Upcoming Events:
WE21: October 21st-23rd 
General Body Meeting & Social Hour: Tuesday, October 26th 7 PM - 8:30 PM
Professional Development Workshop on Self-Doubt/Confidence: Early November (date TBA)
In-person meet up: November 13th 9 AM
Indian Cooking Class Fundraiser:  Dec 4th at 3 PM

Are You Going to WE21?  Aspire to Inspire!

October 21 – 23, 2021

Indianapolis, IN

Are you going to WE21 in Indianapolis, Indiana from October 21-23, 2021?

Please let us know if you are planning to attend, either in-person or virtually!  We can get together for a SWE Pittsburgh picture.  And we can add you to our section participation records.

So far, we know that Mary, Chuck, Mary Ann, Anna, Natalie, Paige, and Helen are going.

If you are going, too, send an email to swe.pittsburgh@gmail.com and let us know.  Hope to see you there!

Register for WE21: https://www.xpressreg.net/register/SWEC1021/landing.asp?sc=&aban=&hkey=&iq=&vip=&smt=&tm=

WE21 Hotel Reservations: https://compass.onpeak.com/e/012605818/1

Discounts – Volunteer to Save Money on Registration!

Professionals: Earn a registration refund post-event by being a volunteer! 

*The pricing structure above is applicable to full professional registration If you received discounted professional registration (i.e. retired, career fair only, ect.) and the amount of shifts you’ve completed qualifies you for a larger refund than you paid, you will receive a full registration refund 

Sign up to Volunteer: https://we21.swe.org/attendees/volunteer-at-we21-invent-it-build-it/

4th Annual Pittsburgh SWE Leadership Summit

On Saturday, September 11th and Sunday, September 12th, Pittsburgh SWE held the 4th Annual Leadership Summit. This event allowed collegiate SWE Leaders near Western PA to learn more about the society, connect with one another, and share their section’s best practices.  Because of restrictions from the pandemic, the summit was held virtually over Zoom. In total, there were 32 SWE Leaders in attendance across 9 different sections: Carnegie Mellon, Duquesne, Gannon, Geneva, Grove City, Robert Morris, Pitt, WVU, and Pittsburgh Professional.

This year’s theme was connectivity; we focused on the importance of making connections within our SWE sections and our community. Presentations during the weekend discussed membership recruitment/engagement, outreach and SWENext, Affinity Groups, and mentorship. Also, a panel of past collegiate presidents shared their experiences and wisdom. During one of the breaks, Pitt SWE led the group in a Kahoot game to test their SWE knowledge. To wrap up the summit, ZOLL Medical presented the closing keynote and shared ways to successfully communicate as a leader.

In the post-event survey, 100% of attendees agreed that they would recommend the event to other SWE leaders. Pittsburgh SWE enjoyed connecting with the inspiring collegiate leaders who attended the summit, and we wish them the best this school year. This summit was made possible by the event sponsors: ZOLL Medical, Hatch, and Omnicell.

SWE 2021 Scholarship Winners Announced….

SWE Scholarships support those who identify as a female/woman and pursue an ABET-accredited bachelor or graduate student program in preparation for careers in engineering, engineering technology, and computer science globally. In 2020, SWE disbursed nearly 260 new and renewed scholarships valued at more than $1,000,000!

Through funding from SWE past-Region G and individual contributors, two SWE Scholarships were endowed: the Judy Simmons Memorial Scholarship and the Bertha Lamme Memorial Scholarship. 

Judy was a SWE friend of mine and treasurer for Region G for many years. She retired from Procter & Gamble in Cincinnati and left this world too soon after retirement. We all miss her zest for life and her passion for SWE. 

SWE Pittsburgh members supported the Bertha Lamme Scholarship, since Bertha had had a Pittsburgh connection via Westinghouse Electric Company. SWE Scholarships play an important part in helping women in engineering achieve their goals. Thus, SWE Pittsburgh is honored to include an article about the winners of these scholarships in our newsletter.

Judy Simmons Memorial Scholarship – Emily Grugan

Congratulations to Emily Grugan, the recipient of the Judy Simmons Memorial Scholarship for $1500. Emily is a full-time student at the University of Pittsburgh, Swanson School of Engineering pursuing a B.S. in Materials Science & Engineering and a certificate in Supply Chain Management, 2023. She is willing to learn anything and is always excited to take on new projects!

Emily said, “I chose to study engineering broadly because I love solving problems. I chose Materials Science & Engineering once I came to the University of Pittsburgh (Pitt). When I was in high school, for our Honors classes, we had to do an independent study project each year. For my chemistry classes’ sophomore and junior years, I made my own biodegradable plastic. I loved seeing how adding different "ingredients" affected the properties! I didn't realize there was an entire field of engineering that did just that until I got to Pitt. Since coming here, I have had the opportunity to gain so many experiences in the field of materials, especially within metallurgy, and I have loved all of it!” 

Emily applied for a SWE scholarship because SWE was one of the first organizations she joined her freshman year. “I have had some really great experiences doing outreach with the organization! I am also an out-of-state student (originally from Illinois!), so any little bit helps me pay my way through school.” Emily also joined SWE to network with other women in engineering. “It's so important to encourage women to continue with engineering and having a support group is one of the best ways to do that. I also love doing outreach events with SWE. I served as Elementary Outreach Chair last school year and was able to help encourage young students to start thinking about engineering!”

Emily’s previous work experience has allowed her to become proficient in time management and dealing with problems and interacting with others in fast-paced environments in the metallurgical field of materials engineering. After graduation, Emily would like to go into industry. “I think aerospace is fascinating, so eventually I would like to end up working on aerospace materials. In addition, I am pursuing a certificate in Supply Chain Management because eventually I would like to go back to school to earn my MBA. I love project management, so that is definitely something I would like to pursue later in my career.”

Emily has a great interest in leadership and has held many leadership positions through her extra-curricular activities, such as band and community service clubs. At the collegiate level, she completed a 10-week (20 hour) leadership course. Emily’s advice is: “to get as involved as possible doing something you love, engineering or otherwise.” Emily is also in the Pitt Band and “it holds such a special place in my heart because it is something fun that I get to do even when classes get hard.” Make sure you dedicate time to your studies, but don't forget to include time for the things you love.

Bertha Lamme Memorial Scholarship – Liya Eshetu Abera

Congratulations to Liya Eshetu Abera, the recipient of the Bertha Lamme Memorial Scholarship for $1,000. Liya is a Graduate Research and Teaching Assistant at the University of Mississippi, Department of Civil Engineering. She is working towards her Ph.D. in Environmental and Water Resources Engineering, with expected graduation in 2023.

As a child, Liya always wanted to be an engineer and build high-rise buildings in the city. She received her undergraduate degree in Civil Engineering. Following her graduation, she has served as Infrastructure Engineer in World Vision Ethiopia. Instead of building high-rise buildings, she ended up working on projects that contributed to building a well-being community, which she loved and enjoyed most. This experience made her realize that engineers are not just high-rise buildings builders but also builders of a better society and environment. That is what motivated her to opt for higher education. 

Liya joined SWE because there are many powerful and successful women engineers in the society. “I wanted to learn from those engineers and also about the opportunities to serve. I wanted to contribute something; it can be as a volunteer or a mentor to high school students.” She is grateful that the SWE Bertha Lamme Memorial Scholarship will help to cover some of the costs related to her education.

After graduation with Ph.D., Liya is open to working either in industry or academia. She wants to get to a place to make a difference, create a better environment, implement the skills and knowledge she has gained through education, and grow and investigate more. 

Liya is married. She and her husband have two young children. “I would like to say that it is possible for mothers who want to go back to school for higher education in engineering or get their first degree in engineering. Do not let anyone underestimate you because you are a woman. Work hard, be wise in your time management, and do not be involved in any activity you would regret about when you see it back after a few years. Do not limit yourself.” 

(article by: Mary Ann Walsh)

MEMBERSHIP RENEWALS

During the month of August/ early September,  the following SWE Pittsburgh members paid and renewed their  membership in SWE for FY22: 

Alandra Kahl, David Dadowski, Megan Krachanko, Eric Ashuckian, Michelle Gordon and Parul Chauhan.
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So far, a little more than 60 percent of our members have renewed, well below our goal of 80 percent.    Please renew your SWE membership by logging into the SWE member portal and clicking My Payment Notices or My Order Details on the left hand side. When you renew, your membership will be active for all of FY22 ending on June 30, 2022. 
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We ask those of you who have not renewed to please do so ASAP.  In order to sweeten the deal a little, SWE Pittsburgh will be offering a randomly drawn $5.00 prize to renewing members.  Recall, if you had renewed before June 30, 2021, SWE gave a $5.00 discount to everyone – so, do remember this for next year. 

If you will not be renewing please email swe.pittsburgh@gmail.com to let us know why, so that we can improve. We hope you are as passionate about supporting women in engineering as we are and we count on your support each year!

Congratulations Lindsay and Alex Bonn!

Lindsay and Alex Bonn were legally married in 2020. This month, on October 16th, 2021 they will finally have a celebration of their wedding with family and friends.  Lindsay and Alex both have a B.S. in Material Science Engineering from Michigan State University. Lindsay works as an Advanced Product Development Engineer for automotive glass at Vitro Automotive, and Alex is a Product Metallurgist at TIMET.

Lindsay is also the SWE Pittsburgh secretary for FY22. She held several leadership positions in SWE at the collegiate level at Michigan State University: Banquet Chair, Historian Chair (record-keeping for General meetings and newsletter generation for the section), and Vice President her senior year. She really enjoys compiling notes and records and is doing an excellent job of doing so, as the SWE Pittsburgh secretary. 

Congratulations Lindsay and Alex!