Congratulations to Region H for winning awards at the 2008 National Conference!Posted by regionh on November 11, 2008
Congratulations! You’ve found the Region H Blog!
Check back often for stories from our sections, updates about the activities of the Region, Hot Topic posts, and more!
Be sure to check out the photos on the Album page and download the Blog Article Submission Form off the Links and FAQ page. Don’t forget to add us to your RSS reader!
Photos, events, articles, etc. can be sent to your RCNE at rcne-h@swe.org.
Posted in RCNE Updates | Leave a Comment »
Posted by regionh on May 19, 2009
Section website: www.valpo.edu/student/swe
Section contact email: valposwe@gmail.com
Valpo SWE Members at the 2008 National Conference.
Valpo SWE Members at the 2008 National Conference.
Girl Scout Visit 2009, Valparaiso.
Valpo SWE Members at Region H Conference 2008.
Valpo SWE Members at Region H Conference 2008.
Posted in Better Know a Section | Tagged: Best Practices, Conferences, Fundraising, Leadership Positions, Outreach | Leave a Comment »
Posted by regionh on May 15, 2009
Jessica Nayes, FY09 RCNE
Can you believe it? Another year in SWE is nearing the end. As we all finish up classes, projects, final exams and moving on to our summer adventures, keep in mind a few things you can do to plan for “the year ahead”!
Posted in Hot Topics | Tagged: Conferences | 1 Comment »
Posted by regionh on April 28, 2009
Jessica Nayes, FY09 RCNE, interviewing Nora Lin, SWE President Elect
At Region Conference, I asked for your input on questions you’d like to ask Nora Lin, SWE President Elect (i.e. she’ll be SWE President next year- FY10). Here they are, with a few additions:
Where did you grow up?
I was born and raised in Taiwan in a family of one boy and six girls.
What did you major in in college? How far did you take your education?
Physics – I completed my BS degree in Taiwan and came to the United States for my advanced education. I received a MS degree in Physics from the University of Alabama in Birmingham.
Can you describe you past job experiences all the way to your current position at Northrop Grumman (NG)?
My first job was a Data Analyst in an oil company. I performed data analysis and produced various geographical maps and displays which were used by geologists for searching oil fields. My job was terminated after 2 years as the company almost went bankruptcy during the oil crises in the early 1980’s. Fortunately, I was hired by McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing, St. Louis) within a month and started my career in engineering and in the Defense industry for the next 26 years; and the last 16 years have been with Northrop Grumman Corporation. I started as an associated scientific programmer and later became an engineer, technical lead/manager in Software Engineering and led engineering teams with various sizes to develop relational database applications, mission planning software, and real-time embedded software for several military programs. In 2001 I moved into an Independent Research and Development (IRAD) Coordinator position, where I was responsible for managing $30M+ IRAD funds and coordinating/reporting the IRAD projects for my campus. I became the manager of Supportability Engineering in 2002 and have been in that position since. In addition to my functional management responsibility, I led the Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI®) initiative and obtained the accreditation of CMMI Maturity Level 3 rating for Systems and Software Engineering at my campus in 2007. Currently, I continue to support the CMMI initiative and prepare the campus to pursue higher maturity level.
Who inspired you the most when you were a collegiate?
Math and science came easily to me so studying Physics in college was an easy choice. However, coming from a traditional Chinese culture that expects the man to be the provider and the woman to be her husband’s helper in making him successful, my life goal at that time was to complete my education, find a good husband, be a housewife and raise a family. While I was very young, I heard about many outstanding people and their achievements. For example Chen Ning Yang and Tsung-Dao Lee were the first Chinese Nobel Prize Award winners in Physics in 1957; Peggy Fleming won an Olympic Figure Skating Gold Medal in 1968; and Neil Armstrong became the first human being to set foot on the moon in 1969. I admired their achievements but never thought that I could have a career of my interest though. Not until I got laid off from my first job, I did not realize that I must be self-align and maintain marketable skills in order to support family needs at any time.
What are some of you current hobbies?
I like cooking and entertaining. The Iron Chef and Law and Order-Criminal Intent are my favorite TV shows. I also like to see musical Broadway shows and comedy and romantic movies.
What awards have you won?
When did you first join SWE?
I was not aware of the existence of SWE until 1997 when I was recruited to SWE by a co-worker at Northrop Grumman. Right away, I knew SWE was the organization I wanted to be a part of.
Why did you choose SWE?
Working with other women engineers to advance SWE’s mission brings me a lot of joy and self-fulfillment. I have also made many good friends across the country during my SWE journey and expanded my network more than 10 fold. I like to be surrounded by many talented people and high achievers as they inspire and encourage me to advance and achieve my own career dream. Being involved with SWE, I feel that I have gained a lot more than what I have contributed.
What is your favorite SWE memory or moment?
My favorite SWE moment was when a young women engineer told me that she decided to stay in engineering and finish her degree because of my visit and sharing of my career path and lessens learned at her SWE collegiate section a few years ago.
What is SWE’s greatest asset for college students?
SWE not only provides a support and networking environment but also provides many professional and leadership development opportunities. Most importantly, SWE provides a non-threatening environment where you can practice and sharpen you skills. For example, by being a committee chair and organize a program for your section, you can lean project planning, budgeting, how to hold meetings effectively, how to interface with others, and lead a group of people with different personalities, etc.!
What inspires you to lead SWE?
I am passionate about SWE’s mission. The society has changed and the work environment is a lot more friendly for women engineers in recent years. However, SWE still has a lot of work to do as the percentage of women engineers in the work force remain around 10% for the past decade. I am inspired by working with such a talented group of women to set strategies and directions on furthering SWE’s mission.
What are doing to mentally prepare for your role as SWE President?
Before I decided to run for the President-Elect position, I had talked to several past presidents to understand the role and responsibilities, time commitment and financial needs of the President position better. The SWE Present-Elect position also provides a good transition and preparation for the incoming President. I am working closely with the current President, the Executive Director, and Board of Directors to understand all aspects of SWE activities and needs. Many planning activities, such as setting the strategic priorities, the budget and the leadership team for the coming year, are being worked on so that everything will be ready to go by July 1st.
How has your current role at NG prepared you for the SWE Presidency?
Being in the industry for many years, I have had the first hand experience on how to work with the company, executive management and other employees on addressing many issues that women engineers are concerned about at the work place. I also have many opportunities to work with HR managers to recruit engineers and support SWE collegiate sections and that have helped me understand collegiate needs a lot as well. Those experiences will definitely help me work with other leaders on providing valuable programs and services to SWE membership and stakeholders.
How has SWE leadership prepared you for your role at work?
SWE has provided many training opportunities for me. Through various leadership positions, I have been able to sharpen my leadership, project planning, public speaking, networking, strategic planning, coordination and interpersonal skills, to name just a few. Many skills I learned at SWE are directly applicable to the work place so I can be a better engineer and a leader at work.
How has Northrop supported your efforts with SWE? Do they find it valuable?
Northrop Grumman Corporation is a strong supporter of SWE and one of SWE Corporate Partnership Council members. The company understands the benefits SWE provides and encourages women engineers to join SWE and be active members. I have received a lot of financial support from the company for my local, regional and national SWE involvements for the past many years. The company is very excited about my upcoming position in SWE. In fact, I will be the third Northrop Grumman woman to hold the SWE President position. This is unprecedented for any corporation associated with SWE. Currently, the level of support I am getting from the executive management team and employees is overwhelming. I really can’t find a better company to work for!
Posted in Region News | Tagged: Awards, Leadership Positions, Professional Development | Leave a Comment »
Posted by regionh on April 21, 2009
Hey there, H’ers! For those of you who are experiencing issues with SWE communities since the upgrade to the Member Services Center, see below:
From: Pamela Androff, pamela.androff@swe.org
Hello SWE contacts!
I’m sending this e-mail because I have been sent a lot of e-mails about not being able to access SWE communities and if I know why it’s broken? 
This Monday the new SWE Member Services center launched. As you know, in the past you have used your SWE login to access the member database. When SWE Communities launched, we used the same SWE login to access SWE communities. Then, because our SWE login also became our SWE Communities display name, most of us changed our SWE login to represent our names in some fashion so we would be able to recognize one another in SWE communities.
With the launching of the new Member Services center, every SWE member has been assigned a new SWE login. The format is typically firstname.lastname#### (May be last 4 digits of your membership ID #) and your password remains the same. Thus far I have not been able to find a way to adjust or change your display name to remove the numbers or change the format. You should have recieved a letter in the mail with your new log in. (This came in the letter with either member solicitation or voting). This new username replaces your old SWE login. If you have been having trouble accessing either the Member Services center OR the SWE Communities, you are likely using the incorrect username for yourself. Your old username has been overridden and does not exist any longer.
If you do not know your new login, you can access it by going to the following page and clicking on the link following “Forget username/password?”
http://ams.swe.org/swessa/ssaauthmenu.show_top_menu
I think SWE HQ did not make a big deal out of this username switch because there is only a very small percentage of members who actually use SWE communities actively, and we are that small percentage!! Let me know if there’s anything else I can help with!
—
Pam
Posted in Region News | Leave a Comment »
Posted by regionh on April 17, 2009
The Region H awards are now online! Please see the Region H Awards page for more information on:
Posted in Governor's Update | Tagged: Awards | Leave a Comment »
Posted by regionh on April 15, 2009
Jessica Nayes, FY09 RCNE
As many of us are counting down the weeks we have left of class until summer break, keep in mind there are several tasks that need to be accomplished to end the SWE year with everything in order. To name a few: transitioning roles to a new officer team, ensuring all your national paperwork is in, and preparing for anything that will be happening for the next year. Feel free to use this post as a checklist!
Good luck with everything, and remember that your RCRs and RCNE are only an email away at rcr-h@swe.org and rcne-h@swe.org.
Posted in Hot Topics, Uncategorized | Tagged: Awards | 1 Comment »
Posted by regionh on April 9, 2009
Section website: http://www.nd.edu/~swe
Section contact email: swe@nd.edu
Posted in Better Know a Section | Tagged: Best Practices, Leadership Positions | Leave a Comment »
Posted by regionh on March 15, 2009
Jessica Nayes, FY09 RCNE
Leadership… so many seminars and conferences try to nail this concept down, but it’s not always so easy! The best way to become a good leader will vary from person to person, but even if it’s not a talent to which you feel naturally inclined there are definitely resources through SWE that can help you along the way. For this month’s Hot Topic article, I’ll touch on a few of these, but know that this is definitely not a complete list!
For collegiates, their first experience with SWE is often on the local level, interacting within a local SWE section lead by a team of officers. These officers hold important positions that -you guessed it- are great for developing your leadership skills! In local student organizations, you have the opportunity to gain experience in a variety of ways. Many skills will be used to pull together any event: requesting financial support from industry, planning and leading a meeting, advertising an event, working with other groups, putting together a presentation, designing merchandise, shopping for food and supplies, tracking member participation, managing an officer team, recognizing and rewarding outstanding members, traveling with a group, collecting many different points of view and making decisions, and many more…
Not only does developing these skills help out your section, it can also be a strong talking point in an interview for your next position! I’d encourage all to take a chance at being an officer in your local sections- you’ll discover talents you didn’t know you had and help develop your section!
But leadership does not end on the local level- there’s a whole national organization of SWE you can be a part of- serving on a committee, representing your region (like your RCNE and RCRs), and on up to the top. Elections for RCR/RCNE just happened but keep your eyes out for other options too.
Where can you get FREE training for your section or officers? Collegiate Leadership Coaching sessions! I think the national SWE website puts it best:
“The Leadership Coaching Committee is a pilot program to provide proactive leadership coaching to sections. Trained Leadership Coaches will provide coaching and support the development of our leadership and management skills at the section level. Training modules have been developed on topics that are essential to maintaining a vital section. Trained Leadership Coaches will take this training out to the section level and also conduct training at Region Conferences. The training modules can also be used for other purposes such as a section meeting or retreat. This Committee is needed to support our membership and enhance program participation at the section level. The section is the key component to SWE. We need healthy local sections to survive and thrive as an organization. This effort is to help the local section become more vital.” -Leadership Coaching Committee page
This year’s Collegiate Leadership Coach (CLC) head chair is Melissa Zaczek. (Look her up online: SWE > Member Data Services > On-line Directory).
Elizabeth Bierman, FY09 Region H Governor
To support SWE’s Diversity and Inclusion strategy, regions are being challenged to take the ownership of building a SWE leadership pipeline, which is a long-term effort. SWE has many membership recruiting and retention programs in place already. However, we need to do a better job in succession planning and leadership development. A task force was created this FY to is to define the leadership pipeline goals and the processes for identifying and developing SWE leaders. The leadership development effort includes developing, mentoring, and tracking the progress of high potential SWE leaders. To make the leadership pipeline effort successful, it requires the participation and support of many SWE leaders. It also needs the SWE leadership advisory group, national nominating committee, and regional nominating committees to facilitate the effort. Look for more information in SWE News and from the Region Leadership on how you can get into the pipeline!!
Comments, more quotes, suggestions for others? Leave a comment on this article!
Posted in Hot Topics | Tagged: Leadership Positions, Professional Development | Leave a Comment »
Posted by regionh on February 22, 2009
Jessica Nayes, FY09 RCNE
One of my RCNE goals for my term was to not only update the list of our section websites and emails, but also to do what I could to help some of our sections that do not yet have websites going. I have had several emails about this, but I know there are more sections that would benefit from the advice so here’s a run-down of ideas and information that I hope will send you in the right direction!
To have a successful website, think about some of the following:
At this point focus on what you want to get out of the site. Once you get your dream website in mind it will help motivate the work later, and help guide the actual implementation of the site.
Here’s a list of information you should definitely consider having (for your section’s site):
Here’s some additional information sections tend to have:
Now figure out who can help you make this dream a reality. If there are no members who know their way around creating a website, think about branching out a little to find help:
Obviously, you will need somewhere to host your website so the rest of the world can see you. In general, our local collegiate SWE sections are recognized as student organizations at their respective university, which for some, means you have web hosting provided to you through the university. If this is not the case, but your section would still benefit from having a presence on the web, try looking into some alternate options. These may include paying for web hosting or searching for free alternatives:
A few more links to get you started
Looking for more? Try a search engine: the web is based off HTML, so it stands to reason that there are many resources on web design out there already! Don’t forget to email your RCNE, rcne-h@swe.org, when your section gets its new site up and going!
Posted in RCNE Updates | Tagged: Best Practices, Websites | Leave a Comment »
Posted by regionh on February 15, 2009
Now that conference is over, are you dreaming about all the things you might change for the next one? Join the Region Conference Task Force and become involved on a higher level in national SWE!
Alyse Stofer (Director of Regions) is currently looking for students to particpate in the Region Conference Task Force. This task force was created from the survey that was sent out to understand ways to standardize all regions. One way was to find ways to standardize the region conference, so professional and collegiate members from all regions are being pulled together to try and complete this task.
This would be a great leadership experience, a way to give back to SWE and help improve the region conference experience across the country, and would look great on a resume! They are especially looking for people who’ve helped organize a region conference in the past or will be organizing next year’s.
Sign-up is easy: If you are interested in joining this committee and giving your valued input, please email Pam Snyder (pamsnyder@gmail.com) and Jennifer Vallero (jennifer.vallero@colorado.edu).
Posted in RCNE Updates | Leave a Comment »
