Monday, January 19, 2015

Upcoming Event: Mini Professional Development Conference

People, Purpose, & Passion:
Pathways to Success
Mini Professional Development Conference
Consumers Energy & SWE- Detroit

Saturday, February 21, 2015

Royal Oak Service Center
Consumers Energy: 4600 Coolidge Highway, Royal Oak, MI 48073

8:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Online Registration open until Feb 16th

Conference includes complimentary breakfast, networking opportunities with professional women from various industries, a panel discussion, and insight and tools to aid in career development! Please consider a $10 donation* to the SWE High School Scholarship Fund.

*Donations are tax-deductible


SWE-Detroit Troy Area Membership Circle Event

Bowling and Pizza Lunch
Date: Saturday, January 24th at 12:30pm
Location: Troy Lanes, 1950 East Square Lake Road, Troy, MI 48085
Cost: Everyone pays for themselves
RSVP to Brittany Snively at sneevley@gmail.com


If you'd like to join the SWE-Detroit Membership Circles in Troy, Novi/Farmington Hills, Royal Oak, or Ann Arbor) please email swe.d.vpmembership@gmail.com.

Tuesday, January 13, 2015

Volunteers Needed: 2015 COMPES PDC!


2015 COMPES PDC: Volunteers Needed!

Interested in planning a professional development conference?! Then consider being on the COMPES PDC Planning Committee. Please see the openings below. Direct any questions or interest to info@compespdc.org

Topics & Speakers
1) Primary Point of Contact for Speakers
2) Solicit speakers
3) Schedule speaker sessions
4) Coordinate completion of speaker template
5) Organize day of speaker volunteers
Bulk of updates Jan. - Feb., minor updates through March and April.

Brochure Design
a) Modify existing brochure
b) General understanding of Powerpoint
Bulk of updates Jan. - Feb.

Advertising Lead
1) Preparation of conference communication e-mail to volunteers and others.
2) Managing the list of advertising methods and companies both electronically and hard copy.
Time: 10 hours a month Jan. - Mar.
Opportunity to work with companies and volunteers.

Kelly Services Coordinator
1) Work with the automotive liaison from Kelly Services
2) Kelly services is enthusiastic about working at PDC for 2nd year
3) Kelly Services will provide speaker for breakout session and provide confidential career discussions
4) Coordinate with registration and create time table and room availability for day of event.
Time: 15-20 hours.

Travel Coordinator
1) Coordinate with motivational, capstone, and other potential travelling speakers.
2) Each speaker has different portions covered by COMPES, verify with chair on budget prior to coordination.  Could include travel such as air/car, hotel, and rental car.
Time: 5-10 hours total.


In-Kind Donation Coordinator
1) Coordinate in-kind donation activity
2) Coordinate with Whole Foods and companies giving giveaways.
3) Organize stuffing party, a week before event, put all the giveaways in bags for conference participants.
Time: 10 hours.

Event details:
Where: Valeo – 150 Stephenson Highway, Troy, MI 48083
When: Saturday, April 18th, 2015
Theme: “Driving Innovation and Diversity”

Building a Legacy: Final Year - Mid-Year Update Past Presidents Endowed Scholarship Status Update

Building a Legacy: Final Year - Mid-Year Update
Past Presidents Endowed Scholarship Status Update

Status: $2,010 out of $2500 goal for Fiscal Year 2015
Still need: ~$2,000 (includes supporting administrative costs) to meet final program goal of $27,500 for endowed scholarship.

Happy New Year!! We are at our halfway point in the SWE fiscal year! We are getting very close to achieving our overall goal and stretch goal of $27,500 to support an endowed scholarship and the administrative costs at SWE Headquarters (HQ). We can still use those contributions.  The HQ staff support includes verifying that the recipient is entering into an accredited University and sends the check to the University in the student’s name.  

If you know any of the past SWE Detroit Presidents, please help us communicate to them. We have found that they, like many of you, are super busy and can miss the posts and emails. So if you see them at work or outside, please tell them what you have read on the blog. Not a past SWE D president? Don’t worry, anyone can donate to the fund even though our group of section past presidents have come together and taken the lead.  

To donate online go to www.swedetroit.org and look for the Donate Button on the site for Paypal.  After you submit your information and input your donation amount, you will have the opportunity to designate your donation. Please input in the text field, “Past Presidents Endowed Scholarship or PP Scholarship” to allow it to be allocated appropriately.

To donate via check: mail the check to Society of Women Engineers – Detroit, PO Box 2978, Southfield, MI 48037 and place in the memo section “PP Scholarship”.

Thank you Past Presidents, Members, and friends of SWE Detroit who have donated so far (updated as of 01/4/15):

Diamond ($1000+)
Miriam Breslauer
Sarah Kirkish
Jessica Mattis
Jennifer Morikawa
Lisa Purvis
Laurie Ramsay
Brooke Voto

Sapphire Level ($500+)
Janice T. Ford
Irene Sharpe
Bond Desk/Tradeweb (Company Match in honor of Brooke Voto)

Emerald Level ($250+)
Anna Bradford                                           
Alan Cooper
Cindy Hodges
Alison Holmes
Judy Jbara
Marie (Demos) Kardasis
Silvia Karlsson
Cathi Kohn
Kristin Ramey

Quartz Level
Jennifer (Darnell) Briggs
Andy Chen (In Honor of Jennifer Morikawa)
Diana Cernis
Lydia Lazurenko
Stacy (Thayer) Lueneburg
Tina Lonski (In Honor of Jennifer Darnell)
Kristine Lott
Lauren Thompson
Dawn Tilbury
T. Rowe Price (Company Match in honor of Janice Ford)
Birgit Sorgenfrei


Special thanks to the following for pledging to contribute for each year of the program:
Silvia Karlsson
Catherine Kohn
Jennifer Morikawa
Laurie Ramsay
Irene Sharpe

“Missing” Past Presidents:           
Years of Service
Name
1952 – 1954
M. Ann Lawrence
1954 – 1956
Elise H. McGough
(Passed Away 2005)
1956 – 1957
Geneva Van Horn
1958 - 1960, 1961 - 1962, 1964 - 1965
Marjorie Easterbrook
1962 – 1964
Mary G. Sohler
1965 - 1968, 1976 - 1977, 1977 - 1978
Ann O. Fletcher
(Passed Away 2010)
1968 - 1969, 1969 – 1970
Stella Berbynuk
(Passed Away 1997)
1970 - 1971, 1971 – 1972
Helma Fuhrmann
1972 – 1973
Eva Michalski Quinn
1973 – 1974
Beverly Bush
1974 – 1976
Janet Hall


SWE-D Scholarship Recipient Thank You Letter!


Date: 20 September 2014

To Whom It May Concern,

I was very happy to learn that I was one of the recipients of the SWE-Detroit Scholarship this year. I am writing to thank you for the generous financial support for my higher education. It means a lot to me that you believe in me as well as the other women in Southeastern Michigan who are working to reach our higher educational goals.

I am attending the Michigan Technological University this fall and plan on pursuing a degree in mechanical engineering with the potential for completing a degree in materials science and engineering as well. Upon graduation, I hope to further study environmental science/engineering so I can work to develop more energy efficient technologies, especially solar technology, to do my part in helping ensure the sustainability of our world for the future.

By awarding me this scholarship, you have helped me become one step closer to achieving my educational goals. You have additionally inspired me to continue giving back to my community; in Houghton, Michigan, I plan on continuing my involvement with high school robotics teams, and plan on mentoring a team in the area. I have also attended several of the SWE events at Michigan Tech thus far; they have women in the STEM fields give presentations nearly every week and I have already learned so much. I definitely cannot wait to become more involved with the program. Once again, thank you very much for your generosity; I hope you realize how much it means to me.

Sincerely,
Laura Schimmel

Thursday, January 8, 2015

Volunteers needed: Future City Competition!

Volunteers needed!

SWE Detroit is sponsoring the $1,000 “Best Communication Award” for the 2015 Michigan Regional Future City Competition, and we need YOU to help judge these student projects!

Event Background:
  The Future City Competition is a team-based program where middle school, students, a Teacher Champion and an Engineer Mentor work together utilizing STEM (science, technology, engineering and math + architecture) to meet benchmarks, while they design their city of the future. This city is complete with infrastructure: including transportation, communication systems, power plants, safety systems, water systems, and green spaces. Teams also take into account the overarching national theme, which this year is:  “Feeding Future Cities: Urban Agriculture.”  

Students continue to utilize SimCity™ software to build their virtual city. They create a scale model, write an essay, and make a presentation to a panel of judges.  As these students address important issues such as accessibility, sustainability, pollution, population density, water resources, traffic flow, and budgets they develop important competencies. Through the program management process, they receive input from their engineer mentor and teacher-champion. They work as a team, develop their problem-solving abilities, learn how to conduct research, and perfect their presentation skills… all tools they will need for life in the real world.
Volunteer Requirements:
6-8 judges needed from SWE

Event
: Michigan Regional Future City Competition
Date: Monday, January 26, 2015
Location: Suburban Collection Showplace in Novi, Michigan
Time: 8am-11:15am (one volunteer needed until 3pm to pass out our award)
Please contact Anne Dancy (anne.dancy@swe.org) if you are interested in volunteering.  


Tuesday, January 6, 2015

Upcoming Event: SWE-D Networking Happy Hour + New Member Welcome Event!

Happy 2015! Please join us by starting off the new year with a SWE-D Networking Happy Hour + New Member Welcome Event! We encourage new members to come to this event and mingle with current SWE members while enjoying quality drinks and food. Please see below for details:

Networking Happy Hour + New Members Welcome Event
Thursday, January 22nd from 6-8 pm
Clubhouse BFD on 2265 Crooks Road in Rochester Hills, MI
Cost: Everyone pays for themselves. SWE will provide a limited number of appetizers for the table.
RSVP to Nina at nina.abani@gmail.com by Tuesday, January 20th.


Please feel free to email Nina (nina.abani@gmail.com) if there are any questions. Hope to see you there!

Upcoming Event: Girls’ Engineering Exploration (GEE)

Girls’ Engineering Exploration (GEE)

DateSaturday, February 28th, 2015
Volunteers needed 8am-4pm. Event begins at 10am and runs until 2:40 pm for the students. 

Location: Wayne State University, Engineering Center

Purpose: Girls’ Engineering Exploration (GEE) is a full day event that allows girls an opportunity to meet female engineers and be exposed to exciting career paths through interactive demonstrations and hands-on activities.   The girls will be able to experience the creativity, innovation, and fun that goes on in the field of engineering. Event is FREE for students, parents, and teachers.

Target Audience: 4th – 6th grade girls throughout Detroit and surrounding cities

Contact Info:
SWE Detroit GEE Co-Chairs

Anne Dancy
Ali Aquila

Monday, January 5, 2015

Volunteers Needed: Student Mentorship Program!

Henry Ford Community College is looking for female engineers to support their student mentorship program. Various time commitments are available. If you're interested, contact Christine Cabrera at christine.cabrera[@]gmail.com to get into contact with the coordinator.

Upcoming Event: Royal Oak Book Club

Event: Royal Oak Book Club
Date: January 11, 2014
Time: 4:00 - 6:00 PM
Location: Vinotecca, 417 S Main St, Royal Oak, MI, United States
Cost: Everyone pays for themselves
Parking: Free on Sunday
Point of contact: Michele Marion 
michele.marion@swe.org

Other info:
Discussing An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth by: Chris Hadfield