SWE Spotlight
Girls Who Code 1/24/20
This week I spoke to over 100 students in the Girls Who Code club and the Intro and AP Computer Science classes at Murrieta Valley High School. My colleague Sarah Vine and I shared the very different paths we took to build our careers in software engineering and tech, the diversity and inclusion initiatives that are changing tech culture, the importance of building soft skills in addition to their technical work, and the broad career opportunities available to students who choose STEM careers. We also presented overviews of Machine Learning and Alexa skills, as well as the benefit of joining organizations like the Society of Women Engineers and SWENext. This is the second year Murrieta Valley High School has offered Computer Science curriculum through Edhesive, which is sponsored by Amazon Future Engineers.
Nearly a dozen of these opportunities are in this very email, and they're a great, low-pressure way to practice your public speaking skills and share the excitement of engineering with the next generation. Volunteer for one of them today!
-- Natalie White, FY20 SWE Orange County President
This week I spoke to over 100 students in the Girls Who Code club and the Intro and AP Computer Science classes at Murrieta Valley High School. My colleague Sarah Vine and I shared the very different paths we took to build our careers in software engineering and tech, the diversity and inclusion initiatives that are changing tech culture, the importance of building soft skills in addition to their technical work, and the broad career opportunities available to students who choose STEM careers. We also presented overviews of Machine Learning and Alexa skills, as well as the benefit of joining organizations like the Society of Women Engineers and SWENext. This is the second year Murrieta Valley High School has offered Computer Science curriculum through Edhesive, which is sponsored by Amazon Future Engineers.
Nearly a dozen of these opportunities are in this very email, and they're a great, low-pressure way to practice your public speaking skills and share the excitement of engineering with the next generation. Volunteer for one of them today!
-- Natalie White, FY20 SWE Orange County President
SWE Swag & Updates 12/20/19
Did you miss the SWE Orange County WE19 SWE Boutique table? Laura Novak-Rosesgen has volunteered to do fulfillment of online orders so the merch is up on our website! Prices are slightly higher than at WE19 to account for shipping costs, but that just means the bundle of all 3 items is an even better deal. Shop now!
We're still working on scheduling corporate / technical tours for the spring. As discussed at the December Planning Meeting, since the Amazon Fulfillment Center only offers tours Monday through Friday, we have decided not to make this one of our local tours for the spring. Feel free to schedule your own time to tour the facility nearest you!
I'm going to take a break from the SWEekly email over the Christmas holiday while I spend time with family and friends, so look for a shiny new email from me in January! Merry Christmas, happy holidays, and best wishes to you and yours in the coming new year!
-- Natalie White, FY20 SWE Orange County President
We're still working on scheduling corporate / technical tours for the spring. As discussed at the December Planning Meeting, since the Amazon Fulfillment Center only offers tours Monday through Friday, we have decided not to make this one of our local tours for the spring. Feel free to schedule your own time to tour the facility nearest you!
I'm going to take a break from the SWEekly email over the Christmas holiday while I spend time with family and friends, so look for a shiny new email from me in January! Merry Christmas, happy holidays, and best wishes to you and yours in the coming new year!
-- Natalie White, FY20 SWE Orange County President
Holiday Party 12/13/19
The annual SWE OC Holiday Party was lots of fun! We ate tasty potluck food, did an ornament exchange, and played "Left, Right, Center" which was fun for all ages! FY18 SWE OC President, Sally Soltero, won LRC!
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AWS re:Invent 12/8/19
Natalie was out of town last week for the Amazon Web Services (AWS) re:Invent conference and was engaged with DeepRacer responsibilities! She got to talk to AWS customers about Machine Learning and autonomous vehicles and help run our championship races for the week.
Sola Haruka Takishita was the champion and 2-time world record holder! She competed against 62 men and one other woman through multiple brackets and emerged victorious!
Sola Haruka Takishita was the champion and 2-time world record holder! She competed against 62 men and one other woman through multiple brackets and emerged victorious!
WE19 Dessert Debrief 11/22/19
We had quite the crowd for the WE19 Dessert Debrief, including quite a few new faces! Everyone ate cheesecake, shared our favorite parts about the conference, and gained energy around the upcoming Spring plans for SWE Orange County. Thanks to everyone who came out, and we hope to see you at a future event!
We're working on getting several activities on the SWE OC calendar for 2020! Here are a few below:
Take a second look at some of the outreach opportunities we have from the IUSD and from the WE19 PEP Panel contacts who have emailed me for speakers. These are great opportunities to represent SWE and/or your company in a STEM outreach or volunteer capacity.
We had quite the crowd for the WE19 Dessert Debrief, including quite a few new faces! Everyone ate cheesecake, shared our favorite parts about the conference, and gained energy around the upcoming Spring plans for SWE Orange County. Thanks to everyone who came out, and we hope to see you at a future event!
We're working on getting several activities on the SWE OC calendar for 2020! Here are a few below:
- Girl Scouts outreach event (no date set yet - coordinating with GSOC)
- SWE OC Professional Development Conference (tentatively April 18)
- JPL tour (dates for February 2020 will be released in early Dec)
- Wine & Webinar (topic and date TBD)
Take a second look at some of the outreach opportunities we have from the IUSD and from the WE19 PEP Panel contacts who have emailed me for speakers. These are great opportunities to represent SWE and/or your company in a STEM outreach or volunteer capacity.
Girl Scouts First Lego League (FLL) 11/14/19
Vinita Palavineloo has been in contact with a Girls Scouts First Lego League team, the RAH girls of Robokidz. Their robot Gretta won 9th place out of 30 teams in a regional competition and they are moving on to the next level of FLL competition. Here's a photo of them! It's so rewarding to see girls excited about STEM!
WE19 was a huge success! Keep that momentum going by engaging with some of the new outreach events we have as a result of Natalie White, FY20 President of SWE OC, participating in the IIBI Parent and Educator Panel. See a list of them below in the "SWE Opportunities" section and contact the appropriate person to schedule a time to participate. It doesn't take much to lead girls to STEM careers - just seeing someone who looks like them and has done it can be very motivating!
WE19 was a huge success! Keep that momentum going by engaging with some of the new outreach events we have as a result of Natalie White, FY20 President of SWE OC, participating in the IIBI Parent and Educator Panel. See a list of them below in the "SWE Opportunities" section and contact the appropriate person to schedule a time to participate. It doesn't take much to lead girls to STEM careers - just seeing someone who looks like them and has done it can be very motivating!
WE19 Conference 11/9/19
Over 16,000 people attended the conference this year, and from collegiate to professionals, working moms and retirees, K-12 students, parents, and educators... there was something for everyone!
Congratulations to Ashley Chan and Erica Hsueh, Orange County students who won SWE Next awards at the conference.
Last but not least, a special thank you goes out to the WE19 HQ staff and the Host Committee for making sure the conference ran smoothly.
Didn't make it to WE19? Want a more intimate SWE conference experience without having to get on a plane? WELocal San Diego Registration is now open! Register now!
FY20 Ice Cream Social
We had a great turnout for our FY20 Ice Cream Social! Thanks to everyone who attended - we're looking forward to a great year!
Girl Scouts of Orange County Volunteer Conference Recap
Natalie White, Krista Miguel, and Vinita Palaniveloo represented SWE Orange County as exhibitors at the GSOC Volunteer Conference. We talked to over 300 attendees about what WE19, Invent It Build It, SWE Next, and SWE OC STEM Outreach opportunities. We received a lot of positive feedback and expect increased engagement with SWE overall and with SWE OC specifically.
There's a huge demand for technical assistance and women-in-STEM representation among the Girl Scout leaders and parents we talked to. Stay tuned to this email subscription and our social media feeds for opportunities for you to Be That Engineer for the girls in our community!
There's a huge demand for technical assistance and women-in-STEM representation among the Girl Scout leaders and parents we talked to. Stay tuned to this email subscription and our social media feeds for opportunities for you to Be That Engineer for the girls in our community!
FY20 Planning Day Is In The Books!
SWE OC's FY20 Executive Council and Committee Chairs met to discuss the upcoming year and put events on the calendar. Important decisions that were made include:
- Our key focus areas this year will be more kid-friendly events, a more cohesive social media and marketing presence, and several new outreach initiatives.
- Monthly Planning Meetings will move to the first THURSDAY of the month and will rotate between north and south county. The first one will be in Irvine - register on EventBrite here!
- We WILL host a Professional Development Conference this year! Tentative date is Saturday, April 18, 2020
- We will create, order, and sell merchandise for our members to purchase and to sell at the SWE Boutique at WE19.
President's Message
Dear SWE-OC Members,
On behalf of the SWE-OC Executive Council, welcome to FY20! We are looking forward to another great year. As always we'll have lots of Outreach, Professional Development, Networking, and Social events throughout the year, and we have the added excitement of hosting the WE19 Society Annual Conference in Anaheim in November! We have an FY20 Planning Meeting scheduled for Saturday, August 3 where we'll brainstorm ideas for the year to come. Sign up for our SWEekly email list and follow us social media to keep up to date!
Facebook (public page), Facebook (private group), LinkedIn
Remember to renew your SWE membership for FY20, if you haven’t already. SWE membership for professionals is an affordable $100. As a member, you’ll get free access to SWE OC events, informative and empowering webinars, SWE career and recruiting resources, discounts to local and global conferences, and so much more. Plus, you’ll be part of the largest network of women engineers (+40,000 members strong).
If you’re looking for more ways to get involved in SWE, hone your leadership or communication skills, engage in K-12 or collegiate outreach, or just network with women with which you already have a lot in common, we have opportunities for you! Volunteering for a position is fun, rewarding, and a great way to expand your leadership skills. The FY20 Org Chart and Officer and Committee Chair Manual (which details each position's responsibilities) are available for you to review. Our officer positions have been filled, but if you're interested in one of the committee chair or collegiate counselor positions, please fill out the interest form.
We look forward to seeing you at a future event!
Natalie White
SWE OC FY20 President
Society of Women Engineers Orange County Professional Section
On behalf of the SWE-OC Executive Council, welcome to FY20! We are looking forward to another great year. As always we'll have lots of Outreach, Professional Development, Networking, and Social events throughout the year, and we have the added excitement of hosting the WE19 Society Annual Conference in Anaheim in November! We have an FY20 Planning Meeting scheduled for Saturday, August 3 where we'll brainstorm ideas for the year to come. Sign up for our SWEekly email list and follow us social media to keep up to date!
Facebook (public page), Facebook (private group), LinkedIn
Remember to renew your SWE membership for FY20, if you haven’t already. SWE membership for professionals is an affordable $100. As a member, you’ll get free access to SWE OC events, informative and empowering webinars, SWE career and recruiting resources, discounts to local and global conferences, and so much more. Plus, you’ll be part of the largest network of women engineers (+40,000 members strong).
If you’re looking for more ways to get involved in SWE, hone your leadership or communication skills, engage in K-12 or collegiate outreach, or just network with women with which you already have a lot in common, we have opportunities for you! Volunteering for a position is fun, rewarding, and a great way to expand your leadership skills. The FY20 Org Chart and Officer and Committee Chair Manual (which details each position's responsibilities) are available for you to review. Our officer positions have been filled, but if you're interested in one of the committee chair or collegiate counselor positions, please fill out the interest form.
We look forward to seeing you at a future event!
Natalie White
SWE OC FY20 President
Society of Women Engineers Orange County Professional Section
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