Oklahoma Mentor: June 2018

FIRST Robotics Women in STEM Reception 2018, Part IV

More Photos & Mentoring Suggestions

Shanequah Brison, center

Mentors

Introduce yourselves - name, company, job and then major and university. Have the girls introduce themselves and their team.

Where are you from? (Some teams are from out-of-state.)

What are some of your hobbies outside school or work? Help the girls see that engineers are real people with some of their same interests.

Tell them about your job/college experience. Give them an example of a time when you solved a problem that had an impact on society.

Wendy Hammond, left

How many types of engineering can you name? Do the students know any universities with engineering programs?

Do you know any engineers? What do they do for their jobs?

Ask any juniors and seniors at your table, where they are considering going to college? Answer any college questions, e.g., about admissions, financial aid, course load, they may have. Mention SWE as a campus organization. For younger girls, mention SWE NEXT, a Society of Women Engineers club for girls.

Crystal Kowalik, left

Bring a prop or pictures related to your field.

Questions:

How did you decide your college major?
What is/was your favorite class in college?
How many females were in your classes?
Hardest class in college?
What is an interesting fact about you or your favorite hobby?
Did you ever face discrimination or discouragement for being a female engineer? How did you deal with it?
One thing you wished you would have known in school or at work?

Erin Roark, foreground

Professionals only

What is the best part of your job?
How many females are at your office?
What was your hardest moment on the job? How did you deal with it?

Trenisha Tait, center

Shellie Chard, DEQ

Lizzie Long with fingers up--victory signs!

Kim Thomas, center

Michelle Rodriguez-Pico, left

Michelle Rodriguez-Pico, second from right

Samantha Dominguez in black jacket

Madeline Ley, center

"Sam" Davis, right

Thanks to the reception sponsors, not in any particular

order, and to the mentors and their companies.

Oklahoma City

Mentors are nurturers of possibilities and self-confidence.

Society of Women Engineers

FIRST Robotics Women in STEM Reception 2018, Part III

More Reception Photos

The word-of-mouth reputation of this professional women's mentoring event coupled with the quality and passion of the mentors from the Society of Women Engineers have increased attendance each year.

Some teams create their own branding, not just team t-shirts.

Samantha "Sam" Davis, center, & Circuit Chargers

Sprockets from Gordon Cooper Technology Center

Mentors

Jennifer Abshagen

Upekesha Addagalta, mechanical & aerospace engineer, Boeing

Shanequah Brison, information technology engineer, Boeing

Shellie Chard, chemical engineer, Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality

Leslie Crissup, chemical engineer, Enable Midstream Partners

Rachel Curl

Samantha Davis, Oklahoma State University

Samantha Domingues, software engineer, Boeing

Jordan Fox, computer engineering, Oklahoma State University

Adrianne Graham, executive director, Oklahoma Engineering Foundation

Wendy Hammond, Northrop Grumman

Crystal Kowalik, City of Oklahoma City

Madeline Ley, chemical engineer, recent graduate, Oklahoma State University

Lizzie Long, Oklahoma State University

Heily Maldonado, chemical engineering, University of Oklahoma

Erin Roark, Oklahoma State University

Michelle Rodriquez-Pico, mechanical engineer, OG&E

Caroline Short, biosystems & agricultural engineer, Olsson Associates

Marsha Slaughter, environmental engineer, City of Oklahoma City

Trenisha Tait, mechanical engineer, United Technologies

Kim Thomas, University of Oklahoma

Haylie Zarate, electrical engineer, Boeing

Jenna Ziegler, aerospace engineer, United States Air Force

SWE Mentors Group Photo

Heily Maldonado, left

Erin Roark, right

Crystal Kowalik, left

Photos by Leslie Crissup & Bev Woodrome

More photos & information in the next and last post.

FIRST Robotics Women in STEM Reception 2018, Part II

This reception's most important part may be the access of mentees to these outstanding engineering professionals. Mentoring's being fun and engaging is integral, too.

Opening

Boeing's Upekesha Addagalta, president of the Society of Women
Engineers, Oklahoma City Chapter, opens the program.

Addagalta encourages the audience to view Teach girls bravery,
not perfection, a TED Talk by Reshma Saujani.

Teach girls bravery, not perfection. (link)

Icebreaker

Addagatla asked the first-time mentees/attendees to stand. Then she invited the audience to stand for each choice.

Tacos or burritos
Movies or books
Amusement park or beach
Science or math
Programming or building things
Hidden Figures or Wonder Woman
Logical or emotional
Brave or perfect

"All young women are brave. We want you to be brave," Addagatla said. "This program is about STEM--Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics."

Speed Mentoring/Bingo

(Two rounds, 20 minutes each)

Adrianne Covington-Graham, executive director of the Oklahoma
Engineering Foundation, directed the speed mentoring and bingo.
Adrianne lookswell-composed and happy. Mentees did not realize
a few days before Adrianne had had rotator cuff surgery yet was
present smiling, thinking and talking while in great pain.
Hats off to Graham!