OSU’s New Girl Scout Event Article from Laura Reisenauer

Hi Everyone!

Our section at The Ohio State University wanted to thank everyone who came to Regionals back in February. We hope that you enjoyed your stay at OSU as much as we enjoyed being your hostesses! We’re all looking forward to seeing all of you again next year in Cincinnati when UC hosts Regionals!

We also wanted to take this opportunity to share a successful new Girl Scout Event that we held in March. This outreach event helped Junior Girl Scouts learn what engineering is. The event emphasized teaching girls about green design.

The event started out with short, fun presentations by a couple of our members and y a professional SWE member from an environmental consulting firm in the Columbus area, Inaas Darrat, who also serves as our section counselor. The presenters told the girls what it is that engineers actually do and how green engineering could be used to help the environment. Then we sent the girls out on scavenger hunt to find ways in which our union had been designed to be environmentally friendly.

The girls all had a blast discovering how large windows increase natural lighting and decrease energy usage for lighting, that all of the forks used in the cafeteria were actually made of recycled plastic and how sinks that automatically turn off can save water! All of the girls then had the opportunity to design their own green houses. They were all really creative! Their houses had tons of green features, some of which we had never thought of before! There were large windows, solar panels, wind turbines, gardens, water falling off roofs and powering water wheels, doors that you had to open manually but would automatically close behind you to save heat and home owners that didn’t shave because they wanted to save water.

If your section is looking for new ideas for outreach ideas, you may consider trying something similar to this event. All of us really enjoyed working with the Girl Scouts; and we received requests to do something similar in the future. We would also love to hear more ideas on outreach and more about current outreach programs in other sections. Please post a blog so that we can learn more about this!

OSU SWE

Success at OSU!

Hi SWEsters!

Our section at the Ohio State University just wanted to take this opportunity to share a new event we tried this year. Back in October, we took a trip to the OSU Center for Automobile Research (CAR) to learn the basic skills of how to take care of our cars. In just about two hours, all of us learned how to jump a car, change a tire, test the tire pressure, change the oil and read different gauges on several cars. We also had the opportunity to tour the research facility and learn about a variety of different mechanical/car related activities on campus. In addition to this, the girls who drove us to CAR allowed their cars to be the test cars for the tire and oil changing; thus they got free maintenance on their cars! And, of course, we all had pizza and hung out with the people at the research center afterwards.

This turned out to be one of our most successful events of the first quarter. Other than our general meeting, this was our most attended event so far this year! We had a lot of positive feedback on it and multiple girls express that they would love to do this event next year. If anyone is looking for a new, fun, educative event to try, we would highly recommend something similar to our CAR event!

Also, when you come to OSU this February for the Regional Conference, we will have an event very similar to the CAR event as one of our optional tours! If the event above sounds like fun to you, be sure to sign up! We’re really excited to see all of you at the conference!

Have a happy New Year!

OSU SWE

Section Spotlight: University of Louisville hosts Haiti Day

On Sunday, January 31^st, the University of Louisville hosted Haiti Day on their campus.  To help raise money for those  affected by the recent earthquakes in Haiti, UofL’s SWE chapter hosted a “Pie an Engineer” booth where students could pie an engineer for a dollar.  The idea was a huge success, and many students chose to pie various staff and students for well over a dollar a pie.  With less than $30 worth of supplies, SWE’s booth alone raised over $225 that will be donated to the Clinton-Bush Haiti fund to bring relief in Haiti.  The event as a whole totaled near $1000 in monetary donations as well as bags and boxes of medial, hygiene, and clothing donations.  Go Women Engineers!

Submitted by Katie Gardner, University of Louisville Section

Section Spotlight: University of Louisville Summer Sleepover

The UofL SWE section hosts an annual summer sleepover for the incoming freshmen class. The sleepover allows girls to meet both upperclassmen and girls they will see in their classes. It allows gives the freshman the opportunity to meet and talk to professors and professionals who understand the field they are working in better. This year’s sleepover was very successful! Twenty four girls attended the event; this was the largest number of incoming freshman girls that have attended since the sleepover began. Also, we started a mentor program with the freshman to make their first semester on campus even more successful.

The girls began arriving at four in the afternoon, allowing for early introductions and ice breakers. The ice breakers included a team work game that involved them not talking to each other. Soon after, members from PEACC (Prevention, Education and Advocacy on Campus and in the Community) came to discuss staying safe against violence and assault. At five, a faculty panel discussion began. Members of the panel introduced themselves to the girls and gave them the opportunity to ask questions about their intended field and the upcoming year. This was followed by a small professional panel, which discussed the various work opportunities.

After the panel discussions, dinner was served, giving both the incoming freshman and the upperclassmen the opportunity to get to know each other. After dinner, the mentors introduced themselves to their mentees. All the mentees were really excited about the program.

When dinner ended, the girls participated in a scavenger hunt to get them even more familiar with all of campus. The winning team was awarded gift cards to the movies and boxed candies. Although it took some of the teams a while to finish, everyone finished the activity and was rewarded with popsicles.

Once everyone was cooled off and relaxed from the scavenger hunt, they partook in a maze on a masking tape grid. Each girl had to make it through the maze with the help of everyone else. If a girl chose the wrong direction, she had to go to the end of the line. The game didn’t end until everyone made it through the maze. After these activities, the girls were given a chance to relax with a raffle, movies, and catch phrase.

The next day, the girls woke up early and attended one of two Engineering Calculus classes. They had the option of choosing either calculus II or III. This gave them the opportunity to see what it’s like to be in a college class. The sleepover ended at eleven with goodie bags and more games.

Section: University of Louisville
Event: Freshman Sleepover
Date: July 16-17, 2009

Submitted By: Lindsay Ferguson

Section Spotlight – Penn State SWE wins Outstanding Student Organization Award

Penn State SWE named outstanding student organization

The Society of Women Engineers (SWE) was honored with the 2009 Outstanding Student Organization Executive Board Award from the University’s Center for Student Engagement at a banquet.

The recipients were selected by the Student Leadership and Service Award Committee. The Center for Student Engagement is administered by the Division of Student Affairs.

The award recognizes a student organization that ”demonstrates excellence” in programming events, building a sense of community and finding ways to positively promote its mission.

Among other service activities, SWE sponsors American Red Cross Blood Drives and a high school stayover for girls interested in engineering. The organization is also active in the Penn State Dance Marathon, intramural sports and homecoming.

http://live.psu.edu/story/38924/nw54
–
Natalie L. Bryner
Email: nlb5002@psu.edu

Section Spotlight: Penn State University “THON”

Article written by: Heather Thomas

School Section: Penn State University

Name of Event: Penn State IFC/Panhellenic Dance MaraTHON

Event Date: February 20 – 22nd, 2009

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The Penn State IFC/Panhellenic Dance MaraTHON is the largest student run philanthropy in the world.  THON is a 46 hour, no sitting, no sleeping dance marathon, in which organizations select dancers to participate. 700 dancers, over 100 captains, over 3,000 committee members, and thousands of spectators fill the Bryce Jordan Center for the event. The Penn State Dance MaraTHON raises money for the Four Diamonds Fund that benefits pediatric cancer at Hershey Medical Center.  This year THON raised $7,490,133.87! Since 1973, over $50 million dollars has been generated for kids with cancer.

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Penn State SWE was very involved with THON this year. We collected money by “canning” over four weekends.  When we “can” we stand on street corners and at business with empty coffee cans collecting donations.  Another form of fundraising is writing letters to family and friends.  Because of the dedication of our members, Penn State SWE raised $22,633.00!

In addition to fundraising, Penn State SWE “adopt ed” a family.  We were paired with the Aidan Roth family. Aidan (age 14), our THON child, is a cancer survivor.  This was the family’s first time attending THON, and they said it was life changing. They now plan to attend every Dance MaraTHON until “forever.”  SWE stays involved with the Aidan Roth Family year round. We have had them at Penn State and visited them in their town.

Overall, Penn State Dance MaraTHON is not just a 46 hour event. It is a year round on going effort to end childhood cancer. For now we dance for a cure. One day we will dance in celebration.

For The Kids, FTK!

To learn more or donate, visit www.thon.org

Section Spotlight: Miami University (Ohio)

Base-ic Facts station (Girl Scouts learn about acids and bases)

Making a Polymer (Gak) statio

Article written by: Natalie Carne

School Section: Miami University (Ohio)

Name of Event: Girl Scout’s Day

Event Date: Jan. 31^st, 2009

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Girl Scout’s Day (GSD) is hosted by the Miami University section of the Society of Women Engineers.  Around 115 Girl Scouts from around the Oxford, OH and Cincinnati, OH area come to Miami University to participate in GSD!  This year’s theme was “Hawaiian Vacation” and all of the Girl Scout’s went through five different rotations where they learned all about math, science, computers, and engineering!  They do activities such as making Gak, making paper, injection molding, and much more!  In total, the Girl Scout’s earn 4 badges.

Tour Guides that lead the troops around the building all day

Computer Fun Station

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We have 60 SWE and other engineering volunteers to help set up, decorate, and run all of the stations.  The Girl Scout’s have a great time and so do we!

All pictures taken by Bethany Cremeans.

Section Spotlight: University of Louisville

Hurry, we better get the food ready before the crowd comes.

Article written by: Jennifer Ellison

School section: University of Louisville

Name of Event: SWEet Fundraising Lunches

Event Dates: 1/4/08 (Fourth of July), 10/29/08 (Halloween), and 11/20/08 (Thanksgiving)

Yummy in my tummy.

 

 

The U of L SWE section hosts a SWEet Lunch event every semester. The goal of this event is to raise money for upcoming trips to conferences or other events going on in our section. We have held these lunches since 2006. This past fall, we had two lunches – around Halloween and Thanksgiving. During the spring we have a lunch around Valentine’s Day and during the summer (since U of L engineering students have to take classes during the summer) we have a lunch around the 4th of July. 

 

 

 

Money, money, money.

These lunches gross anywhere from $200 to $400 per lunch; we charge $5 per plate of food. We also sell our T-shirts at the lunches. Anywhere from 30 to 50 people show up, this includes SWE members, students, staff and faculty. All the food is provided by the members. We put a lot of planning in to these events to ensure that not everyone brings the same dish and to make sure that we have ample decorations. The decorations are always themed for the holiday and we try to make sure that we have balloons.

This picture shows the room all decorated for the lunch on the 4th of July, 2008.

 

We hold these lunches in a big conference room on the engineering campus, this room also has access to a kitchen so we are able to heat up food and make drinks. We also try to have items from past conferences to raffle off; this really encourages people to come. We also ask all the members to invite there professors and fellow students. Since this event became in 2006, we have developed a reputation on the engineering campus as great chefs, whether this is a good reputation or not is up for debate, but we are always happy at the earnings of this event. Additionally, at this past SWEet Thanksgiving lunch we asked for additional donations to help us support an Angel from the Salvation Army’s Angel Program. This program allows people or groups to support a family or child and purchase clothing and toys for them during the holiday season. We are proud to say that we raised enough money to support 2 children, a little boy and girl.

Section Spotlight: Penn State University

Check out the following article on the workshop that the Penn State SWE Section held for a local day camp.  Their workshop was called “Egg-xtraordinary Engineers — Splat!”.

LINK:  “Women Engineers Educate Students”