Veronique Parker: Thoughts from WE12

1. My experience at the WE12 summary: Running around the career fair, interviews, laughing, inspirational speakers, food and ironing pants.
2. Some highlights: Photo Booths and Flip books from the hospitality suites.
3. Biggest surprise: the magnitude of the event. Over 6,000 attending all with the same mission- to meet other awesome people! The career fair itself was bigger than any I had ever seen by at least 5 times. The amount of recruiters and rotating displays all there just to meet us pulsed an energy through the crowd waiting to grab their interview slots, me included. 
4. Result: Multiple interviews, tons of business cards and way too much cool swag.

Samantha Kolpak: Thoughts from WE12

1. After the opening of the career fair Thursday night, company's can rent a room where the employees can socialize with conference attendees and network in a casual manner. These are called Hospitality Suites. During the United Technologies Hospitality Suite, I met this employee who served as my "job fairy godmother". She was determined to find me an internship within the company and her mission was to find me a recruiter to speak with.  After a few minutes after she introduced me to a recruiter, the recruiter offered me an interview for the next day. This was  one of the highlights of my trip.
2. During the session Purse 101, I learned how to manage my money by staying on budget. I also learned important information about managing debt, job salary's, net versus gross income, taxes, retirement plans, etc. I feel that this was one of the most beneficial workshops to attend and I know this information will help me in both the present and future.

Jessica Ziegler: Thoughts on WE12

1. How do we get high school girls interested in engineering? In the talk 'Engaging High School Girls through Service Learning Projects' I learned that high school girls don't respond to a one-day event as positively as younger girls do; they need something that they can commit to. This program had groups of the high school girls build a device for children with a disability. The parents of the child told the girls what kind of device they needed to help their child perform some task. Supervised by professional SWE volunteers, the high school girls built and presented these devices.
2. I learned from a NASA astronaut that even the best and the brightest don't always get what they want the first time. If you really want something you were turned down for, find some way to improve your credentials and try again.

First Place Schlumberger Essay by Veronique Parker

From Tiaras to Test Flights

Following the smooth, paved path while walking in-sync with the rest of the world has never really been my style. Growing up in a small town in upstate New York where there are more Canadian tourists than residents, it was easy to get a skewed vision of life.

The “thing to do” in good old Saranac Lake was to jump on the train for a choice of three different life paths. First option: Graduate from Saranac Lake Public High School with average grades with the rest of your 90 person class and then work at the local grocery store for the rest of your life. Second option: Drop out of high school ASAP and make a living buying and selling drugs on the bad side of town while reproducing like there’s no tomorrow. Third option: Graduate at the top of your class after being on prom court and captain of your sports team. Go to a nearby University to major in Language Arts. Return to Saranac Lake to raise your family and continue the cycle.

Which one did I pick? The second option. Just kidding.

My family was always a little “off” in the eyes of the town. We were the crazy family that decided to move to Australia for five years then come back and build a house on a mountain. We were the strange family with the little girl who talked funny with a blonde Afro instead of straight hair with bangs, liked vegemite instead of peanut butter and was attached to her stuffed animal platypus instead of her teddy bear or blanky.

Going back to the three options, it is needless to say that I made my own option. I graduated at the top of my small class after taking many Advanced Placement classes, being on prom, homecoming and winter carnival court, participating in the school musicals and being the captain of the soccer and volleyball teams. I am aware that this is starting to sound like option number 3, but I assure you that it is not with as much confidence as I have saying that my hair is incredibly frizzy right now.

The difference between me and the option 3-ers is that I had Aerospace Engineering as my destiny every since I was 12 and obsessed with planetarium shows. A female engineer-not typical. A female Aerospace engineer-seriously not typical. This was my arrogant attitude as I went to RPI with high expectations and even higher confidence.

What a slap in the face that first semester was. I found out that I am not particularly good at math or science when you pull this fish out of its small pond. I worked hard in high school, but it was time to take off my waders and put on my fins!

Easier said than done. Those fins are still giving me blisters today. I watched my classmates drop like anchors in the ocean, changing to an easier major or different engineering concentration.

Today as I enter my senior year of college, I am proud to say that my biggest accomplishment has been sticking with what I love through all of its rapids. My work ethic has continuously grown to be my greatest characteristic. I recently had the opportunity to intern at Calspan Corporation’s Flight Research Center. I worked on control systems using a simulator with engineers and pilots from the FAA, analyzed test flight data, and even got to fly a small plane! Only through this beaten, rarely traveled path would I get such opportunities and experiences. After a life of untraditional ways, how could I stray from having an exciting, untraditional career? I plan to continue my life (including my career) with the same gusto as the first 21 years of my life.

Second Place Schlumberger Essay by Stephanie Lennon

Shoes are an essential part of every girls life. Shoes help make an outfit, whether its your brand new Sperry's for your first day of high school, perfectly broken-in pointe shoes for your ballet lesson or those heels for prom you searched for months to find. Shoes make everything just a little more perfect. When I think of my future as an environmental engineer, I don't picture a pair of Sperry's or heel, I picture waders. For those who don't know, waders look like rain boots with attached waterproof overalls. I may look dorky wearing them, but that's half the fun. Wearing waders means that I am going to have a great day filled with water sampling. Nothing gets better than spending a hot July day in the sun taking water samples at a local river or beach. Who wants to spend their day sitting at a desk looking at a computer screen, I sure don't! Wearing waders through a rushing river is an experience like no other. You feel the cool water pressing against your legs, like you're standing in quicksand, but you can move around. It does get tricky when you slip and fall in the river, but who doesn't want to accidentally go swimming on the job? My shoes will lead me in many different directions, all of them unconventional; I'm not a conventional girl, I'm an engineer and proud of it.

Third Place Schlumberger Essay by Gina Trivellini

My shoes have wings. No, I’m not Hermes, nor did I just drink a can of Red Bull. Rather, my shoes have the ability to take me far beyond those sensible heels that reside in office cubicles worldwide; they will take me to the sky…literally. My name is Gina Trivellini, and my passion lies in aviation.

Since my first air show at eighteen months old, I’ve been fascinated by airplanes. For the past eight years I’ve been volunteering at my local municipal airport and museum, and more recently have begun taking flight lessons to eventually earn my pilot’s license.

I’m lucky enough to have parents who have driven me to explore my interest in airplanes. One of the programs they enrolled me in – an aviation camp a few summers ago – is the reason that I ultimately decided to pursue a career in aviation in the future.

Throughout my childhood I knew that I wanted to someday help improve the lives of others, but I was never sure what to say when asked, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Attending aviation camp was simply for fun – I got to go behind the scenes (and through countless metal detectors) in and around the Atlantic City Airport to see the runway pavement testing, baggage security screening, wind tunnels and a whole lot more.

One particular day at camp, a woman speaking about her career asked us, “Who here has considered becoming an aeronautical engineer?” A few boys – but only one girl – raised their hands. The woman went on to tell us that she was a rarity in a field dominated by males, but that she loved her job. She couldn’t emphasize enough how high the demand was for women engineers. Her words made such an impression that I couldn’t help but wonder if this was the career for me. Extensive research opened my eyes to endless opportunities. It wasn’t long before I realized that the ever-changing field of aeronautical engineering would allow me to do what I loved and see my impact on the world each and every day.

Elisabeth Posthill: Thoughts from WE12

1. I learned that the company Boston Scientific has a program called Close the Gap.  It aims to eliminate health care disparities, which are differences in the quality of health care simply due to racial or ethnic differences.
2. I also learned that not everything will be your dream job or situation, but you can still learn a lot from it and make the best of it.

Samantha Garrabrant: Thoughts from WE12

I had the opportunity to attend a workshop by Boston Scientific where they discussed a heart disease initiative that they started in conjunction with some other organizations.  It was all about raising awareness for heart disease and titled "Close the Gap".  I thought it was really special that the company makes medical devices, but goes the extra step to promote healthily lifestyles and equality as well.  More information can be found on their website, http://www.bostonscientific.com/your-heart-health/index.html.

I also got to attend a workshop present by collegiate members from Michigan Tech SWE, who gave us some tips about how to improve Evening with Industry for next year.

Emily Frantz: Thoughts from WE12

1. A presentation by Bechtel Corporation gave the basics of Small Modular Reactors, such as their Generation mPower project with Babcock & Wilcox.  The electric output of a small modular is less than 300 Megawatts, while a full nuclear power plant has an output of about 1000 MW.  One benefit is that these are built offsite and then brought in.  With the Generation mPower specifically, they are packaged in 180 MW increments and when installed, about 20 feet of it is above ground and 140 feet are below ground.
2. I also met Lynn Bresnahan, an RPI alumni, in her presentation "Where is my Crystal Ball?", on being unsure of your future.  The best advice to come from her presentation was that if you are not uncomfortable, you are not learning.

Jessica Stieglitz: Thoughts from WE12

I learned, via volunteering, how to make a product you’re producing the best it can be depending on whether you are aiming for long term customers or short term customers, different profit margins, and dependability. Over half of the process was planning, research, analysis, and discussion, and the rest of it had to do with engineering.

I also went to a workshop about working in a global group, which was mostly aiming at professional level members, but was also really relevant to working in groups for classes here at RPI. Most of it was communication and learning the culture of your group members, to avoid awkward circumstances. 

Cary Kaczowka: Thoughts on WE12

1. There are actually differences between the way men and women think! Our brains are spaghetti; everything is connected and we can be thinking about school and suddenly end up thinking about work or a haircut, or last year's spring break. Men's brains, however, are closer to waffles; there is a box for school, work, football, and for thinking about nothing. This may be why men might think we are a bit on the crazy/random side or why he might be flustered when the different 'boxes' start mixing together such as work friends and home friends.
2. There is a new professional SWE section: Hawaiian Islands! Maybe we should visit.
3. National SWE Members have access to the award-winning SWE journal online as well! This means you can forward interesting articles to friends or watch extra videos online.
4. Two new scholarships for Fiscal year 2014 include the Betty Shanahan Scholarship for a Graduate Student and an undergraduate scholarship for Native American Students!
5. As of two weeks ago, there were 20,541 societal members of SWE!
6. Look forward to We13 in Baltamore, MD on October 24th through 26th

Carly-Jeanne Gardiner: Thoughts from WE12

There were so many things happening at Conference that it was hard to go to everything.  I mostly attended Outreach events to pick up some new ideas.  At the Outreach Expo, I was able to see what other sections did for Outreach, and I learned how to get more involved with high schools in the area.

I did attend one non-Outreach event that left an impact with me: Emotional Intelligence.  During this session, the presenter discussed how to handle your emotions and how to not just control them, but to work through them and get past them.  She said that what is important to remember is that emotions never lie.  Your emotional response is always the correct reaction to the thoughts you are having.  You must change your thoughts to change your emotions.

Jill Johnson: Thoughts from WE12

1. Always follow up with a personalized thank you note after meeting a recruiter, interviewing, etc. Someone is always going to open up a personalized card addressed to them, however may overlook a thank you email in their inbox. A personalized card makes a better impression.
2. When you are budgeting your money, take notice of tax brackets. For example, for the first 8,000 dollars you make, you will be taxed let’s say 10%. After you earn the first 8,000 dollars in the fiscal year, you move up a tax bracket. This means that your tax will now be 12% on the money you make between 8,000 and 35,000 dollars. As you move up tax brackets, your monthly paycheck actually decreases. Your paycheck will be higher in January than it is in November. This means you must save your money. You will need it come November!

Madelaine Saunders: Thoughts from WE12

1. The most important thing about working is not to be afraid to make a mistake.  Mistakes are learning experiences and the way you relate to people is more important than being right the first time.
2.  What you put into SWE – and your professional life – is what you get out.  If you want to people to notice you and make connections put in hard work and effort.

Ashley Vassell: Thoughts from WE12

1.  I learned that one of the advantages of cloud computing is that the resources are always available, whenever a project requires them, so this lessens the amount of machines that are hoarded.
2.  I also learned that work, life balance is hard to achieve and you will almost always have to pick one aspect of your life over another