Wednesday, October 29, 2014

SWE-Detroit Jobs Email

Did you know that SWE Detroit has a jobs email distribution list?  If you are looking for a new job opportunity and would like to be added to the mailing list please send an email to swe_detroit@hotmail.com to be added! 

Does your company have a job posting that they would like distributed to the SWE Detroit jobs mailing list?  If so, you can send the job posting to swe_detroit@hotmail.com and your email will be distributed to the SWE Detroit jobs mailing list.


Upcoming Event: First "Membership Circle" Meet-Up

Novi/Farmington/Farmington Hills/Livonia/Northville/West Bloomfield area, aka the “FH-burbs” First Circle meet-up


Let’s socialize – eat, drink, and play!

Where: Dave and Buster’s, 19375 Victor Pkwy, Livonia, MI 48152
When: Tuesday November 18, 2014 – 6 PM until whenever
What: Meet and greet, and play!  SWE-D is setting up membership circles for our members (and non-members) to connect, socialize, network, and have fun.  Join us for the first meet-up for the “FH-burbs” circle’s first gathering. Note: its Taco Tuesdays at D & B http://www.daveandbusters.com/locations/StoreInformation.aspx?StoreId=74

RSVP: Monday November 17, COB to Katie at kathryn.amelio@swe.org

Looking forward to meeting you!

Upcoming Event: Tea time with University of Michigan's SWE

The Society of Women Engineers from the University of Michigan would like to invite you to a new event this year! Tea time is basically a relaxed way for members of SWE (undergraduate, graduate, and alumni) to network with each other, learn about different career paths and share stories.

If you are interested in attending, the first tea time will be on Wednesday, November 5, from 5 - 6 pm. If you would like to attend you can fill out a sign in sheet here. If you have any questions, feel free to email the Alumni Relations Officer, Juliana Bottenberg (jbottenb@umich.edu). This event is open to all SWE Detroit - you do not have to be UM alumni to attend! 

Upcoming Event: Royal Oak Book Club

Event: Royal Oak Book Club
Date: November 9, 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 Pink Globalization: Hello Kitty’s Trek Across the Pacific by Christine R. Yano

Membership Benefits


Membership Corner
As a SWE member, you are part of a community of women who support each other’s professional journey and celebrate each other’s accomplishments. SWE provides many learning tools and resources to help develop your career and provide some inspiration. A couple of these resources are listed below!

SWE EBooks
SWE publishes eBooks on various topics of interest. The latest eBooks is titled “Be that Engineer: Inspiration and Insight from Accomplished Women Engineers”. The book is full of insight from many successful women who have found ways to balance their careers with their personal lives. Download a copy of this eBook and others at http://societyofwomenengineers.swe.org/e-book-download
SWE’s Career Insights Podcast Series
Listen to podcasts on your commute home, or during an evening walk! SWE has many podcasts available online on a variety of personal and professional development topics. Check out the full list at http://societyofwomenengineers.swe.org/index.php/learning/podcasts
For a full list of SWE Learning opportunities, visit http://societyofwomenengineers.swe.org/index.php/learning


Sunday, October 26, 2014

Upcoming Event: "Membership Circles" Kick-off Meeting

Membership Circles - We have formed informal "Membership Circles" in four different areas around metro Detroit:

- Novi/Northville/Farmington Hills
- Troy/Warren/Auburn Hills
- Royal Oak/Ferndale
- Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti/Plymouth

The purpose of these circles is to give SWE members more opportunities to network with other SWE members in their area in a more informal setting. Whether you have a volunteer opportunity you are looking for a few more people to help out with, or you need to vent your work frustrations over happy hour at a local bar, these circles are a great way to reach out to other SWE members nearby!

We are looking at having a sort of "kickoff" event for each circle in the next month or so. If you haven't signed up for one yet, just contact Ava Kiblawi to get added!

Upcoming Event: Guided Tour-The Fisher Building/Networking Lunch

 

Upcoming Event: Networking with Oakland University

Event: Networking with Oakland University
Date: November 10, 2014
Time: 6:00 - 8:00 PM
Location: Oakland University- Engineering Center Room 261
Point of contact: Kimmy Romstad

Other Info:

I am trying to help my collegiate SWE chapter at Oakland University put on a networking event, at which their undergraduate membership can connect with members of the Detroit professional chapter.

They are looking for 5-10 members to come on November 10th from 6 - 8PM. Hors d'oeuvres and other refreshments will be served. If you have any questions about this event or you'd like to sign up to attend, please contact me at karomstad@gmail.com.


Upcoming Event - Royal Oak Book Club

Event: Royal Oak Book Club
Date: November 9, 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 Pink Globalization: Hello Kitty’s Trek Across the Pacific by Christine R. Yano

2015 COMPES PDC - Volunteer Kick-Off Meeting!


Friday, October 3, 2014

Upcoming Event - Royal Oak Book Club (NEW DATE)

Event: Royal Oak Book Club
Date: October 17, 2014  **NEW DATE**
Time: 6:00 - 8:00 PM
Location: Amici's, 3249 12 Mile Rd, Berkley, MI 48072
Cost: Everyone pays for themselves
Parking: Free 
Point of contact: Michele Marion 
michele.marion@swe.org

Other info:
Discussing The Science of Yoga: The Risks and the Rewards By William Broad

SWE Detroit - Royal Oak Book Club Book Reviews

Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris
Book Review by Michele Marion
David Sedaris seems to get into the most interesting situations both real and what he makes of them in his head.  In Me Talk Pretty One Day, we find out about his adventures in going to speech therapy, drug fueled contemporary art, learning French and seeking medical care while in France.  I found the stories to be funny and entertaining.  A few of them even had me laughing hard.  I would recommend listening to the audiobook as it is read by the author and hearing him tell the stories really brings them to life.

The Great Bridge: The Epic Story of the Building of the Brooklyn Bridge by David McCullough
Book Review by Ashley Lesser
McCullough's "The Great Bridge" is an outstandingly well-written, sweeping history of the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge.  If you don't like histories, you will find it long.  However, its many digressions are key to telling the story of the bridge.  It delves deeply into the politics of Tammany Hall and the fall of Boss Tweed, and the discovery of caisson disease (the 'bends') during the sinking of foundations. By the end of the book, one really appreciates the remarkable feat of engineering and political will that the Brooklyn Bridge represents.  Comparing the scale of the Brooklyn Bridge to its predecessor, the Roebling Bridge in Cincinnati, helps to illustrate the magnitude of the technical achievement.  That it remains a major thoroughfare after 130 years, without substantial alteration, is a testament to its success.

To me as a civil engineer, the most unexpectedly interesting part of the story concerned the management of the bridge enterprise, from funding to procurement, because the challenges are not so different today.  I recommended this book for SWE, however, because of the key role of Emily Roebling in the bridge's construction after her husband, Chief Engineer Washington Roebling, became increasingly bedridden from caisson disease.  Emily may be considered the “first woman field engineer,” as she relayed messages between her husband and his assistants and developed a strong working knowledge of strength of materials and structural analysis from his dictations.  Washington Roebling monitored the bridge's progress by telescope from his apartment for a decade, but never did visit his completed bridge.  Emily Roebling, instead, was the first to cross it on its opening day, riding in a carriage and carrying a rooster as a sign of victory -- what a wonderful image!  Unfortunately, Emily's part in the story comes well into the second half of the book.  Few of us got that far before our book club meeting...

The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker

Book Review by Irina Sullivan

Wecker’s “The Golem and The Jinni,” hailed by numerous review lists as a must-read debut, was nevertheless a disappointment to us as a group.  Doubtless the author deserves praise for conducting careful research into the folkloric history of the main characters and the powers and weaknesses that determine their choices.  The setting chosen for the book, New York City at the end of the 19th century, also seemed an intriguing place to stage an encounter between the Jewish and the Arabic characters.  However, the praise largely ends at those two points as the author did not pursue any of the multitude of tensions this combination creates - ethnic, gender, immigration - and instead settled for a simple love story and a very predictable one at that.  Golem, the female protagonist, was the responsible, devoted, and loyal one and Jinni, the male character, was having all the fun of a young, unattached man until, of course, falling in love with Golem forced him to do some soul-searching.  Neither did the other characters bring in enough to the novel to distract from the sure happy ending that was to follow.  The general outline of the story - initial animosity between the two characters that turns into the feelings of passion - is so tired that indeed it hardly deserves the pages of another book.  But Wecker chose this very path of least resistance in placing her characters, who are otherwise products of great imagination and potential, on predictable rails of a romance.

Gallo Be Thy Name by Jerome Tuccile
Book Review by Beth Nunning
Gallo Be Thy Name tracks the history of the Gallo Wineries family beginning with the parents of Ernest and Julio Gallo, Joe and Susie Gallo, through the present day. It is an interesting story of not only how one of the largest wine producers began and built their business, but also of the personalities of and interactions between the members of the family.
During Prohibition, Joe Gallo sold grapes and jellied “wine juice” to Al Capone and his lieutenants, and eventually trained his oldest son, Ernest, to be the person who accompanied the product to Chicago and collect the money. As Ernest excelled in those dealing, Joe sent Julio to expand the business in New Jersey, but Julio did not have the desire to deal in that side of the business. It quickly became clear that Ernest would run the business and Julio would make the wine.
The two brothers inherited the business upon the murder of their mother and death of their father, the circumstances of which was never resolved. They took care of their younger brother, but cut him out of the wine business. Julio wanted to make great wines, but was in conflict with Ernest who wanted to appeal to a mass market that preferred sweeter wines. The mass market direction was the way the company went and market wines under more labels than most wine connoisseurs are aware.
Most of the book club enjoyed the book, learning of the history of a wine corporation and the personalities behind it, but it was commented that the way the book jumps around in time was an issue.

South of Superior by Ellen Airgood
Book Review by Tina Poquette
South of Superior was written by Ellen Airgood who owns a café in Grand Marais, Michigan, on the south shore of Lake Superior next to the Pictured Rocks National Park.  She writes with ease the fictional story of thirty-something Madeline Stone who moves from Chicago to a small town on Lake Superior to take care of a distant relative.  She experiences the hardships of living in a remote town on the unforgiving lake where many people now find it difficult to make a living.  The people are tough but resilient.  Over the course of a year, some old wounds heal and she discovers something to be passionate about to give her life purpose. 
I enjoyed the book and felt the author portrayed an accurate picture of life on the shores of Lake Superior.   You have to ask yourself if you would be as gracious as Madeline Stone in her circumstances.  I lived with the characters in my head long after I finished the book.  It’s a good fiction read by a Michigan author.


Upcoming Event: SWE Detroit Networking Lunch at WE14

SWE Detroit Networking Lunch at WE14

Are you attending Society Conference in Los Angeles this October?  If so, please join your fellow SWE Detroit members for a networking lunch onThursday October 23 at Yard House restaurant.  Come meet, greet, and eat with other SWE Detroit members who are attending WE14.  

Who:  SWE Detroiters attending WE14
Where:  Yard House Restaurant - conveniently located in LA Live, next to the LA convention center and the JW Marriott Hotel.  800 W Olympic Blvd, Los Angeles,CA  90015.  Reservation is under SWE Detroit.
When:  Thursday October 23, 2014 at 11:30am
Cost:  Each person pays for their own lunch


Please RSVP to Faith at faith.chu@swe.org by October 18th.

Upcoming Networking Event: Franklin Cider Mill

Hello everyone! Please join SWE Detroit at the Franklin Cider Mill in Bloomfield Hills on October for our first networking event! At this event you will meet new SWE members while enjoying the festivities of the Fall season. Please see below for details:

Upcoming Networking Event:
Event: Cider Mill Trip
Date: Saturday, October 18, 2014
Time: 10:30 AM - 12:30 PM
Location: Franklin Cider Mill, 7450 Franklin Rd, Bloomfield Hills, MI
RSVP: Nina Abani, nina.abani@gmail.com
Cost: Admission is free; Suggest bringing $10-$20 to buy cider, apples, donuts, etc.

Please RSVP by Thursday, October 16th.


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

Building a Legacy: Kicking off Last Fundraising Year Past Presidents Endowed Scholarship Status Update

Building a Legacy: Kicking off Last Fundraising Year
Past Presidents Endowed Scholarship Status Update

Status: $0 out of $2500 goal for Fiscal Year 2015
Still need: ~$5,900 (includes supporting administrative costs) to meet final program goal of $25,000 for endowed scholarship.

Can you believe it is Apple Cider & Donut Season?! As this is our last year to try to raise funds officially for the program, I thought it would be good to start out early. From the status, you can see we are close to achieving our overall goal to raise $25,000 plus our stretch of an additional $2,500 to support the administrative costs at SWE Headquarters (HQ).  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. As a quick reminder, anyone can donate to the fund even though our group of section past presidents have come together and taken the lead.  

To donate online: https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=YJWNQPMR9GB2J.  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 09/16/14):

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

Sapphire Level ($500+)
Janice T. Ford
Lisa Purvis
Brooke Voto

Emerald Level ($250+)
Anna Bradford                                           
Cindy Hodges
Alison Holmes
Judy Jbara
Marie (Demos) Kardasis
Cathi Kohn
Kristin Ramey
Irene Sharpe

Quartz Level
Jennifer (Darnell) Briggs
Andy Chen (In Honor of Jennifer Morikawa)
Diana Cernis
Silvia Karlsson
Lydia Lazurenko
Stacy (Thayer) Lueneburg
Tina Lonski (In Honor of Jennifer Darnell)
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