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The SWE-PPS annual planning meeting occurred on Friday, September 5, 2008. The SWE-PPS elected officers discussed the year ahead, and plans were made for events, tours and opportunities. The SWE-PPS Membership Survey provided valuable insight to the elected officers. SWE-PPS members are encouraged to renew your membership, as many of us get caught up and forget to do so.
We have several exciting events planned for the Fall in addition to our monthly socials. There will be several opportunities for professional development and volunteering. The United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) is hosting a SWE-PPS mentor matching and professional panel on October 16th, and local college and university students and cadets are encouraged to attend. A conference review lunch is planned for November 12th to discuss the highlights of the SWE National Conference. A Professional Development Seminar on interviewing skills is planned for November. A tour of the Peterson Air and Space Museum is scheduled for October 29th.
Detailed information will be provided as the events near.
As always, we are open to your suggestions!
Please let our SWE-PPS Secretary, Lina Klaus, know if there are any other types of events you would like to see on the calendar for this year.
Many of our members enjoy volunteer work, so let us know if there is an opportunity targeted toward our section. We look forward to seeing you at the events!
Thank you to all those who participated in the SWE-PPS Membership Survey. The results were reviewed at the SWE-PPS annual planning meeting on Friday, September 5, 2008. The survey results were incorporated into our annual plan for our section. We really appreciate your feedback.
A couple of events with the Girl Scouts are arranged as part of the United States Air Force Academy COOL SCIENCE program this year. Coincidentally, SWE expanded our outreach to the Girl Scouts according to our latest SWE magazine for Fall 2008. Locally, USAFA is working with the Daisies, Brownies and Juniors. Nationally, SWE is working with the staff of the Girl Scouts to create professional development training. As a whole, we are encouraging our SWE members to volunteer and lead girls into engineering and technology activities.
The COOL SCIENCE workshop with Daisies & Brownies is scheduled on Saturday, October 18, 2008 and with Girl Scout Juniors on Saturday, December 16, 2008. The workshops start at 1:00 PM and finish up around 4:00 PM. The Girl Scouts will rotate through several workshops during the events, and volunteers are requested. If you are interested, contact our SWE-PPS Vice President, Lt. Col. Lynnane George.
Colorado Springs School District 11 is asking for women engineers to volunteer to participate in the Palmer High School Career Fair on Thursday, October 23, 2008 from 7:45 am to 3:00 pm. Palmer High School is located in downtown Colorado Springs at 301 N. Nevada Avenue (on the corner of N. Nevada Avenue and E. Platte Avenue).
If you'd like to volunteer, please send our SWE-PPS Treasurer, Connie King, an email with the time periods during which you would participate, whether you would be there for lunch and your mailing address so that District 11 can send you a parking pass.
This is an opportunity for you to share your knowledge of your career field to the students. District 11 believes their students will tremendously benefit from your participation and affirm the importance of education. The district has several career fairs throughout the year, most recently SWE-PPS members volunteered at Coronado High School Career Fair on Thursday, September 25th. A lot of students don't know exactly what they will do after high school, it's up to us to encourage them, and we encourage you to volunteer for this and future career fairs.
Thanks very much for your consideration!
SWE-PPS Peterson Air and Space Museum Tour
We have an exciting event coming up! We will be having a tour of the Peterson Air and Space Museum on Wednesday October 29th . We will have a quick lunch from 11:30am-12pm at the Officers Club at Peterson Air force Base followed by the tour from 12-1pm.
If you would like to attend RSVP our SWE-PPS Secretary, Lina Klaus, by Thursday October 23rd . As per the information at this link http://www.petemuseum.org/VisitorAccess20Aug08.htm please provide the following information: first name, middle initial, last name, date of birth, and last 6 digits of your Social Security number. This information will be used strictly for the tour and be discarded as quickly as possible after the tour. If you feel more comfortable contacting the museum staff and providing them with your information you are welcome to do that (719-556-4915). Just remember to give them with the date/time and the name of our group, Society of Women Engineers. RSVP to our SWE-PPS Secretary, Lina Klaus, in either case so that we know you're attending.
For more information about the Peterson Air and Space Museum please follow this link: http://www.petemuseum.org/. Directions can be found at: http://www.petemuseum.org/Direction.html. We can arrange to car pool there. If you will not be attending the lunch but would like to go on the tour please let us know in your reply. We hope to see you there!
SWE-PPS Mentor Matching/Professional Engineering Meeting
SWE-PPS is hosting a mentor matching meeting and professional engineers panel at the United States Air Force Academy on 16 Oct, 1800-2000. The event starts at 6:00 pm for those of you not accustomed to military time.
Please contact Ms. Dawn Gagnon at 333-4110 to RSVP or email dawn.gagnon@usafa.edu prior to Wednesday, October 16th so we will know how much pizza to order. We will need to get names of attendees to arrange for access to the base and cadet area. Also, rides can be arranged from UCCS, CTU, and CC as needed.
The following link provides a map of the Academy: http://www.usafa.af.mil/index.cfm?catname=Visiting%20USAFA. Enter the Academy from the North Gate, make a left onto Stadium Blvd (at the B-52), make a right onto Parade Loop (the first right), make a left onto Cadet Drive (large parking lot on your left), at the stop-sign make a right and find parking near the cadet field house.
FREE PIZZA!!!!!!! GREAT OPPORTUNITIES FOR NETWORKING!!!!
Speakers so far include the following, but there should be many more in attendance, which will provide an opportunity meet many other great women engineers.
Connie King
- Charter member of the PPS, environmental engineer and attorney--started her own law firm in 2006 where she specializes in environmental law. She has a BS in Civil Engineering from Texas Tech University, a MS in C.E. - Environmental Engineering Option from Texas A&M University, and a Juris Doctorate from University of Denver. She is a licensed professional engineer in Texas and Colorado.
Karyn Fishburn
–
BA in Math from Boston University , MS in Science Management from the University of Dayton (mostly ops research), and a Graduate Certificate in Homeland Defense from UCCS. Commissioned out of AFROTC and served in the Air Force for 9 years as a Space and Missile Operations Officer. Separated from the Air Force in 1998 and continued to work in satellite operations with the AF here in Colorado Springs as a contractor. She is married and has two small children.
Anne Clark – Lieutenant Colonel, United States Air Force, Electrical and Computer Engineer--currently serves as the Deputy of Operations in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. Received her commission from the U.S. Air Force Academy in May 1992 as a Distinguished Graduate with degrees in both electrical engineering and applied mathematics. She was selected to be a Stark Draper Laboratory Fellow and attended MIT as her first assignment.
SWE-PPS Professional Development/Interviewing Skills Workshop
SWE-PPS is hosting a Professional Development/Interviewing Skills Workshop at Marigold's Café and Bakery on 20 Nov, 1800-2000.
Please contact our SWE-PPS Vice President, Lt. Col. Lynnane George, at 333-4110 to RSVP or email lynnane.george@usafa.edu, prior to November 13th if you would like to attend. Also, rides can be arranged from UCCS, CTU, and CC as needed.
Our featured speaker, Ken Dryden, currently a Program Manager at Quantum Research International, provides seminars at local military bases for members transitioning to civilian career fields. Our SWE-PPS Vice President, Lt. Col. Lynnane George, took his seminar a few weeks ago and found he provided many excellent pointers and tips on how to get through an interview successfully (and hence get a job!)
Marigold's is also a great restaurant, located at 4605 Centennial Blvd. This looks to be an interesting evening with many great opportunities to learn something about interviewing and to socialize with other SWE-PPS members.
More details will be sent out in an upcoming SWE distribution list announcement in early November.
Lt Col Lynnane George (our SWE-PPS Vice President), Lt Col Anne Clark, and C3C Stephanie Martin led a group of cadets to the Sally Ride Festival at UCCS on Saturday 13 September. The cadets met Dr. Sally Ride in person and listened to her keynote presentation. Dr. Ride was the first American woman to fly in space in 1983 when she made a six-day flight aboard the space shuttle Challenger. She made her second trip into space in 1984. Dr. Ride is now a professor of physics at the University of California, San Diego. She is also the founder of Sally Ride Science, a company that creates innovative programs and publications for young people interested in science. During her keynote presentation she shared many insights about being a NASA astronaut and inspired her captivated audience to pursue careers in the fields of science and engineering.
In the afternoon, the Cols and cadets offered two Discovery Workshops entitled “Building and Breaking Bridges” to 5th – 8th graders, which involved introducing the basic principles of mechanical, civil engineering and bridge building. The workshops required teams of two to design, build, and test a balsa wood bridge. The grand finale was for each group to test their bridges to the breaking point. Other cadets who helped with the workshops included C1C Nicole Ramstein, C1C Ariella Walker, C3C Kathryn Blythe, C3C Elizabeth Norvell, and C3C Jonathan Vance. The workshops were well-received and fun for both the participants and cadets involved.
C1C Ramstein said “One of the big things I was impressed about the festival was how goal oriented some of the girls were. I talked to a seventh grader who wanted to know what she could start doing now in order to improve her chances for admission to the Academy. I don't remember being that focused when I was her age, but I'm glad to know that there are still kids out there who are setting goals. I think it's kind of cool that I got to play even a small part in that.” C3C Norvell had this to add: “It was a great experience to see Sally Ride in person and find out everything she went through in order to achieve her dream career of being an astronaut. Her stories encouraged young girls to pursue whatever their hearts' desired. In the classroom, I had fun working with the kids/teens, building bridges and watching their proud delighted faces as their bridge was put to the test.”
C3C Kathryn Blythe, C3C Stephanie Martin, Dr. Sally Ride, and C1C Ariella Walker
C3C Jonathan Vance teaches workshop participants the basics of bridge-building
We will be hosting our annual SWE-PPS Holiday Dinner on December 11th from 7:30pm to 10:30pm at the Wine Room at Biaggi's Ristorante Italiano. Please save the date!
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