Oklahoma Mentor: Women in STEM

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 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!

Each mentee received two bingo forms, one for each round.
Mentees moved to a different table when instructed.

Adrianne Graham - stylish but stoic!

Drawing for the Raspberry Pi

For those of us who did not know
what a Raspberry Pi is.

Jenna Ziegler & Caroline Short

First winner!

Raspberry Pi winners Shea Langley & Ashley Henry
"bookend" Jenna Ziegler.

Photos by Leslie Crissup & Bev Woodrome

More photos & information follow...

FIRST Robotics Women in STEM Reception 2018, Part I

Fun, food, icebreakers, talking and listening, learning, career exploration, asking professional female engineers questions--what an experience! What access to engineers!

The Oklahoma City Chapter of the Society of Women Engineers (SWE), composed of professional engineers from a variety of disciplines, backgrounds and companies, offers young female robotics team members the opportunity to relax and visit about the students' interests and future plans as well as the engineers' pathways, jobs and advice.

Agenda

3:00 - 3:30 p.m. Registration
3:30 - 3:40 p.m. Opening Remarks - Upekesha Addagatla
Speed Mentoring & Bingo - Adrianne Graham
3:40 - 4:00 p.m. (Round 1)
4:00 - 4:20 p.m. (Round 2)
4:20 - 4:30 p.m. Raffle Drawing for Raspberry Pi - Leslie Crissup
4:30 - 4:45 p.m. Q&A, Closing Remarks/Survey - Caroline Short
Table Mentors Group Photo - Leslie Crissup
4:30 p.m. Mentors' Dinner/Networking at Hudson's Public House - Upekesha Addagatla

Mentor Registration