December 2017
UpcomingEvents January
10
GBM #4 Co-Op vs. Internship Panel
15
Social Event: Ice Skating
22
Professional Development: Norfolk Southern
23
Chipotle Fundraiser
February
3 5 10
Outreach: GEMS
GBM #5 Mentorship Event Women in STEM Conference
SWEET SUCCESS Pitt SWE wants to thank everyone for a successful first semester of the 2017-
2018 school year! We hope everyone enjoyed their winter break and can’t wait to see most of you back for more fun in the spring! We filled the second half of the semester with lots of wonderful events including outreach (E3 and HSED), social activities (Fall Festival at Soergel Orchards and the Holiday Party), mentorship (Benedum Scavenger Hunt and trip to Phipps Conservatory), and professional development with Eaton! Read about these awesome activities in this edition and look forward to more like this next semester!
ELEMENTARY ENGINEERING EXTRAVAGANZA By: Jessica Sorick
Elementary Engineering Extravaganza was held on
Saturday, November 11th in Benedum Hall. There were about 60 elementary students accompanied by their parents who attended the fun-filled day of engineering activities! To start the day, there was a STEM Expo, where different engineering clubs from the University of Pittsburgh came to do STEM related activities with the children and their parents. After this, the students were separated into their groups to go to their first activity of the day. The first activity consisted of the students using the civil engineering knowledge they learned to build a newspaper tower within a team. The second activity gave the students the ability to use their mechanical engineering knowledge to build an army man launcher out of materials such as a cup, tape, spoon, and some rubber bands. Next, was the students’ favorite activity of the day where they learned about chemical engineering and made ice cream in a bag. Lastly, the students learned about computer engineering and used Makey Makey to create their own simple circuit utilizing conductive materials such as playdough, paperclips, lead, and fruit. Within each of these activities, the students learned the importance of the design process, working in a team, and specifics about engineering disciplines. While the students were participating in these activities the parents participated in a program designed to teach them more about engineering as well. They attended a presentation on how to get their child interested in engineering, a panel with professional engineers and also students, and participated in a hands-on engineering activity.
OUTREACH CORNER
HIGH SCHOOL ENGINEERING DAY By: Sydney Winner
On December 2nd, 2017 Pitt SWE’s High School
Engineering Day, HSED, hosted over forty females from the greater Pittsburgh Area. At this event we also hosted approximately one dozen parents and educators in our coordinating Parent and Educator Program (PEP). With approximately forty Pitt SWE volunteers participating in the event throughout the day, this event had a very balanced volunteer to participant ratio. This allowed a large amount of volunteer-participant dialogue which was praised by attendees in our post-event surveys. Our event opened with a speaking panel consisting of co-op office representative, Maureen Barcic, three Air Force ROTC members, and three Pitt SWE members. Following the panel, the program split the parents and students into their separate programs. The PEP program featured a talk from professional SWE member, Mary Zeis, a student panel featuring Pitt SWE members, a talk from freshman engineering advisor, Jill Harvey, and a tour of Benedum Hall by the engineering ambassadors. The student program consisted of tours of Swanson School’s Maker Space and Art of Making Program, an interactive discussion on “Why Engineering is a Good Choice” by Mary Zeis, a hands-on activity centered around modeling hydropower, and a handson activity utilizing Makey-Makey systems to calculate the velocity of toy cars going down various race tracks. These activities proved to be extremely successful and our survey results showed significant improvement in the students’ ability to use the design process. We hope to provide an even more successful and educational event in the spring.
SOCIAL SECTION By: Sarah Bednar
HOLIDAY PARTY
autumnal adventure and journeyed out of the city to Soergel Orchards for their fall festival. Upon arrival to the farm, we were greeted with a lively atmosphere full of positive energy from the surrounding families and people attending as well. We took a hayride up to the pumpkin patch, where we all went a little crazy in the Instagram haven searching for the perfect pumpkin. Some of us also went through the corn maze for some more festive fun. Although apple picking was closed, there was no short of fresh apples, cider, and more locally-grown produce to enjoy. Overall, this trip was a great time for fellow members to enjoy the fall season and get into the Halloween spirit together!
By: Stephanie Thornton
On December 4th, SWE girls got together to celebrate a
successful semester and de-stress before final exams. The evening was filled with socializing, decorating gingerbread houses, and a photobooth! The laughter and fun definitely got us all in the holiday spirit. The hot chocolate and cookies made it even sweeter. The smiles say it all. Happy holidays everyone!
FALL FESTIVAL
On Sunday, October 22, Pitt SWE went on an
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT with EATON
By: Laura Traczynski
Eaton is a leading power management company.
The corporation finds energy-efficient solutions to manage electrical, hydraulic, and mechanical power. Eaton operates in more than 175 countries and had sales of $19.7 billion in 2016. The company is committed to excellent service and sustainability, and they employ many types of engineers all over the world. On Wednesday, November 15th, female engineers at Eaton visited Benedum to give a presentation to SWE. These strong women talked about many relevant topics pertaining to the engineering workforce. SWE members learned how to assert themselves in a male dominated setting, know their worth, and distinguish the differences between large and small companies. On top of it all, the night was filled with plenty of great goodies, including Chipotle, ice cream, and even an Apple Watch giveaway! It was a very inspiring and successful evening.
MENTORSHIP MOMENTS By: Stephanie Thornton
We had two more mentorship events to further the
friendship bonds throughout the semester. On Wednesday, November 1st, mentors and mentees joined forces with other pairs to make teams to compete to see who knew our home, Benedum Hall, best. Teams raced in search of locations described in clues to help the mentees learn the ins and outs of the buildings. In the end, a winner was crowned, but everyone had a wonderful time bonding and hopefully learned a thing or two along the way! Then on Tuesday, November 28th, some of the members involved in the mentorship program went to Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens to see the Winter Flower Show and Light Garden. It was an amazing experience to see such beautiful displays. Breathtaking nature brightened our mood from the end of the semester studying and was a fun adventure together.