PittSWE Newsletter - September 2012

PITT SWE

Volume 1, Issue 1

Join Pitt SWE!

September 2012 Edited by: Julia Wasas

Written By: Karin Rozendaall It’s about a month into the semester and things are starting to get busy. You’re right in the middle of your first round of exams and those projects are starting to pile up. So you don’t have time to join SWE, right? Wrong.

Becoming a National Member of SWE is not a time commitment; it is your way to join a society of pioneers, advocates and mentors who support and guide your collegiate journey. At the very least, as a national member you are able to list SWE on your resume, but it doesn’t stop there. National membership also allows you to: •

Apply for Scholarship Opportunities

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Attend National and Regional Conference

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Attend Webinars and Podcasts

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

•

Use the Online Career Center

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Receive the SWE Magazine

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And so much more!

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And the opportunities don’t stop there! By being an active member of SWE here at Pitt, the benefits keep on coming.

Develop your networking skills at company visits, improve your leadership ability by joining committees, and give back to the community by attending one of our various service events. Best of all, being a member of Pitt SWE allows you to meet and learn from a diverse group of women who are in various stages of their engineering educations or careers.

Upcoming Events October October 4 - Henna Tattoo Night (6pm B02) October 11 – Etiquette Dinner (6pm 102) October 12 – National Conference Winner Announcement October 20 – Pitt Make a Difference Day

Some of Pitt SWE’s most active members at last year’s conference.

Join Pitt SWE Upcoming Events Fall Kickoff Events with Industry Regional News $tart $mart workshop SWE Riddle Welcome Back National News New SWE Officers

October 27 – Elementary Engineering Extravaganza [E3] University of Pittsburgh – Society of Women Engineers – September 2012 - 1

Fall Kick Off Introductions Written By: Sandy Liu Pitt SWE kicked off our brand new year with three great events! At the Welcome Meeting, our President, Lisa Volpatti, spoke about the networking, professional development, outreach, and service events hosted by Pitt SWE. Lisa also informed our new members about the conference competition that sends our four most active members to the National Conference (Houston, TX for 2012!) for free. With 118 people in attendance, the Pitt SWE Officers are very excited for the upcoming year!

Our second event of the year was the Breakfast Meet-andGreet. This event was a chance for many of the freshmen to meet the officers, as well as a chance for old members to chat with brand new members. As the first social event of the semester, we had a great turn-out with 42 people!

Our first week of events concluded with the campus scavenger hunt. Groups of three ran around following various clues that led them to important locations on campus! For pictures from the scavenger hunt, look at the Pitt SWE facebook (https://www.facebook.com/pittswe)!

applying for the PDP, please apply online at http://jobs.basf.us. Type in “PDP”/”LDP” and both internships and full time opportunities will be listed.

The event also highlighted some important career fair and interviewing tips. At a career fair, Jacklyn suggested to: start off by introducing yourself, research the company beforehand, and prepare questions in advance. Judy suggested that you should only accept an interview if you are serious about the position. Once there, be honest and be yourself! Also make sure to bring your resume and have it perfected. The BASF representatives did an excellent job presenting to our members, and we hope to have them return in the future!

In addition to the visit on the 13th, BASF also joined us for the semi-annual SWE resume workshop. The workshop is typically facilitated by the career development office. This year, however, we had two BASF representatives, Jacklyn Conley, and Dave Vollmer, critiquing resumes in addition to Jim Mcarthy from career services. The workshop was held a week before the Career Fair in order for students to network with BASF representatives as well as receive professional opinions about their resumes.

Events with Industry Professional Development Written By: Christina O’Donnell On Thursday, September 13, Pitt SWE hosted BASF, the world’s leading chemical company, for a company visit.

Jacklyn Conley, a former Pitt SWE section president and current PDP Engineer, and Judy Brinkman, the Evan’s City site manager, presented about BASF and their experiences, and provided career fair and interview tips. BASF is located in more than 80 countries and operates six integrated production sites and 390 other production sites in Europe, Asia, Australia, Americas and Africa.

Jacklyn and Judy spoke about many opportunities within BASF, highlighting their Professional Development Program (PDP). The PDP exists to expose newly hired engineers to the different aspects of their industry. The PDP participants undergo two nine-month rotations in which they experience two different areas of the company. This program is not only for full time but also for interns. If you are interested in

Students listening to BASF presentation

Regional News Region G Written By: Julia Wasas The University of Pittsburgh Society of Women Engineers is a part of Region G under national SWE. To keep updated on all regional news, events, and updates please subscribe to the region G blog., which you can access from the Pitt SWE website or at http://regiong.wordpress.com/category/ region-g-news/.

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$tart $mart Workshop A workshop on benchmarking your starting salary and negotiating to earn what you deserve.

Written By: Lisa Volpatti

Facilitators presenting at the $tart $mart Salary Workshop

SWE RIDDLE Pitt SWE would like to challenge you to a riddle. The riddle includes a location and an action. The first person to take a picture of themselves at the correct location and doing the correct action will receive a $10 gift certificate!

Make your way to the area that many student affiliations share, The room that is home to our officers’ hidden lair, Now put those palms on the ground and throw those feet in the air!

The University of Pittsburgh sections of the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE), the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE), and the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) joined forces on Sunday, September 23 to host the $tart $mart Workshop. This program was designed by the American Association of University Women (AAUW) in conjunction with the WAGE project and was first implemented at the University of Pittsburgh last year through Pitt SWE. This year, the University of Pittsburgh’s Alaine Allen, Trisha Hyatt, and Cheryl Paul jointly facilitated the workshop.

Gender bias and wage discrimination is illegal, right? Yes. So the gender wage gap is an issue of the past? Before this workshop, even I would answer yes. But in fact, the answer is no. A 2009 research report from AAUW showed that in the first year after college, women working full time earned only 80% of what their male counterparts (with the exact same qualifications) earned. Over the course of their working lives, these women will earn approximately $1.2 million less than their male peers. On average, women earn 77 cents for every dollar a man earns. This statistic drops to 69 cents for African American women and to 57 cents for Latinas.

The purpose of this workshop was to give college women in STEM fields the confidence and skills needed for salary negotiation and fair wage compensation. The pre- and postworkshop surveys revealed that the average confidence level increased from 1.8 to 3.3 on a scale from 1 (not at all confident) to 5 (extremely confident). Additionally, 100% of participants felt that the workshop enhanced their confidence in negotiating the salary and benefits that match their education and experience.

We hope to continue expanding upon this event in the future to empower more young women starting their careers to negotiate fair salaries and avoid the gender wage gap. To find out more information about $tart $mart workshops or find out how to become involved, visit their website at http://www.wageproject.org/files/WhatIs$tart$martWorksh op.php.

SWE students enjoying themselves at a SWE scavenger hunt!

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Welcome Back!

National News

Welcome

SWE National

Written By: Lisa Volpatti

Written By: Julia Wasas

Pitt SWE Officers would like to extend a warm welcome to our new members and a welcome back to our renewing members!

The Society of Women Engineers would like to welcome all new members while stressing the importance of old members renewing their membership. Below is an excerpt of an article release by national SWE on why old members should renew their membership.

For the 2012-2013 academic year, we are focusing on three major strategic priorities: 1) growing the profession through outreach, 2) promoting an inclusive global community, and 3) providing opportunities for professional development and networking.

To accomplish these goals, Pitt SWE is implementing several new events and expanding upon existing programs, so now is a great time to become involved with our section! Pitt SWE also aims to provide students with the opportunity to network with their peers (both undergraduates and graduates) and female leaders in industry and academia through our mentorship program.

For more information about Pitt SWE, feel free to browse our website or contact us at pittswe@gmail.com. We look forward to another great year!

“1. Maintain Your SWE Benefits Uninterrupted - Keep receiving SWE Magazine, the SWE All Together newsletter, access to free SWE webinars, and discounted conference rates.

2. Continue Funding Your Local Section or Member at Large - A portion of your membership dues is rebated directly back to your local section or member at large and helps to fund a variety of worthwhile programs! This may include outreach or professional development events or perhaps a scholarship effort.

3. Consistent Support of SWE - Show the world that you support SWE in its mission to: Stimulate women to achieve full potential in careers as engineers and leaders; Expand the image of the engineering professional as a positive force in improving the quality of life; and Demonstrate the value of diversity.”

4. Strength in Numbers - Help us maintain a visible force in public policy and the general public.”

New Pitt SWE Officers

Pitt SWE would like to welcome all their new officers to the team. On August 25th the officers had a retreat to get everyone working together. Our officers work extremely hard to help our section hold such great events. If you have any questions on SWE you are welcome to speak with any of our officers. Below is a list of all our officers for the Fall 2012 semester.

President – Lisa Volpatti

Outreach Chair – Aimeee Pickering

Vice President – Julia Wasas

Webmaster – Elissa Wambrand

Secretary – Sandy Liu

Service Chair- Allicia Kolling

Treasurer – Christina O’Donnell

Special Events Chair – JoAnna Male

Corporate Relations Chair – Erica Stevens

Publicity Chair – Christine Bontempi

Corporate Sponsorship Chair – Sarah Pachesky

Meeting Coordinator – Matthew Gargani

Historian – Karin Rozendaall To stay updated on news and events, please visit our website www.pitt.edu/~pittswe.

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