Welcome to the SWE Region i Blog!
Welcome to the Society of Women Engineers Region i Blog. My name is Lyndsey Schaefer, I am the Regional Collegiate Communications Editor for FY2012 and I look forward to providing an excellent resource for information and communication to the SWE community.
You can subscribe to the blog to receive email notifications when there are updates! Please let me know of any suggestions you have for the blog or if you are struggling to find/use anything on the blog.
Here is your collegiate leadership team for FY12. Left to Right: Lyndsey Schaefer (RCCE), Megan Schmidt (RCS), Sarah Bax (RCR), and Nicola Serrao (SWEFL).
Hope you are as excited for this SWE year as we are!
Thanks!
Lyndsey Schaefer Region i – RCCE rcce-i@swe.orgRegional Conference
Hello all!
I wanted to make you aware of a couple of deadlines regarding the conference:
- FRIDAY, Feb 10th is the last day of normal registration. In order to get a T-shirt and tote, you MUST have your registration in by this date.
o We will take late registrations up until February 24th on a space available basis. Late registrants will NOT receive a T-shirt or tote.
- FRIDAY, FEB 17th - The SWE block of Hotel rooms (negotiated at $82/night with free Wi-Fi in the room) will be released to the general public after February 17th. While you can still request same rate if you reserve after that time, rooms may not be available.
The link to registration is http://orgs.utulsa.edu/swe/conference/registration.shtml
-Suzanne Dodson (Suzanne.Dodson@magellanlp.com )
Please Review and Update Your Profile Today
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If you have any questions on this process, please email membership@swe.org.
January Hot Topic: Resolve your Resolutions
Happy New Year everyone!
I hope you had a very fun and relaxing break. I know this is pretty delayed, but hopefully you haven’t totally forgotten about your new year’s resolutions or maybe you never made any. If you haven’t made one, I’m right there with you. I’m not a huge fan of the concept of new year’s resolutions because I think most people set too many and do not create a plan to accomplish these goals. My only advice for you is to pick a maximum of two or three and make a plan on how to accomplish them. I was researching to find a website that would give you all good advice and there is a ton out there, so just take a few minutes to check them out if you aren’t sure how to follow through with your resolutions.
I did want to share this website with you, it is an article about resolutions for ’20 somethings.’ It is pretty funny, but I think some of them should be considered by people in our age group. Enjoy!
Hope your semester has started off well,
Lyndsey
Apply for a Collegiate Leadership Position!
Are you interested in taking your SWE leadership to the next level? Do you want to make a difference in programs for collegiate members or assist in developing the strategic direction of SWE in the Senate; this is your opportunity to apply! You could be your region’s next Region Collegiate Representative (RCR), Region Collegiate Communication Editor (RCCE) or Region Collegiate Senator (RCS).
Region Collegiate Representatives and Region Collegiate Communications Editor: The RCR is responsible for representing collegiate members’ interests among regional leaders. The RCCE is responsible for communicating important SWE events and best practices through the region’s blog. Plus, the RCR(s) and RCCE from each region will have the opportunity to attend next summer’s Collegiate Leadership Forum in Minneapolis, MN. Click here RCR-RCCE Job Descriptions to learn more about the positions.
Region Collegiate Senators: The RCS is responsible for chartering the strategic direction and adopting long-range goals for the Society. The alternate RCS is responsible for fulfilling her Senator’s duties if the Senator is unable to perform her tasks. The RCS from each region will also have the opportunity to attend next summer’s Collegiate Leadership Forum in Minneapolis, MN. Click here Collegiate Senator Job Description to learn more about the positions.
The RCR, RCCE and RCS positions provide invaluable interaction and coaching from SWE leaders. These leadership opportunities sharpen your career skill-set in the areas of leading and facilitation, group dynamics and communication, and project leadership. Click here RCR /RCCE /RCS Qualifications to review the RCR/RCCE/RCS Qualifications.
Please click here to apply or copy and paste the following URL in your browser:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/fy13_rcr_rcce_rcs_appl
- To apply you will need:
- Member number
- Section/Region
- School and Permanent Address
- Position of interest
- SWE leadership positions
- Other leadership positions
- Why you want to be RCR/RCCE/RCS
- What you bring to the RCR/RCCE/RCS position
- What SWE means to you
- Interest outside of SWE
- Reference to confirm GPA/academic standing
Please also submit a 1-3 minute video that describes why you are running for the position, your name, year in school, major, SWE leadership experience, why people should vote for you, etc. Send the video to SWE.Collegiate.Elections@gmail.com by February 5, 2012 . Note that the video does not need to be submitted with the Survey Monkey application but does need to be emailed before the deadline. The video must be high enough quality to post on YouTube and should be under 25MB.
Applications are due by Sunday, February 5.
Similar to past years, in FY13 there will be one to two RCRs for every 1,000 collegiate members in each region. If collegiate membership reaches 1,000 members by January 31, 2012, a region will add or maintain a second RCR. There will be one RCCE and one RCS elected per region. Alternate RCSs are optional, and the position will go to the RCS candidate with the second highest number of votes.
Disclaimer: Be aware that if elected, you will need to secure your own housing accommodations for the WE12 Conference in Houston. There are resources available through your Region Governor.
If you have any questions regarding the positions or the election process, please contact your RCR(s) at example:rcr-x@swe.org, where X is replaced by the letter of your region, RCCE atexample:rcce-x@swe.org, or Jessica Kiefer or Jasmine Harris at rcr-rcce-coordinator@swe.org.
- Jessica Kiefer, RCR/RCCE Coordinator
- Jasmine Harris, RCR/RCCE Coordinator Elect
- Linda Thomas, Director of Regions
- Colleen Layman, Deputy Director of Regions
- Helen Patricia, Speaker of the Senate
- Deborah Willems, Deputy Speaker of the Senate
Congratulations to Brenna Svoboda, Grand prize winner of the Stilettos to Steel Toes Competition!
For those of you who don’t know, the Stilettos to Steel Toes Competition is an essay competition sponsored by Schlumberger. If you attended the annual conference and went to the Celebrate SWE dinner, you heard Brenna read her essay. She was the grand prize winner and they sponsored her trip to annual conference. I am linking her essay as well as a little something she wrote up about her experience. Her essay is FANTASTIC, I would highly recommend reading it. Her reflection of her experience is really great as well, definitely worth reading! She learned some great lessons that I think all of you can relate to.
Thank you Brenna for sharing your essay with us and telling us about your experience. Congratulations again Brenna!
Hot Topic: Balancing Your Break
Obviously I should not be preaching to you about balancing your break when I have not gotten the hot topic for this month out until now, but don’t forget break is a good chunk of time to get things done.
1. Scholarships (don’t forget the SWE scholarship is available!)
2. SWE Stuff
a. Event planning
b. Region Conference planning (link in Region Conference post below)
c. Bid Process (link and info in Region Conference post below)
d. RCR/RCCE/RCS Application (due in early February)
-You should have gotten an email about this and I will be posting more info later.
-If you have more questions before then feel free to send me an email.
3. Read a book you haven’t had time to read during school!
4. Spend time with family and friends that you don’t get the opportunity to see during school very often.
5. Relax (do whatever you do to calm your nerves and relieve stress)
My biggest suggestion to you is get all of the boring stuff done early, so you are relaxed and rested when next semester starts. Don’t put too much on your to do list, be sure to prioritize!
Hope you all are having a great break!
Lyndsey
Region i Calendar
One more quick update. The calendar linked at the top of this site has been updated with report due dates and the bid presentation dates.
Please let me know if you have any events you would like to add the to calendar. It would be a good idea especially if you would like a section near by to help out or just to let others know what your section is up to!
Happy Holidays!
Lyndsey
Regional Conference 2011
Hi everyone,
Just letting you know that I updated the link in the right-hand side to the regional conference coming up in the beginning of March. Here is another link to it. As well as a link to Tulsa’s website for the conference. (You can also find this link on the conference website.)
Region Website Conference Link
On the same note, it is also time to start thinking about hosting next 2013 regional conference. Here is a message from our region governor, Heather Doty, about the process.
Hosting a SWE Regional Conference is a great opportunity for professional and collegiate sections as well as MAL’s to feature their SWE leadership, engineering community and hometown charm. It can even be a fundraising event for your section! In the past Region I conferences have been attended by over 200 members from multiple SWE regions.
The following schedule outlines the bid submittal and selection process:
Bid Process Deadlines:
January 6: Bid Presentations due to Governor at governor-i@swe.org
February 3: Governor returns Bid Presentations with comments
February 17: Final Bid Presentations due to Governor; Bid Presentations distributed to voting members of the Region
March 3: Bid presentations presented at Region Conference in Tulsa, OK during the Joint Meeting
The approved Region I Conference process and Bid Presentation Guidelines are posted on the Region I Community under Resources (click on View All if you don’t see them on the main page). The bids will be reviewed and awarded based on adherence to the process and guidelines. For questions please contact Region I Lt. Governor Angel McMullen-Gunn at angel.gunn@swe.org or Heather Doty at governor-i@swe.org.
Let me know if you have questions about the conference or the bid process.
Hope your finals went well and enjoy your break!
Lyndsey
Nicola Serrao- Region i SWE Future Leader (SWEFL)
Background:
Hello! My name is Nicola Serrao and I’m a junior in Chemical and Biological Engineering at Colorado State University. While I grew up in Dubai, I am originally from India. After graduation, I would like to work in the health care industry and give back to the community by using my engineering degree to help people improve the quality of their lives.
Why I Love SWE:
I joined SWE as a freshman and have been a part of it ever since. What attracted me to SWE was the idea of having a group where fellow female engineers can interact, share experiences and ideas. I have been able to meet a diverse group of people who have been a major part of helping me succeed and get me to where I am today. I love SWE because I know someone, somewhere out there is always available to help me with anything from an engineering problem to helping me develop as a collegiate member and eventually as a professional.
SWE Experience:
I joined SWE as a member during my freshman year and was the Fundraising officer during my sophomore year. I am currently the Section Secretary and I was also chosen to be the SWE Future Leader for Region i. I would like to continue my involvement with SWE in the professional section upon graduation.
Other Activities:
I am an active member of the Indian Student Association at CSU. And when I am not buried under engineering books, I love to play the piano and tennis. I also enjoy spending time with my family and friends.
Happy Turkey Day!
Thanks to Region A RCCE, I found this article. This goes well with the Hot Topic this month, Thanks to Engineering. It talks about the top things women have invented and I thought it was pretty interesting! Enjoy your Thanksgiving!
Lyndsey
