SWE Winter 2015 Newsletter

Drexeluniversity
Societyofwomenengineers
Winter 2015 edition
find what you are looking for in our organization
and challenge yourself to achieve your goal.
Please share your goals with myself and other
officers, so that we can continue to provide
resources and events that support the goals of
our members. Per the suggestion of one of our
members, we implemented weekly office hours,
where you can meet an officer to share ideas or
learn more about our organization. Spring term,
our Vice President, Danielle, will be available to
answer your questions from 12-1pm on Fridays
in Main 407. Through your suggestions and
feedback, I hope that 2015 can be a huge
success!
Look out for

our next newsletter !
Letter from the president

Hello SWE members, alumni, and supporters,
My name is Samantha Schneider, and I am
thrilled to serve as your 2015 Drexel SWE President. I became involved with the SWE my freshman year when I was seeking a professional
organization to join. Little did I know what an
impact on my collegiate career and future my
involvement would have. Through my roles as a
chair, secretary, vice president, and now, president, I have been able to grow as an engineer
and as an individual. SWE has exposed me to
countless opportunities, including developing
skills such as management and public speaking,
opening the doors to scholarships, traveling to
conferences where I attended workshops that
were engaging and fun, and creating so many
connections to
other female
engineers at all
stages of their
careers, both at
Drexel and
around the world.
I hope that SWE
provides for you
the same opportunities and that
you are able to
develop professionally and
personally
through this
fantastic organization. Through
our many events,
I hope that you
To learn more about myself and SWE, check out the

Her Campus article here:
http://www.hercampus.com/school/drexel/samantha-schneider-president-drexels-society-women-engineers
Inside this issue...

Letter from the President
General Body Meeting
SWEet Tuesday
Game Night
Study Session
Intramural Sports & Cycling
SSweDC: Professional Event
Exelon & DuPont Sessions
3D Laser Scanning Presentation
Introduce a Girl to Engineering
Galentines Day
Alumni Spotlight
Miscellaneous: FemmeHacks
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Connect with uS!

https://www.linkedin.com/groups/Society-Women-Engineers-Drexel-University-5152256?gid=5152256&mostPopular=&trk=tyah&trkInfo=tarId%3A1418823947307%2Ctas%3Adrexel%20society%20of%20wo%2Cidx%3A1-1-1
swe.drexel@gmail.com
https://twitter.com/drexelswe
https://www.facebook.com/groups/drexelswe/
Membership Committee:
Game night
GEneral Body Meeting
SWE also hosted a Game Night this term with

the Drexel chapter of the American Society of
Mechanical Engineers. This event included various board games, video games, and pizza and
soda as refreshments. This event had a great
turnout from both SWE and ASME, and was a
great opportunity for both groups to get to know
each other. Everyone had fun playing a variety
of games, and it was a great stress reliever from
midterms.
SWE hosted two general body meetings winter

term which were a great success. In the first
meeting, members were introduced to the new
and returning officers on the executive board.
Members were also informed about the different sections of SWE and events hosted for the
term by each section. It was a great opportunity
for members to learn how they can get involved.
In the second meeting, members were further
informed about upcoming events, and also tentative events for spring term. The meeting also
went over the Region E Conference, raising
interest for members who may not have attended the conference this year.
Winter term is normally a dormant time on

campus, as most people are hiding from the
uninviting winter weather while focusing on
classwork. However, members of Society of
Women Engineers still came out to these and
other events and had a good time this term,
making Winter term a success for SWE and its
members. Future events are sure to be great too,
thanks to our members.
Wellness Committee:
Study sessions
Every finals week of every quarter we rent out a

big room and have catered healthy snacks and
coffee for free for our SWE members who would
like a quiet room to study for finals along with
snacks and coffee to keep them going!
General Body Meeting
Sweet tuesday
Sweet Tuesdays were continued in winter term
from previous terms. This term, there were two
Sweet Tuesdays, which were held at the Starbucks in Lebow Hall. At each one, a group of
about ten members, mostly freshman, talked
and got to know each other in a relaxed environment. Different topics were discussed, including classes, majors, possible SWE events, and
adjusting to college. These events were a great
success, as they gave SWE members from
different engineering majors the chance to connect and bond as part of SWE.
Finals Study Session Snacks
the opportunity for professional headshots for

use in career-related accounts such as LinkedIn.
Events like these proved very useful to all
attendees so look out for them in the future and
dont miss the opportunity to attend!
Attendees enjoy their dinner and provided
refreshments while listening to SWE officers
provide co-op advice at the SSweDC event.
Intramurals & Cycling classes

We had a floor hockey team winter quarter and
we won intramural team of the week one week
because of our great sportsmanship and how
much fun we were having! We had a full team of
15 people. Most of the girls who played had
never played a sport before. These brave girls
learned how to play floor hockey for the first
time, had fun doing it, and were great competitors. We play a different intramural sport every
quarter!
Our wellness chair, Elisabeth Wagner, is a
cycling instructor at the Drexel gym and organized a private cycling session for SWE members. It was most of the girls first time every
trying cycling/spinning. It wasn't too challenging and we definitely made sure the girls went at
their own comfortable pace. The girls loved it so
much that they wanted more private sessions!
professional development:
SWE members discuss co-op
Sswedc
Professional Development held two events

during the term to prepare members for
upcoming co-ops: SSweDC and the B-round
Preparatory Session. Students in SWE Discussing Co-op (SSweDC), hosted on February 26th,
welcomed all students for a casual discussion on
what to expect in their upcoming co-op experiences, whether they be local or international,
research or industry-based. Getting the job is
one thing, but where do you sit for lunch on the
first day? Should you take classes over co-op?
How to maintain professional communications? Questions like these were among those
answered by Drexel SWE members as they
shared their own experiences with event attendees. Another event in the College to Career
Readiness Program series that was hosted on
February 3rd with SCDC is the B-Round Preparatory Session. SCDC advisors conducted mock
interviews for students and provided constructive feedback for their interviews. Additionally,
SWE officers conducted resume reviews and
provided interview tips. The event also provided
Exelon & dupont information sessions,

and 3-D laser scanning presentation
Professional Development hosted a few information sessions and presentations with companies, which served as good networking opportunities. Three presentations that were the main
focus of this term included the Exelon Information Session, the DuPont Information Session,
and the 3D Laser Scanning Presentation. For
the Exelon Information Session, two female
professionals came in and discussed the Exelon
goals and environment, the work/life balance,
and the criteria for the ideal company setting.
Along similar lines was the DuPont Information
Session where employees of varying backgrounds spoke to the attendees about the company and answered all co-op related questions
asked. Their session was intended to encourage
more students to apply for co-ops, and subsequently allowed attendees to submit resumes
and talk personally to employees who could
help in the hiring process.
The 3D Laser Scanning Presentation featured a

speaker who described the major project consisting of scanning the Lincoln Memorial and
using advanced technology for this purpose. All
the events catered to the career interests of our
students and provided exposure to paying job
opportunities, so be sure to come out to these
events in the future.
Speakers from Exelon discuss their roles within
their company and provide great advice for
entry-level engineers.
the side of the stairs in the 3rd floor Bossone

atrium and compared the time it took to reach
the bottom with and without the parachute.
After each trial, students discussed new strategies for improvement with the help of Drexel
SWE volunteers. All participants improved
their time after each iteration of the experiment, indicating measureable success. Overall,
the event was enjoyable for both volunteers
and students, and a wonderful learning opportunity for all!
Networking committee:
galentines Day
Members learn more about Exelon & DuPont
outreach committee:
introuce a girl to engineering day

Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day welcomes
over 100 girls from middle school through high
school into the fields of engineering. Many
disciplines in STEM are represented with a
range of interesting hands-on activities from
lighting an LED to building a bridge from
Kinex. This year, Drexel SWE headed 3
sessions on building the optimal parachute out
of every-day household items. Students worked
in teams to come up with creative solutions for
parachute design using variations of paper
(newspaper, paper towels, tissue paper) and
attaching their creations to washers with
string. They delved into the experimental
engineering design process by testing out the
different materials, shapes, and area of the
materials. Building up on existing solutions,
they modified features to create new designs.
They demonstrated the effectiveness of their
new parachute designs by dropping them over
During Galentines day, mentors and mentees

gathered to share pizza, cookies, and drinks
while crafting valentines, all provided by SWE!
We had music playing and everyone surrounding tables filled with stickers, colored paper,
fun scissors, glue, markers, and glitter pens.
Some people made Valetines for their roommates, for their best friends, or for their cuties,
all varying from big frilly hearts to tiny cards
full of stickers. The pizza was yummy, the
cookies were soft, and all of the attendees had a
great time. Someone even yelled out, Wow!
This is really fun! Everyone seemed to forget
how great crafts can be. We all came together
as gals (and one guy) to celebrate mentorship
and SWE and love for all of our buddies (and
food!).
Celebrating Galentines day with fun with crafts!
Alumni Spotlight
Name:
Colleen Guyre
Degree/Graduation Year:
BS in Chemical Engineering 2013
Current Career Role and Duties:
I am currently a Process Design Engineer at
UOP, a Honeywell Company. I design high
capacity separations technologies (primarily
multiple downcomer (MDTM) trays) for the Oil
& Gas and Petrochemical industries. I work in
an office and have not yet had to travel, however, once I am more experienced and fully
trained in customer interaction, I will be visiting customer sites all over the world a couple
times a year. I create simulations in a software
similar to HYSYS and use the resulting vapor
and liquid flow rates to design the distillation
columns. What I do is similar to what you will
do in your senior design project if you are a
Chemical Engineering major, but with less hand
calculation! I am required to write technical
reports on most of my designs. This can be challenging for engineers, but it is a critical skill
(one that I learned I was deficient in once I
entered the workplace). One of the reasons I am
succeeding is because I was appointed a mentor
that I could ask questions of, no matter how
basic, at any time without feeling silly. I asked
him to critique my reports for the whole first
year. I am constantly learning and growing in
my career and I hope I continue to learn and

grow throughout the rest of it.
As a former Drexel SWE Member, how
did your involvement shape your career
path or help you during your time at
Drexel?
I regret that I was not the most active member
during my time at Drexel until my junior and
senior years, but even when I wasnt very
involved I knew I had a sisterhood to support
me and that support system was invaluable for
my mental health and well-being. I dont know
if SWE shaped my career, but it did shape my
life. The camaraderie and enthusiasm present
at every SWE event is so important. I am still
involved as a professional member in the Western New York (WNY) chapter. This group of
women, and all SWE members, have a desire to
help each other like no group I have ever been a
part of before. This is what helped me during
my time at Drexel and continues to help me in
my personal and professional life.
What advice do you have for current
members?
I strongly encourage all current members to
attend as many conferences as possible, introduce yourself to as many strangers as possible,
and always be prepared to advocate for yourself.
You have to know why you would bring value to
any situation, not just job opportunities. Practice public speaking in formal and casual
settings, learn to connect with people. As engineers, this is not always our strong suit, but it is
a critical business skill. I have found no better
opportunity to do this than SWE events. Always
give yourself some time to branch out alone at
these events and make new friends. Get out of
your comfort zone and away from the group for
a little while. I know the trips can be expensive
but, trust me, the experience is invaluable, especially when you start searching for jobs. These
conferences ensure you already have a network
of peers and mentors to help you.
Contact: If you would like to connect on LinkedIn please mention that you are a Drexel SWE
member, and your purpose for connecting.
miscellaneous:
FemmeHacks Hackathon
On February 27th 2015, the Drexel Society of
Women Engineers helped organize the first
all-women student hackathon in Philadelphia
with Andrea Baric, a freshman software engineer at Drexel University. The hackathon took
place at the ExCITe Center with roughly 30
participants from Drexel, Penn, and Temple
University. The hackathon included a panel of
tech women including Comcast developer
Christina Kirby, software engineer from
Thomas Reuters Yen Duong, Drexel professor
Gabriela Marcu, as well as the data services
manager at the City of Philadelphia Stacey
Mosley. Mentors were present to help students
develop their ideas and provide insight on the
ambitious projects.
Neha Thomas, Maissoun Ksara, Karishma
Changlani, and Anna Lu with their prizes
Participants enjoyed free swag from sponsors

Exelon, Epic, Sig, Zonoff, DuckDuckGo, The
Drexel Close School of Entrepreneurship,
Monetate, Vanguard, TrackMaven, and
OSIsoft. FemmeHacks was a very successful
and fun event!
Hacking away! (courtesy photo)
SWE members volunteered throughout the

event and helped set up tables, food, as well as
clean up and registration. Additionally, SWE
members Anna Lu, Karishma Changlani, Neha
Thomas, and Maissoun Ksara participated in
the hackathon and won second place! They
created a goal-sharing application which they
named SWEApp2015 which aimed to help
Drexels Society of Women Engineers organize
tasks and its schedule. The application enabled
SWE members to post their goals and get
matched with other members or mentors with
similar goals in order to help them reach that
goal through collaboration.
Participants and judges watch hacker presentations
A Special Thank you to all of our sponsors!

Drexel University Society of Women Engineers would like to thank the following
organziations for their support over the last academic term!
Your contributions help us inspire women in engineering!
Executive board
Samantha Schneider
Danielle Schroeder
Angeline Aguinaldo
Madison Keirod
Meera Vershneya
Neha Thomas
Maureen Burnside
Bhavika Gali
Alexandria Kapusta
Maissoun Ksara
Jasmin Patel
Shravani Birewar
Soumya Iyer
Lenora Dieyi
Rania Mina
Ridhima Phukan
Karishma Changlani
Samantha Cassel
Jacque Tawney
Elisabeth Wegner
President
Vice President
Secretary
Treasurer
Networking Director
Outreach Director
Membership Director
Professional Development Director
Wellness Director
Public Relations Director
Conference Director
Professional Development Chair
Professional Development Chair
Treasurer Chair
Treasurer Chair
Social Media Chair
Website Chair
Historian Chair
Networking Chair
Wellness Chair

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Drexeluniversity

Look out for

Letter from the president

To learn more about myself and SWE, check out the

Inside this issue...

Connect with uS!

GEneral Body Meeting

SWE also hosted a Game Night this term with

SWE hosted two general body meetings winter

Winter term is normally a dormant time on

Every finals week of every quarter we rent out a

Finals Study Session Snacks

the opportunity for professional headshots for

Intramurals & Cycling classes

SWE members discuss co-op

Professional Development held two events

Exelon & dupont information sessions,

The 3D Laser Scanning Presentation featured a

the side of the stairs in the 3rd floor Bossone

Members learn more about Exelon & DuPont

introuce a girl to engineering day

During Galentines day, mentors and mentees

Celebrating Galentines day with fun with crafts!

my career and I hope I continue to learn and

Participants enjoyed free swag from sponsors

SWE members volunteered throughout the

Participants and judges watch hacker presentations

A Special Thank you to all of our sponsors!

Your contributions help us inspire women in engineering!

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