Spring 2022 Newsletter Ft. WeLocal by University of Pittsburgh Society of Women Engineers

A PUBLICATION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH | SWANSON SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING

SOCIETY OF WOMEN ENGINEERS

NEWS

A letter from our FY22 President: Dear PittSWE, Thank you for a successful spring semester! From Professional Development, Mentorship, Social, and Outreach events your dedication to attend events and willingness to embrace change when planning them amongst uncertainly echoes the core values of the Society. A highlight of the semester, which is the feature of this edition, is of course attending WELocal in Buffalo, New York. In the spirit of spring time and new beginnings I invite you all to look towards the future, one with less restrictions and new opportunities for our section to connect and thrive. As the FY comes to a close I cannot help but reflect on my four plus years in the section with extreme gratitude to you all and PittSWE for making me the engineer I am today! And to our sponsors, supporters, and advocates, thank you. Your impact is priceless and does not go with out notice With love, Emily Richard FY22 PittSWE President

aspire. advance. achieve.

Table of Contents Mentorship Program & Social Events

Outreach

Diversity & Inclusion

Professional Development

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Social Events by Saipriya Namasivayam

With a full semester of successful in person events under our belt, PittSWE was able to continue that trend with three amazing social events in the Spring. We kicked off the semester with a Valentine’s Day craft night, where members could express their creativity by making an assortment of Valentine’s Day themed crafts. They painted and decorated mason jars, made paper flowers to put in them, and created some unique cards to give to friends or loved ones. Later into the semester, we tried something new and had a combined fundraiser and social event. The result was the Five Guys Movie Night, where members could grab food from Five Guys to contribute to the SWE fundraiser and then meet up to watch the movie of choice, Little Women. For the final social event of the semester, we collaborated with our neighbors, CMU SWE, and threw a Spring Picnic. This picnic took place in Flagstaff Hill and was catered by Piada, Waffelonia, and Peace Love and Little Donuts! Thankfully the weather was on our side and it ended up being a beautiful day. Around 100 people attended the event, with a good mix of CMU and Pitt students. All in all, it was a wonderful semester! I hope everyone who came to events had a great time and got to strengthen long lasting bonds with their fellow SWEsters!

Mentorship Program by Emily Zuris For mentorship this semester, we started with a group trip to Phipps Conservatory for Galantine's Day! Freshmen and upperclassmen got to mingle as we walked through the orchid exhibit. Later in February, we held a decision day event, where upperclassmen from all of the professional organizations volunteered to help answer any last-minute questions from freshmen before they officially declared their majors. We also held a murder mystery scavenger hunt event to destress during midterms!

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Outreach Becoming Fierce by Vidhya Thiyagarajan

This year PittSWE hosted Becoming FIERCE, a professional development event for high schoolers. Through this workshop, over 30+ high schoolers polished their professional development skills to prepare for the annual FIERCE forum. Students learned best practices when it comes to writing resumes including the importance of strong action words and the power of a simple spell check. They also collaborated in groups to develop mock elevator pitches and practiced their public speaking by presenting their pitch to the entire group. Lastly, students had some fun with speed networking and played “SWEGO”. Every student was given a bingo board with various ice breaker topics to encourage them to step out of their comfort zone and talk to new people and PittSWE members. In its second year, this event was a huge success with 95% of students saying they would attend again. A huge thank you to Yugma Patel and Allison Linares-Mendoza for being amazing co-chairs!

Middle School Engineering Day by Olivia Porcello Middle School Engineering Day (MSED) Spring 2022 was hosted as a live, virtual event over zoom for students from local Pittsburgh schools. The event was kicked off with a demonstration led by students from the University of Pittsburgh American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) who spoke about water pressure and hydroelectric dams. The second demonstration was presented by professionals from the Elliott Group who talked about their company and explained how their equipment is used in plastics manufacturing. The hands-on activities were based around the theme of the event, "Mission to Mars," and were completed in teams of students. For the first activity, Pitt SWE volunteers guided the students to use liquids of different densities to represent each layer of the atmosphere and learn about the overall atmospheric structure. For the second activity, the students built rockets out of paper and cardboard and used straws and a bottle to propel it. They learned about the engineering design process including problem assessment and solution development. Throughout the event, students interacted with each other and PittSWE volunteers to share and discuss their designs. At the end of the event, students participated in a question-and-answer session where they were able to have their engineering questions answered by PittSWE students. MSED Spring 2022 was a great success thanks to everyone who volunteered and attended!

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Elementary Engineering Extravaganza by Merrin Pickford

This past spring PittSWE hosted the Elementary Engineering Extravaganza! For the first time in a couple years, the event was hosted live on zoom instead of asynchronously. We had about 35 students in attendance, and we enjoyed teaching them about the states of matter, phase changes and density. They used this knowledge to make a DIY lava lamp using oil, water and Alka Seltzer tablets! For our second activity, students were told to build a balloon powered car, using nothing but the materials in front of them. They were given creative freedom on this activity and small helpful hints along the way. These awesome students also learned about the different branches of engineering, and all the careers there are to offer. For the parents, there was a great presentation about how to get their child further involved in engineering activities, as well as how they could help them pursue a career in this field. I would like to say a special thank you to my co-chairs Avni Juneja and Tanvi Verma for helping me put together this event! Also, thank you to my activity leaders and helpers for assisting these students in breakout rooms!

High Schooler's Engineering Day by Sarai Morato This past spring PittSWE hosted its first in-person high school outreach even in over 2 years! It was such a great experience having high schoolers come back to Benedum and be able to explore engineering. Throughout the day we had students touring Benedum to learn about the different engineering disciplines. We also had a great interactive student panel where students were able to ask about life as an engineering student and engineering disciplines. To close off the day, students attended an activity expo where hands-on activities were done, and multiple engineering clubs along with Whiting Turner attended to talk about their organizations and what they do in the engineering field. Aside from the student program, we also had an amazing parent program ran by Mary Zeis that was very informational for parents. The parent program also included an information session featuring a talk by Devin Ulm, a Swanson first year engineering advisor, to inform parents what the first-year engineering program looks like at Swanson and explain good ways to prepare for engineering. I would like to thank Katelyn, Marissa, Danielle, and Sarah who were all amazing co-chairs for making this event possible as well as Vincenzia, Emily and Vidhya!

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Diversity & Inclusion by Alison Linares Mendoza

PittSWE and SHPE This March, PittSWE and the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers came together to hold a student led panel discussion and conversation hour on microaggressions and professionalism. When both clubs have such diverse stories and perspectives from their members it is important to show that our organizations aim to provide a safe and inclusive environment where we can come together to recognize the challenges that have been faced and know that we have each other to learn and lean on. The objectives of this event in our D&I pillar were to understand the concept and prevalence of microaggressions, understand the effect this has on people of diverse backgrounds, and have an open space to share/listen/talk. The event was successful as members from both organizations came together to share what has worked when dealing with microaggressions and what changes we want to make in the future to feel comfortable addressing this in the workplace, classroom, or friendships that we are involved in. Thank you to everyone that attended! We hope to continue to strengthen our combined efforts with other organizations from the engineering school and address issues that might otherwise go unspoken.

HeForSWE Initiative Engineering is better when we have more diversity involved and that is no different for the HeForSWE initiative. The advocacy chair in the D&I section is working towards this great addition to Pitt SWE as it can add another dimension to the great group we already have. However, for it to be successful everyone in PittSWE needs to be involved. A HeForSWE initiative would work to strengthen male-collaboration and encourage more gender-inclusive events from SWE. It would increase male diversity partners and expand our reach. For this to happen, we need to focus on two main steps first. First, current SWE members need to invite and recruit friends to come to our events and be introduced to PittSWE. The other big step is to create a collaborative environment so that it builds strong relationships with these new members and helps us both grow. Achieving both of these things will be a great success that can push us forward to instilling a strong HeForSWE group within PittSWE and adding new things to our dynamics that might have been lacking before.

“WE ALL RECOGNIZE WE NEED TO DO MORE IN THIS AREA, AND WHEN MEN AND WOMEN LEAN IN TOGETHER WE CAN BE REALLY SUCCESSFUL."

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Professional Development Aerotech is a global leader in the precision motion and automation space, and developer of the industry’s biggest toolbox of standard precision motion products. Located around the world and equipped with state-of-the-art manufacturing and production spaces, Aerotech works to solve some of the most complex and challenging motion applications in today’s industry. Aerotech, who served as a 2021-2022 Platinum Sponsor for Pitt SWE this fall, hosted a virtual event on October 26th discussing the college to career transition. Along with this, their presenters, Jason and Kate, gave helpful advice for moving forward upon graduation. They also provided more information about Aerotech and opportunities in their company.

Elliott Group, a provider of innovative engineering and highly reliable products, is known worldwide for their technical expertise and competence to deliver high-value solutions. Elliott’s engineering and manufacturing centers produce efficient and reliable rotating equipment, and with their unwavering commitment to customer satisfaction, they are known as one of the top leaders globally for their work in full-service repair centers, field service teams, and sales and support offices. As a 2021-2022 Outreach Sponsor of Pitt SWE this spring, Elliott Group helped Pitt SWE’s Middle School Engineering Day (MSED) where they led an expo for middle school students. Their participation in this event helped make it an impactful day for the future engineers in attendance!

Whiting-Turner is a construction company who has made a nation-wide presence. Their company is centered around providing construction management to companies of various sizes; along with this, their company offers general contracting and integrated project deliveries to their clients. Whiting-Turner’s mission is to build a reputation for integrity, excellence, experience, and leadership as the nation’s finest construction organization. As a 2021-2022 Outreach Sponsor for Pitt SWE this spring semester, Whiting-Turner volunteered at our High School Engineering Day (HSED) this spring. During the event, they led an expo, contributing to an inspiring and successful event for both high school students and Pitt students!

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Mitsubishi has challenged convention for more than 100 years with their innovative approaches in the way they engineer. Mitsubishi was a Presenting Sponsor for Pitt SWE for the 2021-2022 academic year. Pitt SWE was joined by four inspirational and accomplished women from MEPPI’s Women’s Professional Network. They hosted “Beginning your Engineering Career” on March 22nd as a hybrid event that reached many SWE members interested in learning more about how to successfully propel themselves into their future career. The evening included topics such as a resume review, LinkedIn tips, job application advice, and interviewing insight from a hiring manager. This event supported Pitt SWE’s mission to develop our members both personally and professionally before entering their careers as engineers!

TIMET has been leading the industry in mill and melted products, supplying nearly one-fifth of the world's titanium. TIMET was an Engagement Sponsor for Pitt SWE for the 2021-2022 academic year. Their contribution brought together female engineers through Pitt SWE’s social event “Pitt SWE/CMU SWE Spring Picnic”. The event connected two SWE organizations for different schools to encourage new friendships and enjoy time together to destress before the end of the semester. TIMET encouraged the unity and empowerment of female engineers through their support of this event.

Ametek is a leading global manufacturer of electronic instruments and electromechanical devices. Their company consists of two operating groups both with highly-differentiated technology and leading positions in niche markets. For the 2021-2022 academic year, Ametek served as an Engagement Sponsor for Pitt SWE. Through their sponsorship, our members were able to enjoy social bonding events such as our SWE movie night! Through their support of this event, members were able to strengthen existing bonds and prioritize their mental health during the academic year.

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Hatch’s global network works together to tackle the world’s toughest challenges. They ensure all solutions they propose optimize environmental protection, economic prosperity, and cultural vibrancy. For the 2021-2022 academic year, Hatch served as an Engagement Sponsor for Pitt SWE. They supported various membership activities such as mentorship murder mystery night. Through this event, members were able to work together with their mentors and enjoy the night with other female engineers.

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Buffalo, New York April 8-9

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Conference Events

Take Your Presentations From So-So to Pro

She concluded by emphasizing that all presentations are unique and have their own requirements, and that what works for one person won’t necessarily translate to another. Regardless, I found this session engaging and it included some unique presentation tips that I’m excited to try in my own presentations in the future.

Almost everyone, no matter their engineering discipline, will have to give presentations throughout their career. And we have all experienced sitting through a presentation that was flat, rushed, or unprepared. The leader of this session used her background in theater performance to highlight ways to elevate presentations of all types.

Girls will be Girls

Session: Take Your Presentations From So-So to Pro Speaker: Molly Skinner by Emma Ahlgren

Her tips were divided into three main categories of “you” (the presenter), “content,” and “visuals.” The “you” category described ways to calm yourself and better project your message using all areas of your body. For example, she emphasized the importance of making eye contact with members of the audience, and breathing more deeply by using your diaphragm as opposed to your chest and shoulders. The “content” category discussed how to tailor the information in your presentation to what your audience personally needs to know. She explained that their age, demographics, and experience level are all important factors. Finally, the “visuals” category highlighted details to make your presentations more engaging and inclusive. For example, since almost 10% of men are color blind, it is helpful to avoid certain color combinations to ensure that the colors on graphics can be distinguished by everyone in the audience.

Session: Girls will be Girls: Exploring our Unconscious Gender Bias Speakers: Lori Kahn and Mary Zeis by Isabella Steinley WeLocal was a fantastic experience full of amazing sessions. One of my personal favorites was “Girls will be Girls: Exploring our Unconscious Gender Bias.” While we often think of sexism in its hostile sense, where for example, someone says that “women are easily offended,” the session focused on unconscious forms. This included benevolent sexism, which entails comments that seem positive but contribute to the idea that women are more fragile or less competent than men. For example, the idea that women need to be protected by a man. Sexism and gender bias start in childhood, where children learn from parental roles and from seeing toys for boys vs girls. The speakers discussed tests that attendees could take to understand their unconscious bias, including Harvard Implicit Association Tests and the Ambivalent Sexism Inventory. Senior female engineers cope with sexism by assimilating to be “one of the boys”, downplaying their gender or confirm to “unchallenging” stereotypes, or on the flip side embracing ultra-feminine

Spring 2022 ft. WeLocal stereotypes. The session included time for meaningful discussion about attendee’s personal biases and how they are addressing them. We must be aware of our own unconscious gender bias as we hope to inspire younger generations to join the field. It is important to lift each other up as we enter the workforce as well, and working on these unconscious gender biases can help us in that quest.

A Lesson in Perception Session: “Perception and Reality” Keynote Breakfast Speaker: Ann Seybolt by Katie Harris We Local in Buffalo provided an excellent opportunity to network with people from various backgrounds with differing perspectives. Ann Seybolt, the Associate Director of Global Quality at Linde, addressed perception and reality in her speech during the Keynote Breakfast on our second day. She is known as an advocate for diversity and inclusion in the workplace; she starts at the simplest level to make everyone feel included by setting an example of including her pronouns in her email signature. In the midst of a challenge, she seeks to succeed and find peace through foundational focuses, including faith, family, and re-charging. Ann expressed her desire to see all people through the eyes of love and care. This was evident in her candid conversation about a loved one being diagnosed with late-onset paranoid schizophrenia, which alters a person’s perception of reality. She spoke openly about how this game change in the face of mental illness and mental health affected her outlook and how it can influence ours as well. Mental health has a certain stigma around it that typically makes it an uncomfortable topic as it is associated with judgement and a lack of

Vol. 1 normalcy. Ann drove into the concept of radical acceptance of a perception and reality that is not yours. Being able to look at someone’s point of view and accept it can be difficult, but she focused on providing a lesson in perception to encourage everyone to understand, listen, and respect each other. Ann discussed three main ideas surrounding this conversation that would help adjust our viewpoint on how perception and reality impact us. The first idea was that everyone sees things differently; this notion is something that is sometimes hard to accept because it is easier when people agree with our perceptions. The second idea is that this conversation can be uncomfortable. Discussing our differences in perception can occasionally cause conflict or hard feelings, so handling these conversations in an understanding manner is necessary to create a comfortable environment for discussion. The third idea supports being curious in these scenarios. ‘Curiosity for the win’ encourages finding solutions through networking, creativity, and resilience. Ann encouraged everyone to get curious about other’s perceptions and talk through differences in your perception to try to find a common solution that meets a shared perception of a problem you are trying to solve. These approaches can be applied to projects and decisions in the workplace. The keys to finding a common solution is to listen to understand, search for what is possible by asking questions like, “How might we…?”, and standing firm for success criteria. Successful change in approach can help to create a shared perception of the result. Appreciating different perceptions helps to build bridges, crosses silos, gets things done, and allows peace.

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“Perception and Reality” provided an inspiring insight into how we can appreciate other’s differences. It set the tone for the rest of the conference to be mindful of accepting differing perspectives and seeking to find a common ground. The lessons in perception I took away from this discussion can be applied in both personal and professional aspects of my life. I look forward to walking away from this conference with a new perception of perceptions.

innovation can be harmful. I hope to implement these ideas of creating innovation meant to help people, not creating it to raise profits or have AI take over a majority of what we do. Overall, this session was very insightful regarding responsible innovation!

Responsible Innovation: What Can You Do Differently?

Session: How to Stop Avoiding Conflict Right Now by Jenna Ross

Session: Responsible Innovation Speakers: Deepika Devarajan by Merrin Pickford Deepika Devarajan began her presentation with asking the audience, what can you do differently? She then discussed how AI is used for all different reasons. She spoke about how websites can find jobs that relate to your interest and gave helpful hints for passing AI screening test: Just speak confidently even if you are speaking gibberish! Personally, I think this hack will be helpful when applying to jobs when I graduate. The presentation then moved on to discuss conception, creation, commercialization, and consumption and how we shape the future of technology. While innovation is wonderful, just because we can build something new, does not mean we should. There is a long list of irresponsible uses of data, design of products and applications of algorithms that were discussed to prove that not all innovation in responsible. The presenter made sure to stress the difference between engagement and addiction, personalization and stereotyping, and simplification and exclusion. I enjoyed this session and learned various ways that

How to Stop Avoiding Conflict Right Now

The WELocal session that I attended was called “How to Stop Avoiding Conflict Right Now”. In this session, there were 4 techniques discussed to help with addressing conflict. The techniques mentioned were: 1. Shift your mindset: focus on what matters and don’t get too caught up in the things that do not; realize that there are bigger things that matter in the workplace and be able to narrow down what those specific things are. 2. Stay real: separate your facts from story; know what is real and what may be made up when addressing any potential conflict. 3. Reduce you: realize that it does not always have to be about you; let others shine alongside with you and you will be able to avoid conflict better. 4. Stay curious: realize that people do not think what you think; everyone thinks in their own unique way, including you. Be open to how other people think and you will avoid any potential conflict.

Spring 2022 ft. WeLocal I found that these 4 techniques that were discussed really opened my eyes to how I should address and avoid conflict in the workplace. I learned that conflict is natural and often unavoidable, but you can help prevent less of it by following these techniques. I also learning that just taking a minute to breath can help ease the potential for conflict to arise, such as boxed breathing, which takes you back to the parasympathetic part of your mind and helps ease any nerves from any conflict that arises.

10 Guiding Principles

3. Vol. 1 4. 5. 6. 7. Forgive yourself when you drop a ball... even a glass ball 8. Set boundaries and stick to them 9. Take the wins! 1 0 .L e t o t h e r s k n o w w h a t w o r k s f o r y o u , even if the plan feels imperfect The key take-away is to prioritize your self-care and ask for support when necessary. After the session, a collegiate shared great advice that “you are not a should” and to not dwell on what you “should” have done. It will be beneficial in the long term to learn from the past and move on to the best of your ability.

Session: 10 Guiding Principles Speakers: Alexis Mittrik by Olivia Porcello

Gunn’s Ultimate Training Ground

In this session, Alexis Mittrik discussed important ways to put yourself first and maintain your efficiency and wellbeing while doing everything you choose to put time into. This was a relatable topic to all attendees, collegiates, professional, and retired engineers alike. Everyone has goals and passions they want to achieve, but sometimes it becomes hard to juggle everything while taking care of yourself and those around you. These are the 10 guiding principles to avoid the pitfalls of doing it all as stated and explained by Mittrik:

Session: Gunn’s Ultimate Training Ground Speaker: Angel McMullen by Ekaterini Papazekos

1. Know yourself and know your stress levels 2. Find a partner who is a true partner (if that appeals to you) 3. Seek advice from others whose lives look like what you want 4. Prioritize volunteering for things that fulfill you 5. Use your resources wisely (family, friends, money) 6. When you are juggling everything, know the difference between a rubber and a glass ball

In the session, SWE-The Ultimate Leader Training Ground, Angel McMullen-Gunn describes how her SWE network supported her as she navigated major career and life changes. She turned to her network when she found gaps in her technical knowledge. The support she received from SWE gave her the opportunity to practice valuable skills to advance her career. The most interesting point made by McMullen-Gunn was that advancing technical and soft skills doesn’t have to involve an expensive training course. She credits her volunteer work as a Girl Scout troop leader for her advanced management and leadership skills. The people skills required to wrangle thirty 2nd graders are directly transferable to organizing a team of engineers. McMullen-Gunn cites her SWE mentors for pointing this out to her and helping her frame these skills in a way that an employer would find valuable.

Spring 2022 ft. WeLocal These experiences translate directly to the extracurricular activities found in the typical student’s schedule. Skills practiced in seemingly unrelated activities can be relevant to engineering work especially when framed correctly on a resume or in an interview. The painting club an engineering student participates in for fun may enhance the student’s visual communication and creation skills. The student can then leverage their improved skills to add value to a data modeling or R&D team. This session encouraged engineers to look for opportunities through their network. Self-improvement is closer than you think!

Run Your Home as an Agile Team Using Kanban Session: Run Your Home as an Agile Team Using Kanban Speakers: Tuyet-Hanh Schnell by Gloria Gilver

I attended the “Run Your Home as an Agile Team Using Kanban” breakout session, led by Tuyet-Hanh Schnell, a System Engineering Lead at Lockheed Martin. The focus of the talk was how you can implement a Kanban system in your own home to manage tasks with the help of your roommates/family members. Kanban is a methodology for task prioritization, where tasks are represented by cards on a board, placed vertically in order of priority, and are moved across categories from “to-do” to “doing” to “done”. She emphasized the importance of minimizing the tasks in the “doing” category, since multitasking between many works-inprogress is inefficient. She said that for the members of your household to work as an effective team, anyone should have the power to add tasks to the board. These tasks could be anything related to managing a

Vol. 1 household, such as things to buy, appointments, and chores that need done. She also recommended weekly check-in meetings to review the task priorities and progress in terms of completion.

Updating Your Brand Session: Updating Your Brand Speakers: Tracy Newton by Gloria Gilver I attended the “Updating Your Brand” breakout session, led by Tracy Newton, a Senior Product Development Engineer at IBM. The focus of the talk was how you can transition from a career in engineering to one in data science, and how to brand yourself as a data scientist on your resume. Data science has become a hot topic lately due to developments in hardware and software technology, more widely available pools of data, and the potential to leverage data to increase profits. The 4 pillars of data science are technical knowledge about the business domain, statistics/probability, computer science/programming, and written/verbal communication. The most important programming languages to know for data science are SQL, R, and Python, and it is also useful to know how to use data visualization platforms such as Tableau and Power BI. You don’t need a degree in data science to become a data scientist; if you learn the skills on your own and show your experience with the 4 pillars on your resume, you can be a competitive candidate for a data science position regardless of your degree.

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Johanna Vazquez’s Keys to Success Session: Johanna Vazquez’s Keys to Success Speakers: Johanna Vazquez by Saipriya Namasivayam Everyone wants to be successful, but how do you go about navigating your life, pursuing your dreams, and reaching your goals? These are the questions that Johanna Vazquez, senior Director of BreakThrough Innovation at PepsiCo, aimed to answer in the opening keynote speech at WeLocal Buffalo. Her answer was outlined by three key points, the first one being “your career is a journey.” As you maneuver through it, there are two important questions you must ask yourself: where is your destination and why. There will be rough times and there will be days where you are not sure whether or not you want to continue, but if you have a clear enough goal and a strong enough why, that will give you what you need to push through. To help answer these questions, you can consider what you are good at and what you are passionate about. Once you know your goal have a solid why, you have to build a path to reach your destination, but you must also remember that “your career is a road always under construction.” This path forward is not always linear and you have to be okay with that. Roadblocks will occur, and detours will inevitably need to be taken. The most successful people are able to adapt well and adjust in response to change. One thing you can do to help with that is to redefine success altogether at different points in your life. Johanna gave a personal example to help demonstrate this fact. Before having children, she was very into working out. She would go to the gym for an hour each

Vol. 1 day, at least six days a week. That is what success in terms of fitness looked like for her at that point in her life. Then, she had a son, and everything changed. She barely had time to think about working out, so she redefined success to getting any form of movement for half an hour, three or four times a week. If she did not redefine success after having her son, she would have never reached her goals, and would have ended up disappointed. Finally, she told us that “your career is a marathon, not a sprint.” Endurance is key to avoiding burnout. Take it one step at a time without rushing into anything, and focus only on what you can control. Johanna’s passion and down to earth nature really shined through in this speech, and it empowered me to face my future head on. I know that if I follow the key points she laid out in her speech, I will be on the path to success.

Stronger Together Session: Stronger Together Speaker: Panel by Cambell France A session that I found incredibly interesting at WeLocal was the panel session entitled “Stronger Together”. Its purpose was to explain the bridge between academia and industry, and to answer any questions that the audience had. During the session, they explain why it is important that researchers consider what information regarding their study that they want employers to know, which is interesting to me because I have experienced this situation while interviewing for internships, as I had to stay confidential about some aspects of the research project that I am helping with. Additionally, they talked about a common problem that can arise with

Spring 2022 ft. WeLocal research work known as the valley of death. This is when researchers present their completed study to professionals, but the professionals do not know how to put it into practice. This situation shows how important it is for researchers to clearly explain how their findings improve with the problem at hand. The panelists gave many beneficial tips about professional development. They emphasized how important it is to talk to people and network and to diversity the types of companies you are networking with. Another tip that resonated with me was their advice to not be afraid to redefine success, as success ultimately comes down to what you are trying to achieve. They emphasized that there are advantages and downsides to any path you take on post-grad, whether it be academia or industry. You define your path and the career that is best for you.

An engineering major….but a litigation asset? Session: Opportunities for Growth and Leadership: Expert Witness by Alison LInares Mendoza If I had to choose my favorite speaker session from the WELocal conference it would be this one. Prior to this 9 am talk, I had barely thought about the technical expert for litigation field. Sure, we all see the doctor or engineer on TV testifying on trial but do we think about everything that it took to get to the podium? This session highlights the benefits and opportunities of working as a highly credentialed technical expert. Often, attorneys need 3rd party experts in all fields of engineering to review a case and many times the outcome of the litigation hinges on the knowledge and work from these technical experts. But this session was

Vol. 1 more than a slideshow presentation; Dr. Anna, a professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University, came to tell us from first hand experience what this job is like. From getting noticed by attorneys for high achievements in research and presentations to negotiating the financially rewarding aspects, Dr. Anna encouraged engineers to learn more about the professional value of being an expert witness. Walking out of that room chatting with Dr. Anna and Staci Boyarsky I knew this was one of the presentations that left you more excited than how you walked in. Both of these women advocated for expert witness work as an opportunity for professionals to represent their industry and skill in an authoritative leadership position, one that is not easy to achieve but that is very rewarding to experience.

Career Fair Session: Career Fair by Bella DeRubeis The career fair was an interesting experience. I walked in there with nothing on my resume that would make me stand out. I felt like since I was only a freshman, I had contributed to doing really nothing that would land me an internship or co-op. I have never had experience with networking either and I have I ever been to a career fair. I didn’t know how to start a conversation with anyone, and I had no questions in mind that I wanted to ask. To add, I still don’t even know what kind of engineering I want to do. Luckily, there were seniors who were there to help guide me through it. They showed me what kind of questions to ask as well as showed me how to interact with them. Overall, it was a great experience, and I had a great time practicing these skills for whenever I will need them in the future.

Spring 2022 ft. WeLocal I will hopefully try to go to the SWE Global Network next semester as I had a great experience and got to meet so many new people.

Vol. 1 Our fully virtual and new Networking Night event won the Outstanding Professional Development Event.

WELocal Awards Ceremony Session: WELocal Awards Ceremony by Emily Richard The final event of the conference was the awards ceremony. PittSWE applied for two awards and was honored to win both. Teams of PittSWE officers and committee members wrote and submitted the award packets based on two FY21 events. The SWEtastic STEM Challenge, a multi week High School STEM group challenge event won The Outstanding Outreach Event.

We are extremely proud to have received both awards! Thank you and Hail to PittSWE!

hail to pitt!