WSU SWE Industry Mentor Program 2018/2019

Guest Contributor: Ayumi Manawadu

Hello SWE PNW,

My name is Ayumi Manawadu and I am a graduate student in structural engineering, at Washington State University. I am the new coordinator for the Industry Mentor Program, conducted by WSU Society of Women Engineers (SWE). Each year, students are paired with industry mentors, who provide one-to-one guidance to make students prepared for their professional careers ahead. We anticipate having many new mentees join the program this semester and looking forward to expand.  

I wanted to reach out about joining the mentor program. Would you be willing to take part in the WSU SWE Mentor program during the 2018/2019 school year? Your expertise and knowledge will benefit the current WSU engineering students, to build their careers. The mentors are expected to provide guidance in areas such as;

·         Resume Critique

·         Improving networking circle

·         Enhancing interviewing skills

·         Providing general career advice

·         Building business etiquette skills

The mentor program is aimed to be primarily an email or phone relationship (not a huge time commitment), however meeting during breaks is always encouraged.

Attached is the mentor information sheet for the SWE mentor program 2018/2019. It has more details regarding the expectations and time commitment for the program. If you decide to be a part of this enriching program, please fill out the information sheet and email me back at wsu.swementor@gmail.com at your earliest convenience.

We look forward to hearing from you soon!

Ayumi Manawadu

Mentor Coordinator | Society of Women Engineers

Graduate Student| Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Washington State University

wsu.swementor@gmail.com

Industry Mentor Coordinator: Ayumi Manawadu

I joined WSU to pursue doctoral studies in Structural Engineering, soon after my bachelor's degree form Sri Lanka and this is my first year serving as a SWE officer. However, for years, I have volunteered as a President's Guide Awardee, an AIESECer, a Rotaractor and a youth leader, mentoring and empowering underprivileged communities. I joined SWE last semester, after volunteering for the Kids Science and Engineering Day (KSED-2018). I love basketball and played for my country, sometime ago. Currently, I am also a member of the Toastmasters Club. 

President: Rachel Johnson

This is my third year serving as a SWE officer and I am passionate about promoting diversity within STEM. I am from Santa Clara, CA and I'm majoring in mechanical engineering. I enjoy paddle boarding, hiking and baking during my free time.






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This guest article is part of SWE PNW's Collegiate Section Spotlight series, where we ask the local collegiate sections to showcase their section so we can share information up at the professional section level.

An Intro to the Bearded Pineapples & Call for Mentors

Guest Contributor: The Bearded Pineapples

Hi! We are the Bearded Pineapples. We are an all-girls FTC robotics team. In FTC (FIRST Tech Challenge), teams of students in 7-12th grade build robots that are 18” by 18” by 18” to compete in a game that is different every season. (In the 2016/17 season, the game was Velocity Vortex: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b49Q3kqrSv0, and you can watch some matches played here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cnP2dMP2B7c). Additionally, teams can win judged awards, which are based off of the technical documentation in the team’s Engineering Notebook, or on what the team has done to grow the program.

FTC is part of a larger program, FIRST robotics. Over the last two years, we were part of FIRST LEGO League, the program for kids ages 9-14, and were one of 15 teams sponsored by Girl Scouts of Western Washington. One year ago, we outgrew this program. We were looking to continue on to FTC, but Girl Scouts of Western Washington did not sponsor teams at this level. We decided to help Girl Scouts of Western Washington explore what was needed to sponsor FTC teams, and now we are ready to create several more teams!

To do this, we would love to find more (preferably female) mentors who can help teams learn skills like programming, technical documentation, and mechanical engineering. Our team owes a lot to our female mentor, Toni Carlstrom. We submitted a video to nominate her for the Compass Award, an award given out to an outstanding mentor, which she won.

Mentors would ideally be working with teams around twice a week for around 2-4 hours each, though this number varies considerably from team to team and from mentor to mentor. The FTC season runs from September to mid-January, but can extend until March or April for teams that advance.

Students who participate in the program benefit greatly and learn many important life skills – and have tons of fun. Talulla, a member of our team, has discovered her love for mechanical engineering, and will attend Tesla STEM High School next year. She wouldn’t have known how much she enjoys mechanical engineering without FTC.

Are you interested in learning more about FTC? We are hosting an open house at the Girl Scout of Western Washington Bellevue Office (13029 NE 20th Street Bellevue, WA 98005). We will play some matches with some other teams and answer any questions. Please join us! Find the flyer on our website: http://beardedpineapples.com/blog.

Interested in mentoring, either regularly or just occasionally? Please contact us at beardedpineapples@gmail.com!

Would you like to do an interview with Klispun Magazine?

Guest Contributor: Sarah Sharp

Hello SWE PNW!

My name is Sarah Sharp, and I'm a writer for Klispun Magazine, a publication produced by Western Washington University in Bellingham, WA.

I'm writing an article about women in engineering, in light of a new research study that will look into why certain predominantly Muslim countries have a greater percentage of women in engineering than the United States.

I would love to interview any SWE PNW member to talk about these statistics, the mission of SWE, or even your chosen profession.

The interview (which could be over the phone) will most likely be 15-20 minutes, especially if you want to keep it short. Otherwise, I would be happy to interview you as long as you want to talk.

I can provide the questions ahead of time. And I would like to talk with several people if possible.

My final deadline is Monday, October 17, so I would appreciate talking to people before then if possible.

Please contact me if you are interested in being interview. I appreciate your help on this!

Thank you,
Sarah Sharp
sharps4@wwu.edu

Upcoming Outreach Opportunities

SWE PNW is gearing up for our season of outreach. Check out below for the latest list of upcoming opportunities - and be sure to check back and/or read the latest Notes from the Northwest for even more!

PSEC Mentor Night: Seattle Central

This is being held on Thursday, January 21, 2016 and they are expecting 120 - 135 students. PSEC would like to have more Electrical and Computer Mentors.  Sign up at http://www.eventbrite.com/e/2016-seattle-central-college-engineering-mentor-night-tickets-19828296970?ref=ebtnebregn

Mentoring Opportunity: Engineering Exploration Night

The University of Washington College of Engineering is looking for a few more U.W. engineering alumni to volunteer for their Engineering Exploration Night. It will to be held on Thursday, January 28 at 5:30 pm in Maple Hall.   If you can make it, contact Sue M. Brennan at suemb7@uw.edu directly

PSEC Engineering Fair

February 6, 2016

10AM to 4PM

Museum of Flight

The Puget Sound Engineering Council (PSEC)  hosts an Engineering Fair in conjunction with local chapters of engineering societies, colleges, and businesses. The Engineering Fair generally has about 25 display booths, staffed by practicing engineers and technical people representing many types of engineering disciplines.

Volunteers needed throughout the day to participate in our SWE PNW booth.  Contact swepnw.president@gmail.com if you'd like to sign up. 

Expanding Your Horizons (EYH)
We need a team of volunteers at each event to guide a group of 20 middle or high school girls through a hands on activity. EYH is usually an all day event, typically running from 8-2 pm. We participate each year and the girls who come to our workshop have selected us based on their interest. It's been very successful in the past and we need your commitment to continue our success!
This year's dates and locations are:

• Saturday March 12, 2016 at Seattle University. (Middle School)
• Friday, March 25, 2016 at Bellevue College (High School)
• Saturday, April 02, 2016. Bellevue College (Middle School)

If interested, please email Lynette at lynette.a.lopez@boeing.com

Elementary Explore Engineering

These events will run from March 26, 2016 through May 22, 2016. Holly Bork is coordinating and will have additional information in the near future.