Welcome to Region B August 22, 2011

Welcome to the Society of Women Engineers Region B Collegiate blog!  This is the host of important information, deadlines, hot topics, regional leadership, as well as a great place to foster discussion between sections.

Everyone is highly encouraged to submit articles relevant to SWE and Region B!  If you have anything to say please feel free to submit it the RCCE (rcce-b@swe.org), and please include the submitter’s name and section.  Additionally, if you’d like to recognize someone, send us their name, email, and why you’d like them to be recognized.

We hope everyone has a good year!!

Your Region B Collegiate Team

Wendy Merkley, RCCE

Kim Otteson, RCS

Megan Adams, RCR

Vicki Ragsdale, RCR

Win $200 towards your Region Conference Registration! January 19, 2012

Hey guys!  Guess what!

Region B will be awarding seven (7) members who are going to Regional Conference in Hawaii $200 each to go towards their trip!

To enter, register for the conference by February 3rd (including Luau) and you will be automatically entered into a random drawing.

You have an excellent chance to win!

Register Today

***Correction, it used to say we would award 10 members but we can only award 7!  But your odds are still great!****

Hot Topic: Resolve Your Resolution January 16, 2012

At the beginning of the new year, people like to reflect on their past year and make new resolutions. It’s a great time to think about what you’ve done and how you can improve yourself for the next year. While it doesn’t have to be a yearly thing, a lot can be gained from doing this each semester as well.

Think back to the goals you set for yourself last year or semester and how well did you do with each goal.  Did you accomplish everything?  Were you lacking in certain areas?   Did you even set goals for last year/semester?  How would you like to improve from last year/semester? These questions are great starters to help you accomplish whatever it is you wanted to do.

When you are deciding what your resolutions for this year/semester are, don’t forget the S.M.A.R.T. method for making sure they are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-targeted.  Now, I know you have heard of that before so I’m not going to go into a lot of details about it, I am just going to share some of my resolutions and goals for myself and how I plan to work on them.

1. Strive to become more healthy by eating better balanced meals and by exercising.  As I was deciding on this resolution for this year, I wanted to make sure it wasn’t just something I would pass off at the end of the year thinking, sure I did better  but actually thinking how much better did I do?  I set smaller goals that include things like exercising at least twice a week and walking stairs instead of elevators as much as possible.  I also have some larger goals like getting in shape to run a 5K before I graduate.  Having both the smaller goals and the larger ones will help me track how well I am doing throughout the year.

2.  Graduate!  This has been a long term goal for my for a while, but I am almost to the finish line.  I have many things I need to finish up during a certain timeline to be able to accomplish this.  Something that has been helpful to me is having a checklist with all the things I need to do and when they need done.

3.  Getting more involved in SWE on a professional level.  This is probably one my more challenging goals this year.  I will be finishing up school this year and I want to stay involved with SWE.  Participating in SWE as a collegiate has been easy because my section is a very active section.  However, once I graduate, I will be a Member At Large (MAL) because there isn’t a professional section near me.  This doesn’t mean I can’t be involved anymore, it just means I have to put in more effort to stay involved.  I am still working out the details on this one.  But, some of my plans are to meet with other women at Region Conference and see what they do to stay involved as professionals, talk to other MALs and see what they would suggest I do, and look into different committees I can be involved with.

If you have any suggestions or tips about setting goals or how to achieve them, let me know!

~Wendy~

Success by xkcd

Reminder: Conference Call Tomorrow! January 7, 2012

Hey Section Presidents! Don’t forget there’s a SWE RCR Section President Call tomorrow! January 8, 2012 at 5 pm PST, 6 pm MST (6pm AZ time) Number (218) 339-4300 Passcode 319638#

Here is the agenda if you can’t find it in your email.

Article: Top 10 Ways To Screw-Up Your Engineering Career January 3, 2012

This article was posted on my facebook today and I thought it was a very interesting and full of great tips!  The link is here!  But I’ll summarize some of the facts I really liked on it!

-You don’t go to college for a degree into a career, you go to college to learn how to learn!

-Be nice to everyone you work with, secretaries, guards, contracts, etc.

-Don’t email people for everything!  If it’s just a simple question, call them up or go to their office and get the answer.

-Just because you graduated, doesn’t mean you are done learning!  Keep up with new technologies in your field.

 

I strongly suggest you read the article, it’s short I promise and totally worth is!

 

~Wendy~

Reminder: Report 3 Due Jan. 1st! December 30, 2011

Hey sections!

This is just a friendly reminder that your Report 3 is due on Sunday, January 1, 2012!  That’s right, it’s just around the corner!  Information on what is due is on the Resources Page.  Or if you just need a new copy of the report form it is right here!

We hope you are having a fantastic break and enjoy ringing in the new years with SWE!

 

RG Post: Up and Running! December 30, 2011

Hello! This is Kerrie Greenfelder, the Sonora Region Governor, and I’ve written this guest post for the
collegiate blog.

First, a little about me and SWE: I’ve had a long and prosperous SWE “career” here in Region B, starting
as the Central New Mexico Section Secretary, then a Section Representative, on up to Lt. Governor and
now Governor. I’ve loved every minute of my SWE service and I can’t even begin to count how many
SWE pals I’ve made over the year because of my involvement. I feel blessed to be a part of the Sonora
Region and especially proud to be a part of the Central New Mexico Section!

I wanted to write a little post today about the inspiration that I’ve received from so many of my Sonoran
pals for… RUNNING! I’ve never in my life been a runner (or much of an exerciser, for that matter) and
I’ve sat idly by watching (via Facebook mostly) my SWE pals compete in 5K races, 10K’s, half and full
marathons, and even “Iron [Wo]Man” competitions! Well because of these amazing women, I’m on
track (ha!) to compete in my first 10K race…IN HAWAII! That’s right, I said Hawaii! Just after the region
conference, I’ll be running alongside my SWE pals in O’ahu!

This new lifestyle and rigorous training program would never have come to fruition without the inspiration
of these amazing women:

Amy Jo Bowdidge (SWE-Salt Lake City),

Deb Willems (SWE-Central Coast),

Jennifer Dugan (SWE-Central New Mexic0),

Erin McGinnis (SWE-Los Angeles),

Ashley Pietz (SWE-Santa Clara Valley, CA),

Wendy Obenauf (SWE-Portland, OR), and

Lana Fountain-Flakes (SWE-BOD).

And that’s just a FEW of my SWE pals that have talked me into, ahem, motivated and encouraged me to
do this! But to be honest, I’m loving it! I’m challenging myself more than I ever thought I would and I’m
thrilled to be inspired by such amazing women! If you’ll be in Hawaii on March 4, 2012 (Sunday), join me!
More info here: http://www.hawaiipacifichealth.org/womens10k/!

So if you find yourself wanting a challenge, I encourage you to not only try something new (like running!),
but also to try out a leadership position with the Society of Women Engineers! SWE provides a safe and
open environment to test your leadership skills.

I’m definitely proud of my own successes within SWE, but I’m even more proud of the Region Collegiate
Team (pictured with me below) and of all of the great things they’ve done for the Sonora Region this year!

Elections! December 19, 2011

To:  Collegiate Members

 

CC:  FY12 RCRs/RCCEs/RCSs/Alternate RCSs, FY12 Region Governors, FY12 Counselors & Faculty Advisors

 

From:  Jessica Kiefer, RCR/RCCE Coordinator, Jasmine Harris, RCR/RCCE Coordinator Elect, Helen Patricia, Speaker of the Senate, Deb Willems, Deputy Speaker of the Senate, Linda Thomas, Director of Regions, Colleen Layman, Deputy Director of Regions
Date:  December 19, 2011

 

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 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 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 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 at example: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

 

This is a great opportunity!  I have loved being on the collegiate team this year and think that it is a fantastic way to network with professionals and other collegiates.  I have met so many wonderful women engineers through this position and have had great opportunities to improve my professional skills.  I highly encourage you to apply for this!

I would also suggest have fun with your video!  Make sure you show your personality in it and help the other sections get to know you in your video!  And last but not least, good luck!

 

Hot Topic: Balancing Your Break December 15, 2011

As semesters come to an end and the winter break comes upon us, its sometimes hard to not want to just forget all of the trouble the semester has caused and just relax.  But the break can be a great chance get caught up in things you didn’t have time for.  It is also a great time to rejuvenate yourself!

Some things I like to do during my break are:

Read all those books I’ve been wanting to but didn’t have much time for!

Spend time with friends playing games and hanging out!

Celebrating the holidays with family!

And taking time to reflect on the last semester and what I can do to make this next one better.

I especially think its important to reflect on what you have done to help direct you where you are going.

 

I hope that you all have a fantastic break and that you finished your semester strong!

~Wendy~

P.S. This XKCD definitely made me laugh!

Photo and Post Contest December 8, 2011

From now until Region Conference in Hawaii, we are going to have a photo and post contest for Region B!

Here’s how they work:

Photo contest- The section that submits the most photos of their section doing SWE things will win a prize. Photos must be from SWE activities; please let me know what the pictures are of.

Post contest-  Each post a person submits to the blog will be entered into a drawing for a prize.  One entry per post.  Also, sections as a whole may submit posts to be entered for their section.  Posts can be spotlights about amazing SWE members, about awesome outreach activities, fun socials, anything SWE related!

Please send all posts and photos to rcce-b@swe.org.

Prizes are yet to be determined, but I promise they will be awesome!

~Wendy~

P.S. This picture is your RCT at Annual Conference!

Presidents Conference Call Reminder!!! December 4, 2011

Hey Section Presidents! Don’t forget there’s a SWE RCR Section President Call today!  December 4, 2011 5 pm PST, 6 pm MST (6pm AZ time) Number (218) 339-4300 Passcode 319638#