Newsletter 1 - 2 Invent it. Build it.
What is this really long, weird-looking newsletter? The four EBoard members and 5 additional PittSWE members attended the Societal Conference in Los Angeles, CA from October 22 until October 25. This special edition conference newsletter is meant to bring our experiences back so that all of our members can benefit from the things that we learned! So read through and email pittswe@gmail.com if you have any questions or would like more information on any of the sessions. Enjoy!
3 - 8 Session Notes
9 Career Fair
10 Celebrate SWE!
11 Fun in LA
Invent It. Build It. Stephanie Cortes
On Saturday of the conference, a SWE Girls’ Program took place from 9 AM to 3:30 PM. The event was called “Invent It. Build It.” and it gave middle school aged girls the opportunity to gain exposure to the STEM fields. The morning began with an expo for the girls to explore and to learn about clubs, camps, competitions, and much more.
what happened when the code was loaded onto the Arduino. It was fun watching their eyes light up as they saw their names flash onto the screen. Following this and the expo, all the girls went into the Concourse Ballroom of the LA Convention Center. There they got to hear from different keynote speakers, who were engineers, of course. Additionally, the girls got to complete two different activities. I was only able to stay for the first activity which was called “Touchdown”; the goal: design and build a shockabsorbing system that will protect two “astronauts” (a.k.a. marshmallows) when their spacecraft (a paper cup taped to a piece of cardboard) lands. I found it extremely rewarding to watch the intent and determined look on the girls eyes as they designed, built, tested, and fixed their spacecrafts. And, one of the girls even taught me how to draw Goofy! I won’t say I was the best student, but I would say that I am definitely well on my way!
“It was fun watching their eyes light up as they saw their names flash onto the screen.”
During the time that the girls were arriving and registering for the event, about fifteen engineering professionals and students, called Roving Role Models went around the convention to interact with the girls and to talk with them about their engineering field. I was one of these Roving Role Models. I was fortunate enough to borrow an Arduino kit from Dr. Sanchez of the Civil & Environmental Engineering Department at Pitt. Following the kit instructions manual, I was able to build a simple circuit which used an LCD. Code was provided to accompany the circuit, allowing the user to program the LCD to print whatever they wanted. Armed with the Arduino and my laptop which contained the code, I went up to several groups of girls waiting to register for the event. It was extremely rewarding talking with the girls, telling them about electrical engineering, why I love engineering in general, and showing them the Arduino. I let them type whatever they wanted into the code and see
I learned a lot of key skills relating to outreach during this event and the “Role Models Matter” workshop which was held the day before that I will be able to use during any future outreach that I do. The
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workshop I attended the day before was a great preparation for me. One of the key elements that I learned during the workshop were that it is important share information about yourself and relate to the children you are reaching out to. In other words, you, as the “role model” should be perceived as “[I]t is essential to an equal. When you introduce yourself, make it personal. Use show them how engineers can change kid-friendly language as you share your academic and career the world.” path. An important thing to keep in mind when working with girls is that girls are motivated by helping the world so it is essential to show them how engineers can change the world. When helping girls on a particular challenge, you should give them useful and skill-specific feedback. Use questions to guide and challenge the girls; giving them the answer discourages from trying further. An interesting consideration when using questions to guide girls in a challenge is to avoid using the word “why.” Asking “why” something happened or did not happen is too open-ended and not at all helpful in them proceeding with their challenge. Instead, consider using different question words (e.g. “how,” “what,” etc.) which are more specific and provide better direction on advancing a particular challenge. Another tip I learned was to use hands-off facilitation. Getting handson to help with a challenge results in their disengagement from the activity. If you are interested in learning more strategies on engaging girls during outreach events or for more resources, visit techbridgegirls.org/rolemodelsmatter.
Overall, the last two days, from the workshop to the Invent It. Build It. event were very fulfilling for me. Seeing hundreds of girls being introduced to STEM fields and directly working with them and sharing my experiences and my passions for engineering was an experience that will not be forgetten anytime soon. When 93% of girls have stated that role models and field trips where they got to interact with people in the STEM fields made them more interested in STEM, it is clear that it is important for us to reach out to more and more girls. By relating to them and getting them interested in STEM, we are able to make engineering a possibility and a reality to so many more girls.
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The Unwritten Rules: Navigating Your Corporate Culture Becky Glucksman
This presentation by Michelle Tibke, a Naval Sea Systems Command, spoke of the intricacies of social norms. It is true that each organization, group, and company has a different way of doing things. It is important to know how to act: whether or not to call your boss Mr. or Mrs. or by their first name, or where to sit at a meeting. Sometimes these rules are pretty explicit, but other times they are implicit. How should one act when one doesn’t know the rules and how can one figure them out? Although learning these rules often comes with time, there can be consequences from making a wrong move. It can result in punishment or exclusion from the group. While you must maintain true to yourself, you must also be aware of how others act around you. Attire: While you should still express your own style, you must be careful not to wear things too revealing in the workplace. Women shouldn’t lose their femininity and be forced to dress like men. We can still sport cute dresses and skirts, just make sure that they still resemble the professional looking attire worn by the successful men and women around you. Position: Since Michelle worked for the Navy Civilian Corp., much of her experience in the workplace is based on the army’s structured hierarchy. However, some companies are a lot more flat and relaxed about who is the boss of who. As a result, it may be okay to use your boss’ first name. Always err on the side of caution and be more formal if you aren’t sure. Another topic brought up during the session was the idea of going around your supervisor. Is this ever okay? The general consensus was that if it is a matter of ethics, security, or safety, it is okay to go to the next level of supervisors to ensure that these issues are not at risk. Even in a structured hierarchal workplace, where going
around your supervisor isn’t acceptable, it would be acceptable for these reasons. Your Boss: The best advocate for you is your boss. So try to impress him or her. However, it is helpful to know what your boss likes. If they are presenting to their boss, would they like to be corrected if they make a mistake? Or would they rather wait until they are in private? Although you should be willing to take on minor tasks every once and a while, make sure that these don’t consume most of your time. If you are finding that this is the case, mention it to your boss nicely. They may not even realize that they are giving all of the menial tasks to you. However, don’t do everything and anything your boss says. Remember you can provide feedback and discuss if you strongly disagree with his/her decision. Meetings: Meetings can be tricky situations because sometimes people like to sit in the same seat every time. Sometimes the boss always sits at the head of the table, other times there is no head of the table. It is helpful to ask if you aren’t aware. If you are filling in for someone, maybe ask, “where does so and so usually sit?” Social Interaction and Networking: Remember that even at after hour events, you still have to act somewhat professional. It can impact how you are perceived in the workplace. Be aware that your relationships outside of the workplace shouldn’t negatively impact your work or how you act at work. Some companies don’t allow relationships in the workplace, others do. Know your company’s policy. If they do allow it, still be cautious. Communication: Make sure you are aware of how you react to things. If someone says something in a meeting that you disagree with, make sure you don’t wince or roll your eyes. Sometimes it is involuntary and you need to have someone looking out for you. Often
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times the best way to communicate with people is face-to-face. Sometimes email can be overused. Remember, in the workplace, you should always be respectful, however, sometimes if you are working out in the field or elsewhere, it is okay to mirror the language you hear. It may help you to fit in and bond with the other workers. They can see that you are more of a person. Other tips to remember are to stand when you are introduced and know the basics on how to shake hands (make sure that you grip hands firmly, rather than shaking with a limp hand). Selling Yourself: Hold yourself to high standards and maintain credibility. This can be accomplished if you know how to follow the unwritten rules of your workplace because then if you fumble, you will have some credibility to fall back on (the credibility developed by acting appropriately with those around you). Make sure to never use your “female” power (crying or your sexuality) and be accountable for your mistakes. Conclusion: Sometimes figuring out the intricacies of how people interact is tricky. Make sure to pay attention to any abnormal reactions that may provide hints on things that you should not do. Some people are more strictly attached to these rules than others. Don’t make assumptions and ask questions, as that will help you to learn the ways of the company faster. Don’t lose who you are as a person in trying to fit in with everyone else. But most importantly, listen, watch, and learn.
45 Girls, 45 Minutes… What Do I Do? Lisa Cross This session on Thursday afternoon was absolutely fantastic. It was fun and informational. The main topic in this session was age appropriate activities. The speakers, Allison and Barb, provided specific details and sources for a multitude of engineering activities. They specifically talked about three different age levels: elementary school, middle school, and high school. Some tips they provided included that it’s best to give elementary girls more instruction on how to complete the activity, whereas giving high schoolers less instruction allows them to be more creative and to really think like an engineer. My favorite part of the session was the hands on activities. They demonstrated an activity for each age level. First, they did a demonstration in which another attendee was able to bounce bubbles off her hand. The cool part about this was that they were not any kind of special bubbles. The attendee simply wore gloves. The “science” behind this was that the gloves prevented the bubbles from touching any dirt on the hand. They tied this back to engineering by saying how surface contamination is something that needs to be worried about and eliminated. The middle school activity was building “brush bots,” made from the head of a toothbrush and a pager motor. The “bot” would vibrate and cause it to move like a little bug. I definitely giggled like a little kid when I got mine to work. The high school project was a pneumatic actuator made from craft sticks, gum bands, a tube, and syringes. I had tons of fun playing with these and even got to take them with me as souvenirs!
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Maximizing the Strengths of Your Team Kylie Zeis
This session was all about realizing the strengths of the people who you are working with. Everyone is different, so it is not okay to assume that everyone functions and works best under the same environment and structure. Before distributing tasks or placing limitations on an assignment, make sure to recognize the strengths of your team and use that to your benefit when assigning tasks to individuals. People who use their strengths everyday have 6 times more engagement than those who don’t. These people also have 12.5% more productivity. If your team uses Strengths Finders 34, everyone will be able to see what strengths they should play off of. Overall, it is very important to see what types of people are on your team and recognize the importance of playing to their strengths!
Starting from the Bottom: A Guide to Your First 90 Days at Work Michelle Banas
This session was presented to help young professionals move from an academic to an industry environment. It is suggested that before the first day you get in touch with your direct supervisor to introduce yourself while also taking time to learn as much about the company as you can. You should also be sure not to let paperwork get in the way of a successful start by being prepared to fill out your new hire paperwork. During your first week on the job be sure to introduce yourself to your team and get to know them. You should make sure to do your first day set up and familiarize yourself with the technology used by the company. You should also sit down with your manger in the first few days and figure out how you will communicate, set goals and objectives, and make sure you know exactly what your project entails. You should use this information to create a project plan, then review it often to make sure you stay on the right track.
people ask what you’ve been doing. You should be comfortable modifying your project plan as needed. This is the prime time for networking, so be sure to take time for social lunches and for finding mentors who have been in your position in the past. In the next 30-90 days be sure to communicate the status of your project, along with any risks, regularly. Find opportunities to exceed expectation and continue to network. If you feel comfortable, you should also begin to take on leadership tasks. There are some every day tips as well. Never lose sight of the big picture and stay on top of any project risks that may arise. Take care to follow the company standard for email and communication etiquette. These are all useful tips for anyone starting a new job in an entry level position, whether as an intern or as a new full time hire. Keep them in mind as you move into industry.
During your fist month you should keep a log of all your tasks and deliverables so you have specific answers when
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Session Highlights:
Building Yourself as a Leader Dhanu Thiyagarajan
The session Building Yourself as a Leader talked about how managing your career requires you to view your professional development as a journey with direction, rather than a point, a job or an end destination. It is emphasized that your career is not a onetime decision made after graduation, but rather an iterative process that you redefine as you grow. There are three goal points to build yourself as a leader: start with the end in sight, consider the career lattice, and maintain your competitive edge. Start with the end in sight: Think about the goal – you want to be employable. You need to be able to say yes when asking the question, would you hire you? You need to be confident in yourself, be prepared for interviews and do the research necessary. The interviewee should see direction in the interview and have questions ready to pose during the interview. The speaker goes on to explain how she gets bored and uninterested in candidates where they wait for the interviewer to lead the interview. You should always be looking out into the future and having the experiences you need to become a leader. You should always be working with mentors to encourage you and provide you with great advice to help you get where you need to go. Consider the career lattice: The world of work is changing – there is no linear path anymore. There are so many different paths to get to the same place; you need to figure out what the right path is for you and your expectations in life such as family. No matter the path, you can’t become a leader without building new experiences. Some ways to do this are by giving new ideas to a team down the hallway, or stepping in for your boss when they are sick, volunteering for a project. This also allows you to explore the different aspects of a company and improve your skills to go higher up the corporate ladder. In general, people are looking for self-motivated individuals who want to make change. Therefore, be in a position to stand out by being excellent in your current role, challenging yourself, showcasing your strengths, taking lateral moves and developing new skills. At the end, it doesn’t matter what your title is, it matters how challenging it was to get there and what you’ve gain out of the position. Maintain your competitive edge: First, you need to OWN IT! No one cares more about your growth and success than you; therefore, you need to own and drive your career. Partner with your boss and have them engage in your success and development; you will need the support of others to be successful. Use Coursera to watch various lectures and expand your knowledge (all for free!). Second, you need to think WIN-WIN! You need to go for the triple play by driving team progress, improving business results, and learning while doing these tasks. Third, you need to SEEK FEEDBACK! Create a learning and feedback friendly environment where you can learn and adapt quickly, so you can improve results and keep learning. It is important to find a mentor who will be honest with your blind spots; you need to take advantage of the situation by asking more questions and gaining more feedback. Always appreciate advice whether you wanted it or not especially when it is from someone more successful – they know what they are doing and saying. Your career as a leader is in your hands, so use this advice (even if you didn’t ask for it) and become a strong leader!
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Giving and Receiving Feedback Module Erica Stevens
The Giving and Receiving Feedback Module was presented by Jackie Fber from Alcoa. She began by saying that engineers have a lot in their toolbox, but some things are missing. One of these things is how to give and receive feedback. Many people avoid asking for and providing feedback, even though there are many benefits to feedback. Giving feedback can lead to better working relationships, improved team performance, continual learning, improved team culture, and learning that it’s okay to not be perfect. Receiving feedback allows for earlier course correction, quicker skill acquisition, and skill set improvement. This module provided a system for giving and receiving feedback. In this system, giving feedback follows four steps. The first step is observation. Provide concrete observation. Let the listener know what you saw or heard the person do or not do. Do not use third party evidence or what someone said someone saw. Before doing this, make sure the person is open to hearing the feedback. The second step is impact. Provide a brief explanation of the effect that the observed had another person or yourself. This is so that the listener knows exactly why their actions and words were incorrect. The third step is pause. This step seems the easiest, but is actually the most difficult. Just stop talking. Stop talking so that the other person can absorb the information and ask clarifying questions. The fourth and final step is to suggest. Offer a specific suggestion. This is necessary so that the listener is aware of how to begin correcting their behavior.
Observation
Impact
Pause
Suggest
Receiving feedback has four corresponding steps. The first step is to listen. Actively listen, to ensure understanding. Do not argue, defend, or attempt to explain. The second step is to reflect. Remain open to others’ points of view. Actively consider the truth of the comments. The third step is to ask. Ask questions in order to increase understanding and clarify what has been said. Ask for examples if necessary. The final step is to thank. Show appreciation for the other person’s help. When someone provides feedback it means that they care enough to help to fix what has gone wrong, and they have put their time and effort into discussing it.
Listen
Reflect
Ask
Thank
These steps provide a framework for effectively giving and receiving feedback. However, it must be remembered that not everyone knows or followed these steps. Just focus on what is in your control. The other person may not follow their side of the process.
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Finding and Using Your Power Erica Stevens
The presenter for this session was Gail Golden, PhD and MBA. She spoke about what power was and how to find and use it. Power is the ability to influence others, so that your ideas and vision become reality. There are seven different types of power: legitimate, reward, coercive, information, charisma, expert, and referent. Legitimate power is a result of position. Reward power stems from the ability to bestow awards, while coercive power comes from the ability to punish. Information power results from the ability to access and share important information. Charisma power arises from glamour or aura; the ability to make others feel special. Expert power is a result of others’ belief that the leader has special knowledge and expertise and knows what is necessary. Referent power comes from the fact that others admire the leader, want her approval, and desire to be more like her. Expert and referent power tend to work best for women, so Dr. Golden focused on how to build these types of power. Building expert power can be done by promoting an image of expertise. Maintain credibility, so don’t talk about what you don’t know. Act confidently and decisively in a crisis. Keep informed so that your knowledge does not become out of date. Also, recognize people’s concerns so that you can directly address them. Finally, avoid threatening people’s self-esteem. Don’t show people how smart you are, but rather how useful you are, which is why you need to know the concerns of others. Building referent power can be done by being authentic and honest, earning trust, and celebrating wins. These are the traits that people admire. Dr. Golden told a story about when she used to work at a medical center with a prominent physician. She gave presentations to medical students during that times, and the physician occasionally came in to these lectures and stood quietly in the back. Sometimes, he hand-wrote a note just to tell her that she did a good job. Though he has now passed away, she still has those hand-written
notes and they still mean a lot to her. Finally, building referent power as a leader means sharing credit for wins and taking responsibility for failure. Traditionally, females have maintained power in ways that do not build trust or loyalty. The traditional types of female power include: guilt and shame power, sexual power, crying power, and indirect or manipulative power. Such power is not respectable and would do well do be replaced with the expert and referent power explained above. Replacing the traditional power types include inside and outside considerations. The inward part is thinking and feeling. Believe in yourself and your expertise. Trust in your own judgment. Expect others to listen and respect you, and let them know that nothing less is acceptable. The best way to do this is to begin seeing yourself as an important “[B]egin seeing person. Know your strengths yourself as an and weaknesses, and important person…. become comfortable with conflict and risk. Most of all, Most of all, learn to learn to forgive yourself. The forgive yourself.” outer portion of power development is presence. Exude an air of authority and strength. Act mature and intelligent, keeping your emotional compose. Developing presence has many components such as appearance, voice, and emotional balance. So when is it appropriate to use power? It is appropriate when there is an ethical issue or a critical issue for business, when you are responding to disrespect, or when you are defending someone else. Exude power by not smiling, significantly changing your volume level, being very direct, maintain eye contact and good posture, and do not back down.
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WE14 Career Fair Kylie Zeis The career fair was a huge event. There were many companies and graduate schools who were looking to recruit people. Despite the overwhelming amount of people at the conference, the companies were truly willing to talk to every individual interested and give them a fair chance. It was very beneficial to see what types of individuals companies were looking for, and it truly impressed them when you knew something about their company. Even if you were not looking for anything, this was a great opportunity to get some practice with speaking to recruiters and having interviews. The career fair began for on Thursday evening, for two hours, and was basically running all day Friday. There were interview booths, where the companies could give you on-the-spot interviews. Some of our members had great success with the career fair. Multiple interviews were given out to Pitt SWE girls, and even an internship offer was given! This career fair was very helpful, and was a definite success!
PittSWE career fair successes! Stephanie Cortes: Interviews with Arizona Public Service (APS) and San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) Kylie Zeis: Offers from both Colgate-Palmolive/Hill’s and Kimberly-Clark
Erica Stevens: Interview with Cummins Inc.
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Celebrate SWE! Dhanu Thiyagarajan
Celebrate SWE! is a great closing for WE14 as it highlights SWE’s achievements in the past year of its multiple regions, various sections and numerous members. This event closes off WE14 by its attendees leaving with inspiration and motivation to go back to their own section to aspire, advance and achieve. The keynote speech was given by Carla Boragno who is Vice-President of Site Services at Genentech who highlighted the importance of mentorship. She started off by explaining three examples of how mentorship has impacted her life either as the mentee or mentor. She encouraged all of us in the room to have the guts to reach out to those above us and utilize their knowledge and expertise as our mentors. As well, we should take those below us and give them our advice to help them succeed. We can learn not only as a mentee, but also as a mentor. Either way, we must have the courage to reach out to people and expand our network. Ms. Boragno provides some great advice, as follows: Give back, gain more Learn every day, better yourself Open yourself to the journey, who you meet and what you learn Believe in yourself, if you don’t then who will? Act on your dreams, they can come true but you have to act on them Love what you do, passion to inspire others She ended her lovely keynote speech saying, “Reach out to women in your community. Be of service. You can make a difference not only in your community, but in the world. The next steps are yours; what will you do?”
“Reach out to women in your community. Be of service. You can make a difference not only in your community, but in the world. The next steps are yours; what will you do?” PittSWE received the Parent Educator Award and Outstanding Collegiate Section: Silver at Celebrate SWE! 10
Fun in LA! Kim Daloise
Aside from the leadership and career development knowledge that was gained at WE14 in the forms of information sessions and the career fair, there was much fun and adventure that awaited us as well! Although we did not have a lot of free time, we certainly made the best of it when we did. We explored Hollywood Boulevard on Friday night where we shopped, ate dinner with a University of Pittsburgh Engineering Alum, saw the Hollywood stars and the Hollywood sign, and took our pictures with the different impersonators (most of which looked so much like the celebrities they were impersonating it was scary!). The food was great, the company was fun, and the impersonators were interesting to say the least. On Saturday, we were lucky enough to spend the morning and afternoon at Universal Studios Hollywood riding all of the virtual 3D rides and going on the Studio Tour. The rides were like nothing else and the Studio Tour allowed us to see where famous TV shows like “Mike and Molly” and “The Voice” are filmed along with many movies. The different TV/movie sets we saw ranged from an urban setting, commercial setting, the wild west, etc. We also got to see how some special effects are executed. Overall, WE14 was an amazing experience. The conference provided a lot of useful information when it comes to
the corporate world, how to improve our section, and our futures whether it be in industry, attending grad school, or any other option. In addition, Los Angeles proved to be an extremely fun city to explore. Great times were definitely had thanks to the great people that attended!
See you next year, Nashville!
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