Society of Women Engineers Region i

Wendy: It is important to have a transitional meeting with old and new officers so that information and tips can be passed on.  Many sections do this as a large group and many have the officers meet one on one with their replacements.
 
Kristina: The University of Colorado had an all day officer training event.  They used the CLCC for training in the morning and then in the afternoon old and new officers met and passed on information.
 
Wendy: One thing that can help with the transition from year to year is keeping good records of what has been done in the past.  Many schools have binders associated with each position that they pass on.  Other schools store their files electronically.  It is very important that all passwords, etc. are passed on.  A group e-mail account can help to record the section’s communication history.
 
Sarah (new University of Colorado President): it was very beneficial to meet in person with the old offices instead of just being handed a bunch of old files.  The old officers were able to walk us through the files.
 
Wendy: You will also probably want to have a planning meeting either now or in the Fall with all the new officers.  At this meeting you can brainstorm ideas, set goals for the year, plan out the schedule for the semester.  At WashU we try to set all the dates of each event and meeting so as not to interfere with freshmen exams and then pass out handouts with the dates at our first meeting so students can mark their calanders in advance.
 
Kristina: invite your faculty advisor and SWE Couselor to your planning meeting.  They have been around for a while and often know what’s been tried before and what works and what doesn’t.
 
Wendy: Another resource is the CLCC.  As Kristina mentioned they can help with your officer transition meeting as well as with planning for the year.  Contact Gretchen (gretchen.gonzales@gmail.com) if you are interesting in having the CLCC work with your section (for FREE).  They are also a great resource in terms of attracting new members.  The CLCC can do a module on SWE and the requirements of being a section as well as provide your members with an overview of the structure of the entire organization and the resources it provides to all members.  More information about the CLCC and the modules they offer can be found on the Collegiate Leadership Coaching Community on My SWE Communities.
 
Wendy: Something else to start thinking about is WE09.  It is in mid-October this year and may require some planning and coordination over the summer.  It is in Long Beach, CA and so will be expensive.  You will need to coordinate flights, ground transportation, and hotel rooms.  Flights seem to be relatively inexpensive right now and I would recommend reserving a block of rooms (you can cancel them later if need be).  The conference website (http://we09.swe.org) is up and has promotional materials in the “toolkit” section.  Volunteer registration is also open and won’t be available for long (if you volunteer your registration is free).  Also, if you look in the “toolkit” section of last year’s site (http://we08.swe.org) you’ll find some fundraising materials.

by Islin Moy
Regional Collegiate Newsletter Editor, Region i

Personally, this has been one heck of a challenging post to talk about. But after a few weeks about thinking about it and fresh from the break from the SWE National Conference, I think I have found some of the answers (and of course, questions!).

Becoming a leader, for the Society of Women Engineers at your local campus, or a leader within your classes or your career, requires guts. Straight up. It means doing the right thing, (aka whatever makes you sleep at night) despite public resentment, anger, and a variety of negative consequences.

One of my favorite examples comes from the movie Freedom Writers (starring Hilary Swank and Patrick Dempsey). In one scene, Eva, the character played by April Lee Hernandez, witnessed a shooting that killed a man. However, the shooter is her own boyfriend. While she is on the stand testifying to send an innocent man to jail forever, she decides to do the right thing, and convicts her boyfriend of shooting the man. She is forever shunned by her gang, but it also means that she has an opportunity for a better life without them.

She was given the keys to do the right thing by her high school English teacher, Erin Grunswell (played by Hilary Swank), who nurtured Eva’s belief in herself as a strong women. I also believe that empowering others to do the right thing, as well as helping them develop their skills in whatever position they are in (whether member or president). 

However, having the ability to stand up for the right thing and empowering others are just two of the many traits in becoming a great leader. In my journey to becoming a leader, I believe that many books offer some of the answers you are looking for. Click on the titles for an Amazon review. 

Good to Great. You will learn the characteristics of the best CEOs who transformed their companies–and how they were able to keep their high performance even when the CEOs were long gone. 

Her Story: A Timeline of Women Who Changed America. Written by a fellow SWE member and Past President, Jill Tietjen, you will be pleasantly surprised at how instrumental women are in the shaping of American history. A good place to start when looking for role models from history. 

The Art of War. This book requires you to think, and then you will see examples from the field in your own life. Good for those who think in terms of analogy. I prefer the Thomas Cleary edition. 

Remember that at the end of the day, you will eventually need to find your own way to becoming a leader, whether that is being webmaster, president, or member, with or without a title. You will need to find your own way so that you can test the truth in what is being said by these books.

Islin (islinmoy at gmail dot com) also serves as COR MEGA Issue Task Force Chair. 

Attracting Members

University of Colorado (Kristina): The most membership signups were at Society Fair. Already had laptops at your booth to sign people up, and they have their parents with them.

Also, the SWE Counselor is working on a mentoring program between professional and collegiate members. Professional members are invited to talk about resume critiquing, etc. similar to mini-workshops held at regional or national conferences. W are having troubles publicizing it. See here for a resource to help. 

University of Missouri (Katie): Scholarships are given at end of the year. The funds are from hosting one of the career fairs and having donations. There are also companies who are willing to sponsor scholarships for $500-1000. Write letters to companies asking for sponsoring.

Washington University of St. Louis (Heather): Evening with Industry event only for SWE paid members. There was also education about the SWE Online Career Center, going to National Conference, Webinars, professional development.

Colorado School of Mines (Islin): There is a SWE Kickoff barbeque for freshmen where they become members after the first lunch meeting.

Retaining Members

Washington University St. Louis (Lisa): There is a noncompetitive rewards system based on points for attendance and participation. The more points you get, it can help you at officer elections or go to national conference. It’s more important to go to National Conference as you get older. It’s a new program.

Colorado School of Mines (Islin):  Speakers are varied for weekly lunch meetings. If a speaker has spoken the year before, usually they don’t speak again the following year. We also have awards for perfect attendance, Service to National SWE, etc. at the end of the year.

University of Missouri (Katie): SWE Big Sis/Lil Sis Mentoring program between upperclassmen and freshmen/sophomores. Each pair goes to events together. 

Feel free to post more about what your section does!

Resources for this month’s Hot Topic

Check out the source on the bottom of the page to learn more about team building, delegation, how to run an effective meeting, and other resources!

Recruiting and Retaining Members 

“New members are the ’spark’ that keeps your roup alive and insures its continuity and vitality in the coming years.  Whether your organization is new or has been active for a few years, you will always need to find new members” (Cal State San Marcos, http://www.csusm.edu/sll/fast_tips/recruiting_member.htm), The following tips will help put you on the right track when looking for new members.

Tip #1 - Don’t be “other centered.”

If you are finding it difficult to recruit and retain members to your organization, ask why?  What is it about the organization that makes it unappealing?  We have a tendency to look externally for the reasons, i.e., “Everyone is too busy” or “s/he needs to spend more time on their studies.” Which may be true, but if you find these reasons often used, challenge yourself to take a look INTERNALLY as well.

Remember, students join motivated organizations.  What makes up a motivated organization?  Motivated organizations know what they want; they have goals, a vision, and an action plan.  When is the last time you evaluated your organization?  Ask your current members to evaluate your organization in the following areas to better understand where you are strong and where more attention needs to be directed.

• A sense of purpose.
• Internal communication.
• Growth and development opportunities.
• Team building – cohesive membership.
• Membership participation.
• Recognition.

Tip #2 - Get Organized and Stay Organized

Organization is key.  Keep a good list and record of all your officers, their positions, and objectives so that you and your group can look at them any time you need to.  

Tip #3 - Make your group worth the time to join

If I am a new member is there something I can do that can give me the sense of accomplishment?  Is the only way to actually be “active” in your organization to be an officer?  A common complaint from younger members is that, besides putting up flyers and going to meetings, there is nothing for general members to do unless they become officers.  Does that sound like fun to you?  Empower your members, give them responsibility and the opportunity to practice their leadership skills.  This not only will increase their confidence level but will also make them more experienced officers in the future.

Tip #4 - Recruitment is an on-going process

It isn’t something that you only do at the beginning of the semester.  If your organization gets involved in homecoming, that is a recruitment and image development opportunity; if you co-sponsor or collaborate on a program with another group or participate in a community service opportunity with other non-members that is a recruitment and image development opportunity.  Use those opportunities to educate people about your organization.  All members should be prepared to answer the question, “tell me about your club, what do you do?”  Can your current members do that and is the message consistent?

Just like companies, it is important to work to make your organization’s name a “household word.”  Remember also, students many times, are members of more than one group so the outreach you participate in may have positive recruitment affects.  If you are an academic organization it is important to keep in mind that people change their majors.  Don’t miss the opportunity to “sell” your organization.

Tip #5 - Create a positive and welcoming environment

Know your member’s names.  Know your member’s needs.  Personal contact is key.  Email is great and easy, but if you want to really keep your members and show them that you value them, you must work toward more personal contact.  Does your exec board know people’s names?  if there are too many members to know all their names, it is even more important to have personal contact.  Students want to feel important and know that they are appreciated.  By knowing your members, it shows that you care and that this person matters to you regardless of the importance of their job.

Structure your meetings so that everyone feels comfortable.  When discussing issues or brainstorming, allow for individual reflection and group discussion in order to accommodate the different processing styles of introverts and extroverts.  Be aware of, respect, and understand cultural differences students may be accustomed to and incorporate them into your meetings.  Lastly, create an environment where members are secure with sharing their opinion even when it differs from the leadership or with the majority opinion.  Disagreements and conflicts if handled in a professional and respectful way make organizations stronger.  Strive to have a very diverse membership base.  Different perspectives, experiences, and life styles will make the organization stronger as long as everyone is working towards the same vision and accomplishing the same goals.

Tip #6 - Recruitment is not one person’s job

Although one person may need to coordinate efforts, EVERYONE should be responsible for maintaining and sustaining membership.   Your recruitment campaign should include specific techniques and tasks to be accomplishes, a timeline, and an indication of who will be responsible for completing each task.

Tip #7 - The GRAPE Principle…

GRAPE is the acronym for the five most common reasons students join student organizations.  It’s important to ask everyone why they joined to make sure you understand your members’ needs.  Ask them each year, since members’ needs will change.

G – GROWTH; having opportunities to increase your skills and competencies, persona skill development opportunities, becoming more competent, experienced, and confident.

R – RECOGNITION; gaining respect from others you admire, receiving recognition and praise for a job well done, receiving feedback on your work within the organization.

A – ACHIEVEMENT; having the opportunity to solve problems, seeing the result of your efforts, being given meaningful responsibilities, seeing your feedback and ideas become reality

P – PARTICIPATION; planning and scheduling work, given the opportunity and being allowed to make or contribute in important decision making, being “active” not just a member.

E – ENJOYMENT; having fun, working as part of a team, feeling a part of something important.

Source: Franklin and Marshall College of House Administration