Meet Isabelle Roy-McMahon – Region D RCR

My name is Isabelle Roy-McMahon (a combination of both parent’s surname, French-Canadian & Irish in origin). I was born and raised on a sailboat, traveling throughout the Caribbean, with my parents and younger sister. When we finally settled on dry-land, we chose sunny Fort Lauderdale as our new home-base (previously Honeymoon Bay in the United States Virgin Islands). I attend the University of Miami (GO CANES!) and I am currently a senior studying Biomedical Engineering with a Mechanical Concentration. My areas of academic interest are tissue engineering, implantable medical devices, orthopedics, and regenerative medicine. I have interned with Victhom Human Bionics, Beckman-Coulter, and Boston Scientific. I am one of two Region D Collegiate Representatives for FY10 and have previously served as the Corporate Liaison, Sponsorship Committee for Region D 2008 Conference, Career Fair Coordinator for Region D 2008 Conference, and as Section President for FY09 at the University of Miami D063. In addition to my involvement with SWE, I’m also active in other student organizations on campus.  I’m an Engineering Student Ambassador for UM, a member of Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES), a member of Canes Outdoor Recreation Program, and the Engineering Advisory Board President’s Council. In my free time, I enjoy playing tennis, scuba diving, sailing (anything on the water), and reading (Kurt Vonnegut particularly). I am here to help all of you this year, and look forward to getting to know you.

My emails are:

iroymcmahon@gmail.com

swe.rcr.d@gmail.com

umswengineers@gmail.com

rcr-d@swe.org 

Feel free to contact me with any questions or comments about SWE, or anything at all!

HOT TOPIC: National Involvement

I was lucky as an undergraduate to have my school take me to the SWE National Conference in Nashville, TN. when I was just a sophomore. I have since been to two more National Conferences- one in Baltimore, MD. and this year’s in Long Beach, CA!! I have to say that of all the SWE Activities I participate in, National Conference is BY FAR my favorite. In fact, my primary reason in running for the RCCE position was to guarantee that I got to go to National and Regional Conference- but from there it turned into so much more.

Participating in National activities such as conferences and even serving on a National Committee allow you to meet new people and make new friends from all over the WORLD. Yes, I said world. SWE is no longer just a National organization- we have members in Europe, Africa and Asia as well!! As a matter of fact, we are in the process of changing the terminology of “National” to “Society”. SWE is so much bigger than the United States, and why shouldn’t it be? Women engineers are located all over the world and all of them need a support group of people who understand what is going on in their lives and can help them excel at what they are doing. Where would we be without our SWEsters?!

I encourage all of you to talk to your section presidents, counselors, RCR or me and find out how you can become involved on a Society level. SWE has so much more to offer you than free food at meetings and fun speakers. Opportunities for advancement in your academics, in your future careers, and in your personal lives can be found just by taking the next step and asking What can SWE do for me? But in the words of President John F. Kennedy (changed a little for this purpose), “Ask not what SWE can do for you. Ask what you can do for SWE!”

Until next time lovely ladies (and men too)…

Meet Sarah Minich – Region D SWEFL

Sarah is studying Aerospace Engineering at the University of Central Florida (UCF) and joined SWE her freshmen year. She became extremely involved in the outreach side of her section which drove her to run for the Outreach Committee Head. After receiving the position during her sophomore year, she was incharge of planning of two events: Mystery Design and SWEet College Day. Looking back on the experience, educating and inspiring young girls was one of the most rewarding things she has done during her college career thus far. Currently, she is a junior at UCF and holds the position of Section President. During the summer, she was priviledge with obtaining the title of SWE Future Leader, or SWEFL, for Region D. Because of this, she was invited to attend the Collegiate Leadership Forum over the summer. It was both a rewarding and humbling experience. In the future, she hopes to continue her leadership within SWE.

HOT TOPIC – “Making a Personal Connection to Members”

The quickest and most efficient way to build and retain membership is to make a personal connection with your members. My favorite part about SWE is not the professional development or service activities that it sponsors, but the time I get to spend with my SWEsters!! Most people can’t make a personal connection with others based on meetings once or twice a month- the REAL connection happens through social events where one on one interaction takes place. Next month, try integrating some get-to-know-you events into your calendar. How about a dinner where all there is to do is chit-chat (you may even come up with some discussion sparking questions)? What about a hands-on service activity where women have to work together to accomplish the project? Both of these are ways to get women talking and start those lifetime friendships!! Take some time from now on to focus on feeding the personal needs of your members as well as  the professional needs.

-Lauren Bialoskurski                                                                                                                                                                                                   RCCE

HOT TOPIC: Attracting and Retaining Membership

Hello fellow SWE Divas. My name is Allison Tuff and I am this year’s Region D Membership Chair. As active members in SWE we are always looking for ways to recruit more members into our local sections to share in both the benefits of SWE and to extend the reach of our local network and resources.

A section’s membership is what keeps it alive and thriving. The members are ultimately who provide the much needed support for successful events. So thank you SWE members, whether you are helping by offering your leadership skills, planning events, donating supplies, or simply going to meetings and bringing a friend =)

To me, the best method to attract and retain members is though involvement. Sections should entice new comers with the great opportunities they have for members to get involved. I believe that increasing membership involvement will have both a direct and positive influence on recruitment and retention numbers as members begin to take ownership of their local section and feel like they belong.

The University of Central Florida section implemented a great program called SWE Buddies to help recruit and retain new members. SWE Buddies is a mentoring program the section created to provide a support network to help students negotiate the difficulties of their first years in the engineering curriculum by getting to know SWE members that have gone though the same thing. This is a great opportunity for Seniors and Juniors to relay the volumes of information they’ve gathered over the years and make an underclassman fell welcome within the organization. It is a simple and rewarding program that helps get new comers involved!

As Region Membership Chair, one of my primary goals is to see a healthy increase in membership recruitment and retention numbers among all of the region’s local sections and MALs. Monthly membership reports will be posted on the Region D Community, so make sure you check them out. Should you have any questions regarding Membership, please feel free to email me at Allison.M.Tuff@usa-spaceops.com.

Meet Candace Watson – Region D RCR

Candace Watson joined SWE in the fall semester of 2007, after deciding to pursue a Master’s degree in Civil Engineering at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB).  Coming from an architecture background, she felt that it was a great opportunity to get exposed to engineering.  That semester, she was heavily involved with planning activities for the local Girl Scouts to expose them to various engineering fields.  After her first year of involvement, she was convinced to run for the vice president position for 2008/2009 school year.  Having a successful attempt at this position, she continued to improve on the activities that her collegiate section participated in with the local Girls Scouts.  Candace helped organize and plan activities that encouraged more participation from the students at UAB.  This past spring Candace ran for the president position for her section and won, and then was selected as the Region Collegiate Representative for region D.