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“Don't let anyone rob you of your imagination, your creativity, or your curiosity. It's your place in the world; it's your life. Go on and do all you can with it, and make it the life you want to live.”  

– Mae Jemison, first African American woman astronaut in space

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Reason For Being
By Ursula Towne
 

I come from simple beginnings and even now I have times I wonder where I fit. I sometimes look back on my life and cannot believe how far I have come. Through some luck, my education, and several career and personal choices, I am here now as we all are. Do you ever stop and consider if you are fulfilled? Are the choices you are making leading you in the right direction? What is the right direction? I have had a great opportunity this past year to take part in a Women In Leadership group. We get the chance to really vent and cover a whole host of topics. You should find one or start one if possible. Recently we talked about how we all got to be where we are now. We discussed the challenges we had to overcome and many ways to support each other and new female engineers. We discussed mental mechanisms we could use as protection and development as we conquer fears like public speaking or learning to manage a difficult work situation.  The concept of the Ikigai (A-KEY-GAY-I) came up, courtesy of Beth Hinchee, fellow Caterpillar engineer. If you haven’t heard of this concept it is a Japanese word meaning roughly a “reason for being.” The idea is that everyone has an ikigai. The journey to find yours may be long and grueling, however, if self-reflection is not done periodically. I feel like it so perfectly expresses something I had been visualizing in the back of my mind but had never seen diagrammed so neatly and succinctly. This is useful when advising my collage-age son about careers, when I discuss education options with high school students, and even when I am talking about life with grade school kids at a Girls in Engineering Math and Science club meeting in Morton, IL. If we are going to be able to make an impact in our communities we need to understand ourselves, our choices, and our motivations. Not one of us should spend our entire career doing a job that is not satisfying on some internal level. Every teenager should be given the opportunity to find their passion. I have mentally toyed with the idea that a reason for being equates with happiness but maybe it feels more like being truly fulfilled. If you haven’t done so in a while, take stock. Ask yourself these questions? Are you doing what you love? Are you good at it? Certainly in this day and age, can you be paid for it? Maybe there is a subtle tweak you can make to your career that will land you in a better place. Maybe you can use this concept to encourage someone you know who is just getting started and is struggling to find their way. What ever the case may be, let each of us use this fiscal year to at least define our personal ikigai and see what dreams may bring. Welcome to a new fiscal year!

                                                                                

Leadership Introduction: Christiana Aguirre

 

I am pleased to formally introduce the FY20 President-Elect Christiana Aguirre. Christiana has been a dedicated participant in the SWE Central Illinois council holding various leadership and committee positions and has always been a tremendous mentor and role model for both young engineers and high school girls. She is not afraid to confront unconscious bias or call people out on exclusive work environments. She has a substantial history of being involved in the development of new programs to address women’s issues.

When asked what it means for her to be in this leadership role she stated, “I am grateful to have been elected to become the President of SWE in Central Il for 2021 fiscal year. As a native of Brazil, your votes show that SWE is both diverse and inclusive. I will use 2019 to support and learn from our current President, Ursula Towne. During my term, I am committed to ensuring that SWE members have a positive and supportive experience, and plan to achieve that by increasing engagement, and developing strong networks that support our members. I look forward to a fantastic year for our Central IL SWE section!

Please welcome our SWE Central Illinois President-Elect, Christiana Aguirre!

FY20 Leadership Team


It is a new year and we have a new leadership team excited to serve SWE-CI! Meet the officers and committee chairs for year 2020.
 

SWE-CI FY20 Officers

  • President: Ursula Towne
  • President-Elect: Christiana Aguirre
  • Secretary: Thuong Le
  • Treasurer: Lisa Walliker

FY20 Committee Chairs

  • Advocacy:  Gina Riley 
  • Awards: Sowmya Nagesh
  • Communications: Liza Kornilova, Harika Sutari
  • Membership: Emily Storey, Sarah Wenzel
  • Nomination: Paroma Banerjee, Sowmya Nagesh
  • Outreach: Karen Raab, Ursula Towne
  • Professional Development: Gina Guo, Fiona O'Laughlin
  • Work Life Integration: Heather Ulrich, Marie Hoy
  • Collegiate Section Counselors:
        Ann Peedikayil – University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana
        Elizabeth Fawcett – Bradley
  • Bloomington / Normal Regional Coordinator: Crystal Williford
  • Decatur Regional Coordinator: Melanie Willi
  • Champaign-Urbana Regional Coordinator: Ann Peedikayil
  • Galesburg Regional Coordinator: TBD
  • Pekin Regional Coordinator: Kim Wienzierl
  • Danville Regional Coordinator: TBD
  • Springfield Regional Coordinator: TBD
Want to join a committee?

If anyone is interested in any open positions or joining a committee, please contact Ursula Towne (Towne_Ursula@cat.com) or email swe.central.illinois@gmail.com.

Outreach


FY19 Outreach committe had a huge accomblishment last year by impacting 2,895 students through various events like Engineering Day at Peoria River front Museum, 4G STEM Camp, GEMS of Morton, Big Tap Camp Out, etc. A special thanks to the outreach committee leaders (Ursula Towne and Karen Raab) and all of the volunteers who helped throughout the year.


GEMS of Morton July 16th

The Girls in Engineering Math and Science (GEMS) group out of Morton collaborated with SWE-CI Outreach on July 16th to offer up a high tech session filled with amazing Quiver app augmented reality creations and some original works of three dimensional art using 3D printing pens. This consistent group of young scientists learned about types of plastics, ways to reduce, re-use, and recycle as well as discussed careers that may use 3D printing.
                              

                                           

4G STEM Camp SWE Experiment at Bradley
 
On June 28th SWE Central Illinois Outreach joined forces for a morning during the University of Illinois 4H Extension Office 4G STEM Camp again this year this time offering a forensics science lab at Bradley University. The middle school students got the opportunity to perform basic fiber analysis, blood typing using simulated blood, and basic crime scene investigations. This 4H summer camp is one of the most exciting to be had in the area. The 4G STEM Camp introduces middle school girls to careers in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math). The camp includes 5 days of hands-on activities, lab experiments, and field trips to area businesses offering STEM-related careers.
                                    

SWE-CI Spotlight Member

In 2017 I graduated from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and began my professional work as a civil engineer at Prairie Engineers in Peoria. I like to joke that most kids get their “trucks and trains” phase before middle school, but mine hit at 21 and is still going strong. Compelled to build a career that would do some good along the way I thought, how better to positively affect the world than to start with the highways, rivers, pipes, and rail that we rely on indelibly? Seeing my projects around this city, I am humbled to think how my designs are improving the lives in a million small ways each day. From the simple pleasures of driving on smooth tarmac, to resilience against weather and disease, to the opportunities facilitated by contemporary transportation networks, I am inspired by these seemingly ordinary, often-overlooked engineering achievements. I feel proud to belong to the profession that has afforded us the privilege of regarding these modern benefits as simply mundane, if we are conscious of regarding them at all.
During my first year as an engineer, I sought out organizations that would not only help me grow professionally, but also reflected my desire to leave the world a better place. I was blown away at the level of energy, organization, and familial support I found in Central Illinois SWE. SWE reminds me of the infrastructure I design- a sturdy network of engineers across the nation delivering resources to our members and expanding access to science engineering to parts of our community where it was once limited. As the new membership co-chair, I am excited to support our members by creating resources for data-driven decision-making and planning, engaging more directly with membership, and working with the rest of the SWE leadership team to make it an easy decision to engage in SWE’s mission.    
   

Work Life Integration

The Work Life Integration Committee has several events planned for this year and we hope you will be able to participate.  Here is a quick view of what we have planned:

Sept 8th @ 1pm – Annual Membership Picnic (Location TBA)
October 2019 – Halloween Pottery Painting
January 2020 – Annual Membership Brunch
March 2020 – Wooden Sign making w/ Vinyl Art
May 2020 – Pumpkin Glass Jewelry Making Class

We will be sharing more information about each of these events when the dates get closer.
If you would like to help organize any of these events or have additional ideas for events in the future please contact me at Ulrich_Heather@cat.com and I would love to have you be involved in this great committee.
 
Heather Ulrich
WLI Chair

Membership Renewal

              
It's that time of year again...membership renewal!

Current members, please take a moment to confirm the information in your Individual Profile, Education Profile, and SWE Section is current by logging into the SWE Account Portal. We use this information with integrity to help plan events that maximize value for our members. Thank you!


Remember to renew your SWE Membership here! Not a member yet? Join SWE today!
SWE membership is open to individuals of any gender. All SWE memberships coincide with the SWE fiscal year from July 1 – June 30** and early renewal/join begins every April.
College-bound engineering and STEM students should check out the significant discount offered by the Collegiate to Career (C2C) Membership plan. For a one-time payment of $50, C2C offers students a multi-year membership for every consecutive year of student status plus their first year of professional life after graduation. This means a student entering a typical 4-year bachelors’ program can receive 5 years of SWE membership for just one up-front payment of $50. Just remember to reconfirm your membership each year!
Discounts are also available for qualifying global members and joint memberships with AISES, NSBE, and SHPE. Check out all membership offerings!

What your SWE Membership can give you:

  • Access to a passionate community of engineers both globally and locally
  • SWE Annual Conference and WE Local Conferences (PDH’s available)
  • Professional Development Hours on demand via SWE’s AdvanceLearning Center
  • Career Management Expertise
  • Professional Networking Opportunities
  • Leadership Training and Experience
  • Diversity Training
  • Support via local SWE Affiliates and Sections
  • Eligibility for SWE Leadership
  • Award-winning SWE Magazine
  • ….and more!

SWE Webinars

              
Things may have slowed down for the summer with SWE-CI, but there are still opportunities to continue professional development through upcoming webinars. To register or learn more, click on each webinar.




UPCOMING SWE-CI EVENTS

Tip: Import SWE-CI's Google Calendar -- no typing needed!
 
Ignite Peoria
Peoria Civic Center Exhibit Halls
Saturday, Aug 10th
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Peoria, IL 61602

Monthly Executive Council Meeting

Peoria North Branch Library – Seminar Room
Wednesday, Sep 4th
5:00 PM - 6:00 PM
Peoria, IL 61615

Annual Membership Picnic
TBD
Sunday, Sep 8th
1:00 PM
Peoria, IL 61602
 
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