) program. Following the panel, professionals provided 1-on-1 mentoring, resume review, and mock interview practice to the students. Connie Smith of BNSF awarded scholarships to one male student and one female student. Scholarship judges from SWE, NSBE, and SHPE all helped evaluate the applications and pick the winners. The conference was capped off with a UTD campus tour for the students. Thanks to all the students, educators, and professional volunteers who turned out for this event.
WE18: Event Recap
WE18, the world’s largest conference for women engineers, was held in Minneapolis, MN from October 18-20 and was a huge success with over 14,000 attendees! Dynamic speakers and panels, a colossal job fair, the SWE Boutique, limitless networking opportunities, and the outreach event Invent it! Build it! on Saturday made it so there was never a dull moment. Dallas SWE was represented by about 15 members. We were even able to reconnect with several past members who have moved to others areas of the country.
We had several local members who presented:
Uche Maple, Rockwell Collins – Soar to your Maximum Potential
Nandika D’Souza, Ph.D, University of North Texas – How to get Research Funded
Kate Van Dellen, New Trees Education – Mom-trepreneur: Entrepreneurial Parents Panel
Stephanie Watts Butler, TI – Stand Out! How to Pitch Yourself and Own the Career Fair
Awards
Letia Blanco was recognized for her technical, leadership, and community service accomplishments with the SWE Distinguished New Engineer Award. Letia was the founding chair of the SWE Design Your World – STEM Conference for Girls and it has has been presented 12 times to date, impacting more than 1,800 girls.
Anushka Saran, an 11th grader at Plano Senior High School, received a prestigious SWENext Global Innovator Award. One of only 5 SWENext members to receive this award, she was recognized for her outstanding contributions to promoting girls in STEM and her strong academic and extracurricular record.
Samantha (Sammy) Zellner, a graduate student at UNT earning a Masters in Material Science and Engineering, won first place in the graduate poster competition for Design of a Corrosion Measurement System of SiC at High Temperatures.
The Dallas Section itself won the SWE Mission Award Gold – Professional for the second year in a row and SWE Mission Best Practices – Outreach. The Gold award is the highest overall award level for the new SWE Mission Award structure and recognizes our section’s commitment to SWE‘s Core Values and Strategic Goals based on results from our activities across 10 categories. The Best Practices – Outreach is a category-specific award recognizing our section’s dedication to community involvement, especially with the Design Your World events.
Personal Reflections from Attendees
“It was great to be back at the annual conference as a Dallas SWE member to recruit on behalf of my company (TI). I enjoyed getting to interact with many students, professionals, and professors at the career fair and hospitality suite.” –Amber
“I had the pleasure of assembling a dream team panel this year at We18 of entrepreneurial moms (see picture). We talked about how we started our companies and the different demands on work-life balance as an entrepreneur. I was recently re-elected to the senate, so I participated in the senate meeting on Saturday. One of the discussion points that came up was when we think long-term and someday we reach gender parity, what will SWE’s purpose be? (If people have ideas, please send them my way)” –Kate Van Dellen
“This was my ninth Society Conference: every location and attendee contingent has its own unique atmosphere and Minneapolis was no exception! I especially enjoyedcelebrating with our Dallas SWE Member award winner, meeting with SWE leadership, and going to informative sessions. My favorite session each year is the State of Women in Engineering panel, summarizing SWE’s latest research and literature review of statistics and struggles of women in STEM. I highly recommend conference attendance for a new perspective on SWE: you haven’t experienced all SWE has to offer until you attend a Society Conference!” – Shelley Stracener
“This was my first conference, so it was a new but completely awesome and positive experience. There were so many opportunities to meet people and make friends, search for new career opportunities, learn, and be inspired. I wish I could have cloned myself so I could have done everything! I’m so glad I attended and definitely plan on being at We19 in Anaheim next year.” -Caroline Abadie
“The Society’s WE conferences are events I look forward to every year and WE18 was no different! I got to attend some wonderful session ranging from technical talks to professional development to SWE business. It’s always fun going with my fellow Dallas SWEsters, but also catching up with friends from college or those I’ve met at conference over the years. We also celebrated Dallas SWE winning the Professional section Best Practice for Outreach Award and the Professional section Gold Award and one of our members, Letia Blanco, November Member of the Month, winning the Distinguished New Engineers award! I hope everyone makes an effort to join us at WE19 in Anaheim, CA!” -Zaineb Ahmad
“The conference was a ton of fun and full of so many opportunities! This was my 4th Society level conference to attend, and it continues to be more fulfilling and enriching every year. I’m am beyond amazed that I was able to win the graduate poster competition. Even more so, I am proud to represent UNT, Dallas, and Ft. Worth SWE at the conference. ” – Sammy Zellner
“This was my first conference and I was overwhelmed with how amazing the whole experience was! I’ve only been a part of SWE for about a year and a half, and I realized what a significant part it is now playing in my life. I only wish I would have found it sooner! At the conference, I was able to create new relationships with local members I had not met before, spend time with SWEsters, see a few SWE friends that have moved away from DFW and connect with multiple new people I hope to keep in touch with in the future. It was wonderful being surrounded by driven, intelligent female engineers and learning from them. Everyone was excited to be there! And you can’t beat all the free swag at the career fair! (Make sure you have extra room or an extra small bag so you can get everything on the plane 😉 Anaheim, CA, here WE19 come!” -Amanda Alsbrook
