Liberian Society of Women Engineers - Sponsors Needed

SWE at UM is planning our third annual trip to Liberia this August to host a two-week leadership camp with the Liberian Society of Women Engineers (L-SWE). This year, SWE at UM will be sending 5 Graduate students and 5 Undergraduate students to plan and run the leadership camp for over 40 Liberian women in engineering. The goals of this leadership camp are two-fold (i) to empower the Liberian and US women engineers with the skills, support, and inspiration necessary to becoming successful and well-rounded engineering professionals; and (ii) to strengthen the community of female engineers in Liberia by building cross-cultural partnerships among female engineering students and professionals resulting in a global network of women engineers. 

Our organization’s ability to continue to operate is due in large part to the generous support and donations from corporations who believe in our mission and goal to make sustainable and lasting global impact with counterparts in Liberia. At this point, we need to raise the last $15,000 by July 31st and are hoping to establish corporate sponsorship on the scale of $1,000-$5,000 to help cover the costs listed below:

·  Travel expenses for UM team 

·  Room and board for 40 Liberian participants and UM team

·  Cost of camp materials 

The following listed items are the benefits your company would receive if they sponsors the 2017 L-SWE camp:

·  Stronger relationship with organizations and the local community

·  Company representatives invited to the networking dinner in Monrovia on August 29th

·  Company advertisement

Check out these articles for more information and photos from the L-SWE SUCCESS Camp: National SWE blog, EECS Department article, 2016 LSWE SUCCESS blog. 

If you have any further questions or would like to forward my contact information (Becca Cohn - cohnr@umich.edu) to your company, please feel free. 

P.S. We are always looking for professionals to participate in this camp. If you or someone at your work would like to be involved and potentially travel to Liberia for any and/or all of the duration of the camp, please do not hesitate to reach out to us.

IEEE SEM Women in Engineering for an ice cream and coffee - Reminder

Since the first event went so well, we had to do a repeat!

 

Please join IEEE SEM Women in Engineering for an ice cream and coffee and an opportunity to meet other members of IEEE SEM WIE and SWE Detroit. One small scoop of ice cream or a small specialty coffee will be covered for members of either group.

 

Information is included below. Please contact Amanda Mohan (a2mohan@gmail.com) for any questions.  You can also register here to give us an idea of attendance: https://events.vtools.ieee.org/meeting_registration/register/45583

 

We hope to see you there!

 

Location:

Farmhouse Coffee and Ice Cream

32644 Franklin Rd, Franklin, MI 48025

Directions

 

Date:

Sunday, June 25th, 2017

 

Time:

11:30a - 1:30p

 

Royal Oak Book Club - June!

Event: Royal Oak Book Club

Date: Sunday, June 11 Time: 4:00 - 6:00 PM

Location: Amici's Pizza, 3249 12 Mile Rd, Berkley, Michigan 48072

Cost: Year-End Event - SWE-DET pays for food

Parking: Free - located behind the restaurant

Point of contact: Irina Sullivan irina.n.sullivan@gmail.com

Other info: Discussing "A Study in Scarlet Women" by Sherry Thomas  Review of "Between the World and Me" by Ta-Nehisi Coates Review by Irina Sullivan

I believe that mourning the outcome of the most recent presidential election, as well as, organizing and resisting a threatening political climate necessarily includes deepening our understanding of the problems before us. The issue, as I saw it on November 9th, was two-fold - I needed both, a way to articulate my despair and a thoughtful counsel on mining for energy and perseverance so that I can be of use to my community in the years ahead. And this is how I arrived at brilliant and, sadly, timeless writing of James Baldwin and his best modern literary incarnation, Ta-Nehisi Coates. Baldwin’s unwavering, steady dismantling of, what we nowadays often call, white privilege was recently brought to the top of mind by a fantastic film “I Am Not Your Negro” based on Baldwin’s work of the same name. Coates’ voice is just as steady, relentless, and unapologetic, with an additional personal gravity of writing “Between the World and Me” as a letter to his teenage son. In one of the most memorable passages Coates describes an encounter with a white woman, who pushed his, then 5-year-old, son out of the way in her rush to get off an escalator. Reading this, I gasped in horror and despair, because when you feel powerless to protect your own child, you, his sole provider and defender, his everything, what is there that’s left but the undeniable truth that they are as vulnerable to a racist, violent, and unjust world as you always knew you were. When the hopes of shielding them from the hate are thoroughly shattered, however, another hope must come along - a hope that they are more than strong to face whatever the world throws at them, and in this Coates' counsel is best.

 

Congratulations to the 2017 SWE Detroit scholarship winners!

Congratulations to the 2017 SWE Detroit scholarship winners!

 

​

Areli Cardenas, Imlay City High School

Beste Aydin, Bloomfield Hills High School

 

Kristen Ewald, Oxford Early College

 

Likitha Nimmagadda, Harrison High School

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

IEEE SEM WIE Ice Cream & Coffee Social

Since the first event went so well, we had to do a repeat!

 

Please join IEEE SEM Women in Engineering for an ice cream and coffee and an opportunity to meet other members of IEEE SEM WIE and SWE Detroit. One small scoop of ice cream or a small specialty coffee will be covered for members of either group.

 

Information is included below. Please contact Amanda Mohan (a2mohan@gmail.com) for any questions.  You can also register here to give us an idea of attendance: https://events.vtools.ieee.org/meeting_registration/register/45583

 

We hope to see you there!

 

Location:

Farmhouse Coffee and Ice Cream

32644 Franklin Rd, Franklin, MI 48025

Directions

 

Date:

Sunday, June 25th, 2017

 

Time:

11:30a - 1:30p

 

COMPES PDC 2017 - Registration extended to May 10th - LAST CHANCE!!

Please join us for the award winning COMPES-PDC (Coalition of Minority Professional Engineering Societies Professional Development Conference)!!! Registration is NOW EXTENDED UNTIL MAY 10TH!!! THIS IS YOUR LAST CHANCE TO REGISTER!

COMPES is comprised of the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE), the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE), and the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) and they organize a Professional Development Conference (PDC) each year.

[WHEN]
Saturday, May 20^th, 2017
8 a.m. – 4 p.m.

[WHERE]
Ford Powertrain Engineering, Driveline & Manufacturing, 29500 Plymouth Road, Livonia, MI 48150

[BACKGROUND]

• Ford Motor Company is the 2017 host corporate sponsor of COMPES PDC
• The theme of the conference this year is “Self-Driven Success”
• Kimberly Pittel, Group Vice President, Sustainability, Environment & Safety Engineering will be the keynote speaker
• Anne Bonney, Speaker and Coach from The John Maxwell Team will be the motivational speaker

[Registration details]

• Register ONLINE by clicking on REGISTRATION when visiting WWW.COMPESPDC.ORG
• Cost: 40$ for SWE members & 20$ for students
• Registration Deadline: May 10th, 2017

The COMPES PDC is being led by Ford members of WiPD and WiM along with Industry partners from SWE, NSBE, SHPE. COMPES PDC allows the ability to network with 200+ professional engineers from private (e.g., automotive, energy, etc.) and public (government) sectors.  Although many are minority professionals, NSBE, SHPE, and SWE are planning this professional development conference for all engineers.  Of previous conference attendees, 80% named networking as one of the benefits and reasons to attend.  There will be sessions on technical topics, soft skills, and on developing tools for personal and professional growth. Previous Conference Sample Survey Feedback - Met/Exceeded Expectations for 98% of previous attendees!

•             “Great information presented in fun and dynamic ways”

•             “I am more energized and feel ready to take on the world”

•             “Wonderful experience”

•             “The environment was inspirational”

Open FY18 Chair Positions

We are still looking to fill some FY18 Chair Positions.  FY18 runs from July 1st 2017 to June 30th 2018.  Please let me know if you are interested or need more information on any of the positions listed below.   Thanks!  -Jessica (email: jlengwis@gmail.com)

 

Special Events Chair

Professional Development Events Chair

Awards Chair

High School Outreach Chair

Makers Faire Chair

Historian

Fund Development Co-Chair (member solicitation & fundraising)

SWE 65th Awards Banquet Dinner

Individual Banquet Registration

Corporate Table Banquet Registration

COMPES PDC 2017 - Last week to register!!

Please join us for the award winning COMPES-PDC (Coalition of Minority Professional Engineering Societies Professional Development Conference)!!! Registration is NOW OPEN UNTIL MAY 6TH!!!

COMPES is comprised of the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE), the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE), and the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) and they organize a Professional Development Conference (PDC) each year.

[WHEN]
Saturday, May 20^th, 2017
8 a.m. – 4 p.m.

[WHERE]
Ford Powertrain Engineering, Driveline & Manufacturing, 29500 Plymouth Road, Livonia, MI 48150

[BACKGROUND]

• Ford Motor Company is the 2017 host corporate sponsor of COMPES PDC
• The theme of the conference this year is “Self-Driven Success”
• Kimberly Pittel, Group Vice President, Sustainability, Environment & Safety Engineering will be the keynote speaker
• Anne Bonney, Speaker and Coach from The John Maxwell Team will be the motivational speaker

[Registration details]

• Register ONLINE by clicking on REGISTRATION when visiting WWW.COMPESPDC.ORG
• Cost: 40$ for SWE members & 20$ for students
• Registration Deadline: May 6th, 2017

The COMPES PDC is being led by Ford members of WiPD and WiM along with Industry partners from SWE, NSBE, SHPE. COMPES PDC allows the ability to network with 200+ professional engineers from private (e.g., automotive, energy, etc.) and public (government) sectors.  Although many are minority professionals, NSBE, SHPE, and SWE are planning this professional development conference for all engineers.  Of previous conference attendees, 80% named networking as one of the benefits and reasons to attend.  There will be sessions on technical topics, soft skills, and on developing tools for personal and professional growth. Previous Conference Sample Survey Feedback - Met/Exceeded Expectations for 98% of previous attendees!

•             “Great information presented in fun and dynamic ways”

•             “I am more energized and feel ready to take on the world”

•             “Wonderful experience”

•             “The environment was inspirational”

Royal Oak Book Club - May event!

Event: Royal Oak Book Club
Date: May 21, 2017
Time: 4:30 - 6:30 PM ****NOTE NEW TIME****
Location: Amici's Pizza, 3249 12 Mile Rd, Berkley, Michigan 48072
Cost: Everyone pays for themselves
Parking: Free - located behind the restaurant
Point of contact: Irina Sullivan irina.n.sullivan@gmail.com

Other info:
Discussing "Pound Foolish: Exposing the Dark Side of the Personal Finance Industry" by Helaine Olen (book selection by Lisa Purvis) 

Review of My Life on the Road by Gloria Steinem
Review by Heather Gruenewald 
Gloria Steinem has been a feminist icon for decades. However, I felt like I did not know anything about her personally and wanted to learn more about how she wound up where she is today. This autobiography helps to fill those gaps. It is easier to read than your stereotypical biography because it is more focused on her personal philosophy than itemizing every noteworthy date, so it does not feel like you are reading her resume. I found the section in which she discusses planning a women's conference very moving. She shows that you can hold independent views from another person but still work together for a common cause. I also liked her describing her friend and their friendship, and how her friend has influenced her life. We all have friends who have positively altered the course of our lives for the better, and she very eloquently drove that point home.

Call for FY18 SWE Detroit Chairs

Are you looking to become more involved with SWE Detroit?  A chair position might be the perfect fit for you!  We have many chair positions available for Fiscal Year 18 (FY18 runs from July 1st 2017 to June 30th 2018).  Looking for a small time commitment or a position that will have a big impact - we have just the chair position for you!  The positions available are listed below.  Descriptions of all positions can be found via this link.  Please contact Jessica Swan, SWE-D FY17 President, if you are interested:  jlengwis@gmail.com

 

Available Chair Positions:

• Special Events
• Networking Chair
• PD Book Club
• PD Events
• Awards
• Girls' Engineering Exploration Co-Chair (2 available)
• High School Outreach
• Makers Faire
• College Relations Chair
• Publicity
• Blog Editor
• Historian
• Fund Development Co-Chair (Fundraising & Member Solicitation)

IEEE SEM WIE Ice Cream & Coffee Social

Please join IEEE SEM Women in Engineering for an ice cream and coffee and an opportunity to meet other members of IEEE SEM WIE and SWE Detroit. One small scoop of ice cream or a small specialty coffee will be covered for members of either group.

 

Information is included below. Please contact Alexandra Roche (acroche@mtu.edu) for any questions. We hope to see you there!

 

Location:

Farmhouse Coffee and Ice Cream

32644 Franklin Rd, Franklin, MI 48025

Directions

 

Date:

Sunday, April 23rd, 2017

 

Time:

11:30a - 1:30p

Detroit Historical Museum Tour & Lunch - REMINDER!!

Hello Everyone,

 

Please join SWE Detroit and SWE University of Michigan for a tour of the Detroit Historical Museum followed by lunch at Traffic Jam & Snug for our April networking event! (NEED 2 MORE PEOPLE TO REGISTER!!)

Event: Detroit Historical Museum Tour & Lunch

Date: Saturday, April 8th

Time: 11 am - 12:30 pm tour, followed by lunch at 1 pm. Please arrive no later than 10:50 am for the tour.

Location: Detroit Historical Museum

5401 Woodward Ave

Detroit, MI

Lunch will follow the tour at 1 pm at the following location:

Traffic Jam & Snug

511 W. Canfield St.

Detroit, MI

Cost = $5 for museum admission, parking fees will vary ($7 parking in the lot or $1/hour for street parking). Lunch = everyone pays for themselves.

 

RSVP: Nina Abani, nina.abani@gmail.com

Please note the tour has a limit of 15 people max. Hope to see you there!

 

Royal Oak Book Club - April

Event: Royal Oak Book Club
Date: Sunday, April 23
Time: 4:00 - 6:00 PM
Location: Vinotecca, 417 S Main St, Royal Oak, MI 48067 
Cost: Everyone pays for themselves
Parking: Free on Sundays
Point of contact: Irina Sullivan irina.n.sullivan@gmail.com

Other info:
Discussing "Between the World and Me" by Ta-Nehisi Coates 

Book Review: Lafayette in the Somewhat United States by Sarah Vowell
Book Review by Lisa Purvis 

Sarah Vowell is a historian, author, voiceover actress and NPR contributor. This book tells the story of the American Revolutionary War through the life of the Marquis de Lafayette, a French aristocrat who became a general in the American army. Vowell’s style is very funny and readable, and it makes what might be a dry history textbook very enjoyable to read. She jumps back and forth between the events of the Revolutionary War to the present-day historical sites and festivals. She also does a great job at providing context to show what’s going on around the original letters and records that she cites. I was also very interested to read the descriptions of the politics and infighting that went on with Congress and the army command during that time. Although it should not be surprising to Americans that there were divisions and squabbling among our leaders, it is something not often discussed when learning about the Revolutionary War. I would recommend this book and others by Vowell for anyone with an interest in history.