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

VP Ashley's SWEFL Experience

Hello RPI SWE!

At the end of last school year I was nominated to be the SWE Future Leader (SWEFL) for Region F and I was chosen! As a part of being on the Region F Collegiate Team you are invited to the Collegiate Leadership Forum in August. This year it was in Minneapolis, MN from August 16^th – 18^th. This was a great opportunity to learn more about how National SWE works and how the Board of Directors works with the Regional Collegiate Teams and how the RCT works with Collegiate sections. A special part of CLF is the Installation of the FY13 President, Board of Directors, and the Board of Trustees. Melissa Tata (FY12 President and RPI Alum) installed Alyse Stofer. She said a few words about her theme for this year “A Lifetime of Opportunity”.

One the first day I learned about the History of SWE going all the way back to 1950 with the Green Engineering camp in 1950. I also learned about the importance of having your own “Personal Board of Directors” which means having a mentor for different parts of your life. In my first SWEFL meeting I learned about what the different positions of the Regional Collegiate Board do, which you can read about on the Region F Blog (http://regionf.wordpress.com/). On the Second day I learned about Navigating the National SWE website. Which has a lot to offer! I also created my plan of action for this year.

Overall this was a great experience and I hope to contribute a lot to Region F as well as RPI SWE this school year!

Ashley Vassell

Vice President