tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84560650561340588272024-03-13T21:29:54.422-04:00Hear it from Her!We blog about what it's like for us as women studying engineering at McMaster University. We'll tell you about student life and share what's happening on campus throughout the school year. Follow along and get in touch with comments and questions!
Fireballhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11521892091434859821noreply@blogger.comBlogger70125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8456065056134058827.post-24745621177999560152014-03-12T07:58:00.000-04:002014-03-12T07:58:16.158-04:00Speed Mentoring: Women Helping Women!<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Hi everyone!</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One of my favourite things about McMaster University is the never
ending opportunities to network! I generally
receive an email about 2-5 different opportunities per week from various faculty organizations. I was so excited when I was invited to a </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“</span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Speed Mentoring Event – Women in Engineering</i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">”! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This event had 10 different 15 minute workshops that would be run by McMaster Alumnae<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.200000762939453px;"> </span></span>women in various leadership positions. We were allowed to select 4 out of
the 10 choices and I ended up selecting 'Work-Life Balance', 'Taking Time off Work', 'Managing a Team' and 'Negotiating Salaries'.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The delicious free food was an added bonus </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">to an incredibly valuable evening.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">‘<i>Work-Life Balance</i>’ was a workshop presented by Christine
Ermarkaryan, a woman with an undergrad in Chemical Engineering and Management, and
her masters in Business. Christine reflected on her own experiences and the challenges she faced with work-life balance. I was challenged to prioritize different parts of my life to make sure that I balance work and play, even if sometimes work feels like play!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Next, I attended ‘<i>Taking Time off Work</i>’ by Anjali Tandon, a
woman with a degree in Chemical Engineering and a minor in French. Anjali told
us about her 4 year undergrad followed by her travels through Europe. As a
hiring manager, she provided us with some very valuable and unique insight on
how we can approach our own time off. Her recommendation was a maximum of a
year to a year and a half off to give yourself that much needed break, while not falling behind with rapidly changing technology.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Following that, I attended <i>‘Managing a Team</i>’ presented by
Pat Greene, a woman with a degree in Computer Engineering. As a woman who
manages engineers, Pat was able to walk us through different scenarios and
conflicts that tend to happen in team environments. One of the main resonating messages was the fact
that it is a manager’s job to motivate the team, and the best way to do so is
with effective communication. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lastly, I attended ‘<i>Negotiating Salaries</i>’ by Faye Wales, a
woman with a degree in Sociology. Faye had a very interesting presentation
about the somewhat taboo subject matter of renegotiating working conditions.
She provided suggestions such as: avoid asking about salaries in the very first
interview, wait until the offer is given before debating the topic, and once
the job is secured, request a salary review after 6 months have gone by. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Engaged students participating </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">in the Speed Mentoring sessions.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The night itself was extremely valuable and fun however the
networking opportunities could not be ignored. I ended up asking Anjali for
her email in order to message her later. I emailed her about the thoughts I have for my own path and
asked her for advice. Instead of emailing me back, she called me and we had a long conversation about
my future. As an engineering hiring manager, she provided me with an unmatched
perspective. It is opportunities like this that only will come with a little bit of added
effort.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The moral of this post is something along the lines of ‘you
miss 100% of the shots you never take’. In university, it is essential for you
to take your future into your own hands. If you close yourself off to opportunities
in front of your eyes, you could miss something big. Set yourself up for
success, and read your emails! </span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">~Vanessa</b></div>
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Vanessahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14147680536384492591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8456065056134058827.post-86936016332832555632014-02-13T09:48:00.001-05:002014-02-13T09:48:28.229-05:00Let's Have a (Fire)ball!<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Bonjour mes amis,</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It’s the most wonderful time of the year; it’s time for engineering students to class it up, put on their dancing shoes, and head to the Fireball! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Fireball is the annual engineering formal and awards ceremony that happened this past Saturday (February 8th). I've gone to Fireball the past few years and it's crazy to think that this was my last one (I'm graduating in a few months)! During dinner, several awards were announced. These ranged from silly (Over Enthusiastic Event Attender), to serious (Teaching Assistant Awards, Professor Awards, and the Image of an Engineer Award). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Fireball is also an exciting time because they announce the new <a href="http://macengsociety.ca/" target="_blank">McMaster Engineering Society (MES)</a> President! The MES represents engineering students at the university, and they organize social, professional development and academic events for engineering students. The McMaster Engineering Society president for the 2014-2015 year is Ben Kinsella! I actually interviewed Ben in the<a href="http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLalQqP8FLYMO_bmt5y3xMOZjmH7SGY-Mw" target="_blank"> Mac Eng: Reel Talk</a> series over the summer about the Ask an Undergraduate Engineer Program for students considering McMaster Engineering. I'm so excited that Ben is the incoming MES president; he’s going to rock the show!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After the awards were presented, we spent the rest taking photos, catching up with friends (including fellow bloggers Genna, Danielle and Vanessa) and tearing up the dance floor! It's nice to be able to blow off some steam while showing off our sweet dance moves. Engineers may work hard, but we also play hard. What a wonderful night with such classy people!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That’s all for now folks!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">~Christen</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUEjliI_lxzEsV0OaeR_CKpsHGbweIc5tCR5c75BHv4zaXU7WpRxayRtNcL4vfqa0s9YklxhyphenhyphenTDXlqwwug7aZ8Gd2OTPwtIyWSsSxXrASdnSGrw9ch3ihAtUl17T63Uu6TQ0K8BSBs2in4/s1600/Danielle+and+Christen+at+Fireball+2014.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUEjliI_lxzEsV0OaeR_CKpsHGbweIc5tCR5c75BHv4zaXU7WpRxayRtNcL4vfqa0s9YklxhyphenhyphenTDXlqwwug7aZ8Gd2OTPwtIyWSsSxXrASdnSGrw9ch3ihAtUl17T63Uu6TQ0K8BSBs2in4/s1600/Danielle+and+Christen+at+Fireball+2014.jpg" height="425" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Fellow blogger Danielle and I dressed up all spiffy for Fireball. Engineering and Society program, represent!</span></td></tr>
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Christenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04155122004023518578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8456065056134058827.post-60564819804525427362014-01-06T16:40:00.000-05:002014-01-06T16:41:57.370-05:00Winter Wonderland ~ Welcome to 2014<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Welcome Back & Happy New Year!</b></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnLE2prS7vp_j4w5Z_X5c2BVOyK3b7qZVfA83ZxLwi3JAuN9eGaM4_zT-Co7r5_-740gXf6TcrerqsO5GxZXNZb6PscRWrLW4r51PFpT2NassIknr6lOd6js561dR20fPwUEnwdDEUSx9W/s1600/Danielle-Otis-Winter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnLE2prS7vp_j4w5Z_X5c2BVOyK3b7qZVfA83ZxLwi3JAuN9eGaM4_zT-Co7r5_-740gXf6TcrerqsO5GxZXNZb6PscRWrLW4r51PFpT2NassIknr6lOd6js561dR20fPwUEnwdDEUSx9W/s1600/Danielle-Otis-Winter.jpg" height="400" width="265" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Me and “Otis” the Eng Outreach Bear catching<br /> some winter rays! He’s a great hugger and always<br /> knows just how to cheer the team up when <br />we’re hit with any winter blues.</span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now that 2014 is upon us, it is time to get back to the books. Term 2 started today and <a href="https://twitter.com/McMasterU" target="_blank">McMaster University</a> is covered in a thick (cold!) blanket of crisp, white snow. I love the way campus looks in the winter: the bright snow on the trees, all the colours of coats, hats, scarves and mittens and the busy crowds of students rushing to their classes. The campus is alive with activity!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">January marks the beginning of my second term of my fourth year in Materials Engineering & Society at Mac and I’m really looking forward to my classes. <i>(I’m such a nerd!</i>) But I really enjoy learning and I’m excited that classes are starting up again.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So as I begin the New Year, I’m continuing my work with Engineering Outreach. Christen, Sean, Brandon and I are members of a work-study team: we are able to study full-time while continuing to develop our career skills and gain valuable experience working for the University. Engineering Outreach is here for you if you’re a prospective student interested in finding out more about our programs so that you can choose a University that’s right for you!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Another great part about this time of year is seeing all my friends. It was great to catch up with everyone and hear all the fun adventures my friends had over the holidays. I can feel it; this term is going to be so great!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Until next time, </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">~ Danielle</span><br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8456065056134058827.post-75817276313311002262013-11-25T15:21:00.002-05:002013-11-25T16:02:03.912-05:00Women in Computing & Software: 4th annual ONCWIC conference!<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Left to right: Ashton, Natalie, Yassi,<br />
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Earlier this month, my friends and I packed our bags and headed up to Waterloo, Ontario for the 4th annual <a href="http://www.oncwic.ca/" target="_blank">Ontario Celebration of Women in Computing</a> conference. This wasn't my first time- we went as a group last year, and loved it so much we came back! It's an inexpensive conference, and has multiple meals, lectures, and a job fair, so we donned our heels and headed out.<br />
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I could easily type glowing reviews of so many of the keynote speakers, and the wit and charisma they brought to their presentations. However, one of my favourites was <a href="http://www.hmc.edu/about1/administrativeoffices/officeofthepresident1/bio.html" target="_blank">Maria Klawe</a>, President of Harvey Mudd College. A lot of her discussion simply focused on the mindset many females have in academia, and then continue to have while they work in industry.<br />
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While they may not reign true for everyone out there, the concepts presented seem to loudly resonate with the 220 women in the room.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_AywLjytiGEN23TfzQ0GpigMpjcoIVNznuk4XOxk4gPro_h4kaM9wR0K0DGRlRYB6FOiggeZLdoQEhorXCtn3M6OHaFHobt-Q1ZN78grU6exk6YZFyWiGyjNbYnfhaE3c1dYLnCx4ffNi/s1600/1466294_660790193953699_405340614_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_AywLjytiGEN23TfzQ0GpigMpjcoIVNznuk4XOxk4gPro_h4kaM9wR0K0DGRlRYB6FOiggeZLdoQEhorXCtn3M6OHaFHobt-Q1ZN78grU6exk6YZFyWiGyjNbYnfhaE3c1dYLnCx4ffNi/s320/1466294_660790193953699_405340614_n.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Attendees in one of the conference discussions</td></tr>
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<span style="color: #cc0000;">It starts at an early age.</span><br />
With technology, young gentlemen love their games. Their love grows to become "I want to be able to build this!" and their passion for Computer Science/ Software Engineering is born. For young ladies, it is more common to find them on social media sites, and their use of the sites rarely translates to a desire to look at, learn, or build their own code.<br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000;">Then we get into academia.</span><br />
Our young men like challenges and, without apprehension, they'll dive in. If they don't understand, they'll stay persevering until they do. If they still don't understand, they'll fake it like they do.<br />
Our young women? They tend to be apprehensive with unknown concepts. They may try it, but if they don't succeed, they'll leave it alone. They'll go back to what they know they're good at, and feel comfortable with.<br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000;">After graduation.</span><br />
Nearly every established, highly intellectual woman in in industry or academia at the conference admitted to having the "impostor" syndrome. What did this mean? In rough translation, it meant that women will be given a task and immediately think "I can't do this, how will I do this, I'm not ready, I don't know enough". Then they'll finish it. It will be great, and yet still they'll have this "Yesss, I totally fooled them- I still don't know what I'm doing!" mentality, and feel like a fraud... sound familiar?<br />
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The fact is, many women are absolutely brilliant- but they doubt themselves. They could grow to leave <a href="http://anitaborg.org/news/profiles-of-technical-women/famous-women-in-computer-science/" target="_blank">legendary impressions</a> on the field, but only if they embrace an opportunity to enter it. Maria enforced that there are a few ways we can break through this "impostor" feeling:<br />
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<i>Practice </i>what makes you uncomfortable.<br />
<i>Accept self-doubt</i> as who you are.<br />
Surround yourself with <i>support</i> and look back as well as ahead.<br />
Make yourself <i>do the things that terrify you.</i><br />
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For any lady out there interested in coding- don't give up, and don't undermine your own capabilities. For the ladies who have never given coding a chance- give it a try! And you may never know where it will take you: perhaps into a career with one of the <a href="http://www.careercast.com/jobs-rated/best-worst-jobs-2013" target="_blank">best-ranked jobs</a> in the world!<br />
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Thanks for reading & <a href="http://www.oncwic.ca/" target="_blank">check out the conference</a> if you're even remotely interested! It's more than worth it, I promise :)<br />
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~ HelenHelenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04803702379602745327noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8456065056134058827.post-3473123970042377012013-10-29T16:26:00.001-04:002013-10-29T19:53:07.675-04:00Fall Preview #1 at Mac!<span style="font-size: large;">Last Saturday was our first <b><span style="color: #990000;">Fall Preview Open House at McMaster</span></b>!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj99vvh7_9EPMdFnIDxoe_runcgu1cvC6Hx7siwZf24itPzIps83ZUcbB6ii6TBaJQlscaoXN0gRHkjkRjfoH14F0e4Q8Odqax4-aUmi_Wttz15GDfDEDPgc4FvrC1yRYpmuV_R4lAGKVRu/s1600/IMG_0077.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj99vvh7_9EPMdFnIDxoe_runcgu1cvC6Hx7siwZf24itPzIps83ZUcbB6ii6TBaJQlscaoXN0gRHkjkRjfoH14F0e4Q8Odqax4-aUmi_Wttz15GDfDEDPgc4FvrC1yRYpmuV_R4lAGKVRu/s320/IMG_0077.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Guests in the lobby chatting with students and faculty members</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFX3o9Sa7rnFgYNLoSMq6dsvJ3EMyDyz8WlzXHASh5ppsKlW7poZPd9ejVO9w68atRPzpaV15PK_V7VbBnc7LPmCqglXQePLllztmoKE1wNC2qrsUW7r68_eTAz8HWhJxHss-N-uLBhLSK/s1600/994393_10153381098750273_458998820_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFX3o9Sa7rnFgYNLoSMq6dsvJ3EMyDyz8WlzXHASh5ppsKlW7poZPd9ejVO9w68atRPzpaV15PK_V7VbBnc7LPmCqglXQePLllztmoKE1wNC2qrsUW7r68_eTAz8HWhJxHss-N-uLBhLSK/s320/994393_10153381098750273_458998820_n.jpg" width="241" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some of our amazing volunteers that <br />
helped us throughout the day!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Although Mother Nature rained (pretty extensively) on our parade, we still had hundreds of prospective students with their families filtering through our Engineering buildings to listen to information sessions, view departmental demonstrations, take tours, and speak with our faculty members and current students.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: left; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4FvJKAlheQnuhDrQT3C0GR3FhV9esp4Xpgk7Iz3VuCiBtSwlAJ-kMiKSfNl6XXX6nwjx_SL4_MBpw6QQV8O2Q4ryi6Vud-bxTOeJeH1gjVn0AvagnI4ezXiKSFgNkYYnj75Ctco7IRWk9/s1600/IMG_0068.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="302" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4FvJKAlheQnuhDrQT3C0GR3FhV9esp4Xpgk7Iz3VuCiBtSwlAJ-kMiKSfNl6XXX6nwjx_SL4_MBpw6QQV8O2Q4ryi6Vud-bxTOeJeH1gjVn0AvagnI4ezXiKSFgNkYYnj75Ctco7IRWk9/s400/IMG_0068.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of our many info sessions!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeThXiFX1MIy4gUY9W2a39AmwLE8M5Szbh__T7XZc6cvgHKP8DoWydUuPtqZO-nrBR7jkPfqvj5KXAgIXJNk80iOe-rWbdcplzDHbESS8sS2zPIHE9QBRcu4H7_76ITH593XAxf5L4V5ly/s1600/IMG_0124.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeThXiFX1MIy4gUY9W2a39AmwLE8M5Szbh__T7XZc6cvgHKP8DoWydUuPtqZO-nrBR7jkPfqvj5KXAgIXJNk80iOe-rWbdcplzDHbESS8sS2zPIHE9QBRcu4H7_76ITH593XAxf5L4V5ly/s200/IMG_0124.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Engineering Physics had a table display<br />
of graduating student projects</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Our information sessions were actually so packed we had to schedule more in! Here are a few pictures from the days events. If you didn't have the chance to come out last Saturday, we're doing it all over again <b>November 16</b>!<br />
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<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy2M3Z_FjPG8SyIn_U8_CxR3YxMtI1QZIzhDVqeY22KB6VpR-h9EDgcM31rKYbVpnS_5v8T2eLQHSWVrUtddr8HJyK2psZKHa6wS1RxJiSlW8KcoywmrsLywm0pI5-KNeGgbKNiwNQlrym/s1600/IMG_0083.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy2M3Z_FjPG8SyIn_U8_CxR3YxMtI1QZIzhDVqeY22KB6VpR-h9EDgcM31rKYbVpnS_5v8T2eLQHSWVrUtddr8HJyK2psZKHa6wS1RxJiSlW8KcoywmrsLywm0pI5-KNeGgbKNiwNQlrym/s200/IMG_0083.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">That's me. <br />
Remember kids, hydration is important.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;"></span>
<span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;">Learn more about the November 16th Fall Preview here: </span> <a href="http://future.mcmaster.ca/tours/visit/fallpreview/" target="_blank">http://future.mcmaster.ca/tours/visit/fallpreview/</a><br />
<br />
I'm also getting ready for the ONCWIC conference November 9th, so stay posted, and I'll tell you how the Ontario Celebration of Women in Computing conference goes!<br />
<a href="http://www.oncwic.ca/">http://www.oncwic.ca/</a><br />
<br />
Until next time!<br />
~ Helen<br />
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</div>
Helenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04803702379602745327noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8456065056134058827.post-64560415793530229962013-10-24T13:02:00.004-04:002013-10-24T13:08:48.650-04:00Time for a Break: Volunteering for Fall Preview<h3>
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ciao everyone!</span></b></h3>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5zQPTy0m5B7I-7D-oGwiGVRLBRLstMxn2wrye1VRtvD2Mf0gTVc3DNI_2IIFqyeRhoVirLpSTb_zz4v-zWV4wkicb8FpnfIOxcamtKvi4ZUR48jk0ukDy12qFLC6g1mAeqWMK9ucdcfvS/s1600/FallPrev_2012+(9).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5zQPTy0m5B7I-7D-oGwiGVRLBRLstMxn2wrye1VRtvD2Mf0gTVc3DNI_2IIFqyeRhoVirLpSTb_zz4v-zWV4wkicb8FpnfIOxcamtKvi4ZUR48jk0ukDy12qFLC6g1mAeqWMK9ucdcfvS/s320/FallPrev_2012+(9).JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">You get the chance to meet Mac the Marauder!<br />L to R: Sheena, Mac & Tony.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; font-weight: normal;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Classes are under way </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">and midterms are in full swing. Everyone is busy with assignments, lab reports and essays. So what better time then now to take a break from the craziness of school? I will be taking a well-needed break this Saturday, October 26th by volunteering for McMaster University's </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">annual</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span><a href="http://future.mcmaster.ca/tours/visit/fallpreview/" target="_blank">Fall Preview Open House</a><span style="font-weight: normal;">.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small; font-weight: normal;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">You are probably wondering, "<a href="http://dailynews.mcmaster.ca/article/fall-preview-will-offer-one-stop-shop-for-prospects-and-families/" target="_blank">What is this Fall Preview?</a>" Well, it's a campus-wide open house, where high school and their parents get a chance to ask questions and get the answers they need about programs and student life. </span></span></h3>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5E-2_lEvxlDBbFaMGfRsPUivgGGJsiWCCCevCmGCPeLTH980SR-dNeStTvRjPXqzm1wb1jtCi9Av0VUGcbTLAthgCuWI4pq9-bTFY4Pjr61flRdlZo7GlY8QmmDOeez1v-rTnFlZV46vu/s1600/FallPrev_2012+(31).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5E-2_lEvxlDBbFaMGfRsPUivgGGJsiWCCCevCmGCPeLTH980SR-dNeStTvRjPXqzm1wb1jtCi9Av0VUGcbTLAthgCuWI4pq9-bTFY4Pjr61flRdlZo7GlY8QmmDOeez1v-rTnFlZV46vu/s320/FallPrev_2012+(31).JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">All the Mac Eng Car Team will be at Fall Preview.<br />L to R: Rich & Alex</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">There will be c</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">ampus & residence tours, as well as interactive academic information sessions to attend. The best part is that you can meet and talk to current engineering
undergraduate students all about Mac Eng! </span><br />
<h3>
<div style="font-weight: normal;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">If you are planning on attending this
event, p</span><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">lease <a href="http://future.mcmaster.ca/tours/visit/fallpreview/" target="_blank">register </a>beforehand.</span></span></div>
<div>
<div style="font-weight: normal;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I'm very excited to be volunteering for Fall Preview and getting the chance to meet future Mac Engineers! </span></div>
<div style="font-weight: normal;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
<div style="font-weight: normal;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Until next time,</span></div>
<span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">~ </span>Danielle</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: small;">PS. Campus always looks so beautiful this time of year, will all the fall colours!</span></div>
<div style="font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi87RhDEDP1zWk4t9oY2Ptf9aDRaySp4h29Q-UWNaK_JO8-RlsJhhcffGL_qG90OX3VBNkVWjfP8uGuVXcofVWzh9gFpx9KTjtIrRSn1z_O3Q7YWRc1ZpKE3rmN8dZhGFymGwDJ9-cN_k-G/s1600/FallPrev_2010+(17).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi87RhDEDP1zWk4t9oY2Ptf9aDRaySp4h29Q-UWNaK_JO8-RlsJhhcffGL_qG90OX3VBNkVWjfP8uGuVXcofVWzh9gFpx9KTjtIrRSn1z_O3Q7YWRc1ZpKE3rmN8dZhGFymGwDJ9-cN_k-G/s640/FallPrev_2010+(17).JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Such pretty colours on all the trees!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;">
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</h3>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8456065056134058827.post-54908911443573605842013-10-09T23:05:00.002-04:002013-10-09T23:22:20.545-04:00Get sporty! <div class="MsoNormal">
Hello out there!<br />
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Today I want to talk about one of my favourite things:
<b><u>sports</u></b>. <br />
<br />
Whether it is playing sports, or watching the Marauders go for gold, I
am there in a heartbeat. <o:p></o:p></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUfuzlCL901lmpIxeOps9_2PJC_LXLO5oi8KtQkz6n9ZHiagkbaxcKMV3AATXNONxrMrgRWpHebDboCIaKNt_Gn3prEIdmofDqqcOT44XSZvj-m5KFh7GiyOa1yJXPUAUbIfCczF3hZTk/s1600/1186159_10151883101127645_837149548_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUfuzlCL901lmpIxeOps9_2PJC_LXLO5oi8KtQkz6n9ZHiagkbaxcKMV3AATXNONxrMrgRWpHebDboCIaKNt_Gn3prEIdmofDqqcOT44XSZvj-m5KFh7GiyOa1yJXPUAUbIfCczF3hZTk/s320/1186159_10151883101127645_837149548_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">If you like getting decked out in your school colours and painting your face, come hang out with my spirited friends at the Mac football games! </span></i><br />
<i style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">This is when we beat Waterloo 66 - 3! #fansofthegame</span></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Throughout high school I played on school teams and city leagues. I don't have the skill to play varsity (the inter-university competitive leagues), but McMaster has me covered with a variety of intramural sports leagues
offered throughout the school year. Whether you’re into the classics like
soccer or basketball, or are interested in trying your hand at something new,
like inner-tube water polo, there are intramural teams for you!</div>
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</div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHabIg9RujCXMeCs-nAxAipA8Pqm9bejSyvKB8jso6n3b8dJ2XZ-d2xaPm7cRXdv2COFh1-t1WpEp_uo5IHyd-Kg0SdRX9oWdVWrbEZdr4XtaGafHVWwl2vdFvQoGSa3ikLBaFW5hqAkE/s1600/Outdoor+Soccer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHabIg9RujCXMeCs-nAxAipA8Pqm9bejSyvKB8jso6n3b8dJ2XZ-d2xaPm7cRXdv2COFh1-t1WpEp_uo5IHyd-Kg0SdRX9oWdVWrbEZdr4XtaGafHVWwl2vdFvQoGSa3ikLBaFW5hqAkE/s320/Outdoor+Soccer.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i style="font-size: medium; text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Last fall, my women's outdoor soccer team won the championship! #1<br />I played keeper.</span></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br />
In addition to the McMaster intramurals, the McMaster Engineering Society has sports teams like rugby and
hockey, as well as department competitions like the <i>Ratboy Memorial Soccer Tournament</i>. Ratboy is a day-long outdoor soccer tournament that happens in the spring, just before exams. All the engineering departments face-off on the pitch for ultimate glory and a shiny trophy! New this year are department competitions that happen once a month. In September, the Chemical Engineering department beat the Civil Engineering department at an intense game of soccer-baseball! (As a chemical engineering student, I'm pretty proud :) )</div>
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Many first year students ask “can you find the time to
play sports with the heavy engineering workload?” and my answer to that is “YES! Absolutely!”. In fact, I think a big part of being strong academically is
finding time to do things you love and keeping balance. So join a team, kick a ball around, swim,
and give you brain strength to rock those </div>
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midterms!</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2S-tVCrRcr1lIduCiedwmfkSmRVFGOD4Ik3QgFFBacb5zkHU_XqPrLQ1GHUkEaiAu834ToqmePNF2BVgV4WmCirQ5A6f61ygzjP4yW91_5gNI8GnFwjKsNHXkZSD58zCrSe1dl7nrqr4/s1600/906776_10151521302454785_1597193113_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2S-tVCrRcr1lIduCiedwmfkSmRVFGOD4Ik3QgFFBacb5zkHU_XqPrLQ1GHUkEaiAu834ToqmePNF2BVgV4WmCirQ5A6f61ygzjP4yW91_5gNI8GnFwjKsNHXkZSD58zCrSe1dl7nrqr4/s320/906776_10151521302454785_1597193113_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>In indoor, my team made it to the finals and ended up in second after a close match.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i> (That's me in the bottom right)</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<br />
Hope to see you all on the courts or on the pitch!<br />
<br />
<br />
Later days,<br />
Daniela<o:p></o:p>Danielahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06575323374479860987noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8456065056134058827.post-73737609693748461352013-09-26T16:57:00.003-04:002013-09-30T13:44:14.268-04:00ExCELebrate Good Times!<b>Hello friend!</b><br />
<br />
It's been a very exciting week for McMaster Engineering. On Monday the faculty invited students, faculty, staff and special guests to the campus to learn more about the ExCEL building, our envisioned Engineering Centre for Experiential Learning.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSLL9I5nBKoK0PApjWyVWrUQKHR6gXwfIIRBg5GJ7nuuTCEVAXAb6ohsLRUFjLzORkhWUGTqktmBFPTPomHdLBGFhBh5MiHcghYdlLKrNMWf370YBPxtjS7IXp5RbB77-vB876IV9axqxn/s1600/photo+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSLL9I5nBKoK0PApjWyVWrUQKHR6gXwfIIRBg5GJ7nuuTCEVAXAb6ohsLRUFjLzORkhWUGTqktmBFPTPomHdLBGFhBh5MiHcghYdlLKrNMWf370YBPxtjS7IXp5RbB77-vB876IV9axqxn/s320/photo+1.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some of the wonderful ExCEL volunteers (and me at the right!)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
It was very exciting. The theme of the event was "Reaching for the Top" featuring a keynote speech from Andrew Brash; a mountaineer who climbed Mount Everest. We aspired to align our vision of the ExCEL building with the notion of overcoming adversity and reaching the top of the mountain. Dean Ishwar Puri also stars in a <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHtR37PycxU&feature=c4-overview&list=UUwfc41LHO0z3g2gY2gccrPQ">rock climbing video</a> that introduced the day's events and got more than a few laughs out of the audience!<br />
<br />
Since the event was aimed to showcase the engineering student body, they invited the McMaster Engineering Musical to perform.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLLl1jGTBgOZe_U6njPTjyfN-HSXHwT2dD0RsrWgPrM1UFmjl1c5dKSVH4zx3tGeS6g65Ex7b6liHokgJ7P0enOgHXxqvy99zUJIExaLu0YzgZMfpoTljNZfJiTz1ilWvm8gtu2cV97uaB/s1600/photo+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLLl1jGTBgOZe_U6njPTjyfN-HSXHwT2dD0RsrWgPrM1UFmjl1c5dKSVH4zx3tGeS6g65Ex7b6liHokgJ7P0enOgHXxqvy99zUJIExaLu0YzgZMfpoTljNZfJiTz1ilWvm8gtu2cV97uaB/s320/photo+2.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mac Eng Musical's presentation</td></tr>
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Needless to say we were touched. Thanks to our amazing team of musical members and alumni we were able to put togethera 10 minute presentation about how the ExCEL building will help students grow and develop into well-rounded engineers. <a href="http://dailynews.mcmaster.ca/article/3m-gift-from-hatch-allows-student-focused-engineering-facility-to-move-forward/">Check out our special presentation here!</a> Dean Ishwar Puri got a real kick out of it :)<br />
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Dean Puri also made an amazing announcement. Thanks to generous donations from Gerald Hatch and Kurt Strobele of Hatch Ltd (the Canadian-based engineering giant), we have finally reached our goal of $8.5 million! This means the building can finally start becoming a reality. I may not be around to see it completed, but you know I'll come back and visit.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmMRrq2dO-WkhIUDs0IGrebuiYXzNpa2TOaB8Z5Hxe-ApF9JXr4B52I-ltxLE1q1UtqZS7iN_M-0cdLLiMicMQhFKe3E_WjtC9zJYmvYWes7taIykdF3EczvU_eDYk5YjGVZrWzyU74v_0/s1600/IMG_1315.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmMRrq2dO-WkhIUDs0IGrebuiYXzNpa2TOaB8Z5Hxe-ApF9JXr4B52I-ltxLE1q1UtqZS7iN_M-0cdLLiMicMQhFKe3E_WjtC9zJYmvYWes7taIykdF3EczvU_eDYk5YjGVZrWzyU74v_0/s320/IMG_1315.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">More talented engineers from Musical!</td></tr>
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Not only are things getting started for the ExCEL building, but they are for the Musical as well! Next week we have our auditions to pick our cast and band. I can't divulge what show we're doing just yet as it is highly classified information, but when I can you'll be the first to know!<br />
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Alright guys, I gotta run to class. Somehow I "gotta" fit school into all the craziness around here.<br />
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Cheers!<br />
~Genna<img class="moz-attached-image" isshrunk="true" shrinktofit="yes" src="imap://fireball@univmail.mcmaster.ca:143/fetch%3EUID%3E/INBOX%3E39130?part=1.2&type=image/jpeg&filename=photo.JPG" />Genna!http://www.blogger.com/profile/04980629030974111241noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8456065056134058827.post-55931683183366133152013-09-09T14:58:00.000-04:002013-09-10T13:30:24.081-04:00Superheroes + Pulling a Bus + a Hovercraft = Mac Eng Welcome Week 2013<h3>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Salutations my friends!</span></h3>
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Could you hear us where you live? Our cheers were roaring this past week because it was <a href="http://studentsuccess.mcmaster.ca/students/orientation/welcome-week.html" target="_blank">Welcome Week 2013</a>! Welcome Week is an awesome opportunity to meet people in your residence (or off campus) and meet spirited upper years at McMaster. </span><br />
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">During the week, there are so many different events you can choose to attend. Everything ranging from academic sessions to a charity casino night! </span></span><br />
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I had the privilege of being a Welcome Week representative for McMaster Engineering one last time before I graduate (this was my third year as an Engineering Welcome Week rep, otherwise known as a “<a href="http://macengsociety.ca/culture/traditions/" target="_blank">Redsuit</a>”). Our goal as Redsuits is to welcome students to the McMaster Engineering family, to help ease the transition from high school to university and to pass on our infectious Mac Eng spirit to the first year students. There are many events throughout the week that the Redsuits are at, but I want to give you the high-lights of some of my favourite moments this week - in pictures!</span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicWF1AqSxzHpqhdXeFQl4tMX4TRyjLT07Px5S1I_SmRpbzn4GCceolls0finsI8xDvETqR4MV9rYmEmMAgJMn7rllath1qMg__-isVOs8rUHCzAwwBTSozLyCNQqHn4odtQVbOqNm1ePQI/s1600/WW2013_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Welcome Week Representatives help direct a van into a spot to unload it during residence move in. " border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicWF1AqSxzHpqhdXeFQl4tMX4TRyjLT07Px5S1I_SmRpbzn4GCceolls0finsI8xDvETqR4MV9rYmEmMAgJMn7rllath1qMg__-isVOs8rUHCzAwwBTSozLyCNQqHn4odtQVbOqNm1ePQI/s640/WW2013_1.jpg" title="" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Alex (the rep in the red suit) is directing traffic during move-in to residences. We then help you move your belongings to your room and cheer to welcome you to McMaster!</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkguqmNNTSEui_wwyTCy2OD8fe7t7t5NDzePCMkZAyloFBPI9QwvqaWq4XoFFgWGOS9vE3wi8Xhsmh1yqGsLgHdDFOtBlaW3x2Td8Vbx1G3p0YW6UCPWHQzQF0zyp5GOT89AwM3OBDNA-t/s1600/WW2013_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="A engineering Welcome Week rep marches alongside the McMaster marching band with his vuvuzela. " border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkguqmNNTSEui_wwyTCy2OD8fe7t7t5NDzePCMkZAyloFBPI9QwvqaWq4XoFFgWGOS9vE3wi8Xhsmh1yqGsLgHdDFOtBlaW3x2Td8Vbx1G3p0YW6UCPWHQzQF0zyp5GOT89AwM3OBDNA-t/s640/WW2013_2.jpg" title="" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">McMaster engineers are known for their unbridled enthusiasm, many <a href="http://macengsociety.ca/culture/traditions/" target="_blank">traditions</a>, and their antics. Paul decided he wanted to join the McMaster marching band during opening ceremonies.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJDfwgXKxnI4k1r3X3xklAbedUz8Fz8XGnAUV-V80ROm5ZgP1TaBBdzHuPuOETxKAeg_k6KFvrps1cGycrLtqF1RragissBpRisX5B183ZOX1w6GAhq5HwgluH1KYxUaIrm5aBnm-aATTe/s1600/WW2013_3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="First year students eagerly listen to our super hero mascots." border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJDfwgXKxnI4k1r3X3xklAbedUz8Fz8XGnAUV-V80ROm5ZgP1TaBBdzHuPuOETxKAeg_k6KFvrps1cGycrLtqF1RragissBpRisX5B183ZOX1w6GAhq5HwgluH1KYxUaIrm5aBnm-aATTe/s640/WW2013_3.jpg" title="" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The eager first year students are introduced to our lovely "mascots" Super Plumber and Wonder Plumber on faculty day. After this, they broke off into teams and competed in some crazy Olympics!</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbOKxSu8_fAf5eiNPpNgGWcPBQD3JOBmODaEoBOD9KgTFGlrKc25ttxRgQV_q2Srz-BQSO431T_aFddsQ0Er1wUVEdSj8palGKl42gIe5Qbum2VTMdGiShRMbsvg30K5czVA1OKFP77441/s1600/WW2013_4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="A redsuit and a first year students are "boxing" in an inflatable boxing ring." border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbOKxSu8_fAf5eiNPpNgGWcPBQD3JOBmODaEoBOD9KgTFGlrKc25ttxRgQV_q2Srz-BQSO431T_aFddsQ0Er1wUVEdSj8palGKl42gIe5Qbum2VTMdGiShRMbsvg30K5czVA1OKFP77441/s640/WW2013_4.jpg" title="" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">On Thursday evening of Welcome Week, after the first day of classes, the Redsuits host Gulliver's Engineering Kickback (faculty night). We take school buses over to Gulliver's Lake Park for an evening of barbecuing, swimming, and inflatables! Here one of our Redsuits takes to the boxing ring to battle a first year student!</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCmMH_3_vywaQT0_LbdMZRVh8MuP2Rh1GmOubkN2zbLYwyWteP6dTMyswEnz1pP7fYDmgc1kBCtpHIwvjH9VG5tfvWVQaXUOPHS3P3m3UanFCH-YsWUuP5Y2BvVDNhOlNjF37aJ3KVPVhJ/s1600/WW2013_5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Peering through an giant iron ring, you can see the redsuits and first year students preparing to pull a city bus." border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCmMH_3_vywaQT0_LbdMZRVh8MuP2Rh1GmOubkN2zbLYwyWteP6dTMyswEnz1pP7fYDmgc1kBCtpHIwvjH9VG5tfvWVQaXUOPHS3P3m3UanFCH-YsWUuP5Y2BvVDNhOlNjF37aJ3KVPVhJ/s640/WW2013_5.jpg" title="" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">In downtown Hamilton there is an iron ring, a commemorative plaque and a time capsule donated by the Hamilton Section of the Canadian Society of Civil Engineers near Hamilton City Hall. We head on downtown during Welcome Week to raise money for </span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.cysticfibrosis.ca/en/Shinerama/" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">Shinerama</a><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_faix6deVaci_gugQQAT8esDo4JJKflEEzFDqzzJd-KXOgZ7dEDd-1cp2q4t25hLNo6hbp5fWDmp9ieow9C7TfBfPnzrEMm8iEubscMNaOV4Ubzyfkps626QCm3eJIY3YlsoT9bW9PJXo/s1600/WW2013_6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Enthusiastic volunteers wait to collect money for Shinerama." border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_faix6deVaci_gugQQAT8esDo4JJKflEEzFDqzzJd-KXOgZ7dEDd-1cp2q4t25hLNo6hbp5fWDmp9ieow9C7TfBfPnzrEMm8iEubscMNaOV4Ubzyfkps626QCm3eJIY3YlsoT9bW9PJXo/s640/WW2013_6.jpg" title="" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Each year, the university raises money during Welcome Week for </span><a href="http://www.cysticfibrosis.ca/en/Shinerama/" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">Shinerama</a><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">. Shinerama is an organization that raises money for cystic fibrosis research. To raise money, the engineers pull an accordion city bus through the streets downtown in an event called Bus Pull. These are just some of our enthusiastic volunteers!</span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV5F25uAeK_y2hlND6OZYmr4jF2RZqoOkxOZQbaHd3LOewN8GkHORr_gDWYc28pbV4fLlYdCCOPc1R8DwT5zoi-KWBfENJfFb3JZ4Uq-Sz7davjAKbE8VLRb1tcqlnowNg_Ig0pE_p_YRr/s1600/WW2013_7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Accordion bus displaying "Mac Engineering, Pulling Together" on the front." border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV5F25uAeK_y2hlND6OZYmr4jF2RZqoOkxOZQbaHd3LOewN8GkHORr_gDWYc28pbV4fLlYdCCOPc1R8DwT5zoi-KWBfENJfFb3JZ4Uq-Sz7davjAKbE8VLRb1tcqlnowNg_Ig0pE_p_YRr/s640/WW2013_7.jpg" title="" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The bus flashes between "Mac Engineering, Pulling Together" and "To Fight Cystic Fibrosis"</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2vazXtqf_1fT0NS-GOJCfjOy8CZ5ql9xM2PeSngTwTYf716LSm_9BvURw-N3V-pzabgUpRi2QrJXGSRZzqkSCJKI1y3CGO3s_mniOLZjyNc2S809U6VKbhZ9P1ehzq_I_Mcr10IttmOE4/s1600/WW2013_8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Accordion bus displaying "Mac Engineering, To Fight Cystic Fibrosis" on the front." border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2vazXtqf_1fT0NS-GOJCfjOy8CZ5ql9xM2PeSngTwTYf716LSm_9BvURw-N3V-pzabgUpRi2QrJXGSRZzqkSCJKI1y3CGO3s_mniOLZjyNc2S809U6VKbhZ9P1ehzq_I_Mcr10IttmOE4/s640/WW2013_8.jpg" title="" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Evidently, Bus Pull is one of my favourite events of the week.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJTx2VCFJneNFanLYP9GQhyphenhyphenjQVMDEY21e4Id5641XSehpYGOckf0Y5BOyqo6X0y8pML0CNXTAtWnYfnSQ3cSZBTjc8jgkmCfhQLAC_YGr_E1xZpsoSrtQaG16E-UJfAnipOuzc6S26bBwy/s1600/WW2013_9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Students pulling the bus downtown past a Canadian Tire." border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJTx2VCFJneNFanLYP9GQhyphenhyphenjQVMDEY21e4Id5641XSehpYGOckf0Y5BOyqo6X0y8pML0CNXTAtWnYfnSQ3cSZBTjc8jgkmCfhQLAC_YGr_E1xZpsoSrtQaG16E-UJfAnipOuzc6S26bBwy/s640/WW2013_9.jpg" title="" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The first year students pull the bus down Main Street while the redsuits tell people passing by why we are raising money and asking if they would like to donate.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFp3xQwR4S6eS4NBNrwkxv_p8jqigAH1Qx2bhXCQgkQyDf0EbfGPsrfrlcUhpOfpre9OX6Z2hNh6fI3VRC3S4qGTDbhCPuwmuktgYIWmoeBLWgMf-89wRYYX42U5cBSIc0wQ-4uxT9y8Q4/s1600/WW2013_10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Welcome Week reps pulling to bus down King Street." border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFp3xQwR4S6eS4NBNrwkxv_p8jqigAH1Qx2bhXCQgkQyDf0EbfGPsrfrlcUhpOfpre9OX6Z2hNh6fI3VRC3S4qGTDbhCPuwmuktgYIWmoeBLWgMf-89wRYYX42U5cBSIc0wQ-4uxT9y8Q4/s640/WW2013_10.jpg" title="" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">After, we trade roles, and the Redsuits pull the bus back down King Street, while the first year students collect money.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsx2MOZEc5iYTVCAIOh7081uCbUrsjnd3k5aOUAr-jgfJ7YMpITrJqWJtx5c7HWq0R8AVlBg_uUY3u8C_x2aFwwaw-3aykdyi5z-HRtraI0YtZKDfpILt23tuQrvLvXsWEIoT4hyphenhyphenC29zoQ/s1600/WW2013_11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Super Plumber and Wonder Plumber posing on the hovercraft bedracer." border="0" height="608" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsx2MOZEc5iYTVCAIOh7081uCbUrsjnd3k5aOUAr-jgfJ7YMpITrJqWJtx5c7HWq0R8AVlBg_uUY3u8C_x2aFwwaw-3aykdyi5z-HRtraI0YtZKDfpILt23tuQrvLvXsWEIoT4hyphenhyphenC29zoQ/s640/WW2013_11.jpg" title="" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">On the final day of Welcome Week, there are the annual IRC Bedracers. They are exactly what they sound like, we race beds around a track. Super Plumber and Wonder Plumber proudly lead the charge on our hovercraft bedracer!</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSUp8cWho7e5up_8NURdHWF3K1uQOVCyq1RZKJN6lGINiXfsJvOiQ58XNF0xBS6Qw_IyI9wS8xVacX_cgzAFeQpOXjpaS_Ji2epGM5Kk71b4XOh6etrWeHH34QTrJV9NBV5bRllwTk1Lfd/s1600/WW2013_12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Tired, but happy redsuits posing for a picture." border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSUp8cWho7e5up_8NURdHWF3K1uQOVCyq1RZKJN6lGINiXfsJvOiQ58XNF0xBS6Qw_IyI9wS8xVacX_cgzAFeQpOXjpaS_Ji2epGM5Kk71b4XOh6etrWeHH34QTrJV9NBV5bRllwTk1Lfd/s640/WW2013_12.jpg" title="" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">After a long tiring week as a Welcome Week rep, you really appreciate your fellow reps. Here we are, on the last day, exhausted, but still unbelievably excited for the coming year with the first year friends we've made! It was an amazing group to rep with for my final year!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now it's time to gear up for classes....</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That's all for now folks! </span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">~ Christen</span></div>
Christenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04155122004023518578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8456065056134058827.post-64252710810920558792013-08-15T16:05:00.000-04:002013-08-15T17:57:24.927-04:00First Month Face Off: Tips to Survive the First Month of University<h3>
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ciao everyone!</span></b></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Summer is quickly coming to a close and the start of the school year is around the corner. To help you navigate the strange (and sometimes choppy) waters of university life I made a list of tips to help you survive your first month at university. <strike>My friend</strike> Christen got a hold of my list and thought she had "better" tips to offer. So here are our top tips. Let us know whose tips are the best!</span><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">[Disclaimer: All advice to be taken at your own risk! ]</span></i><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdxQiCpFKmPigUL9NSkUArSOzEiG66ebCufz4r_jP4Vq-nu8Tt_KGLKQAHIp_afU-kJOpIFGHLGXWBsbAk1jWvGQyrLfFo3KEBWgEExIIj8BlvUTkTGTfNtpLrsXvs3PgwvYzKjtAiV9ID/s1600/Danielle_Christen_Angry.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Christen and Danielle as they battle for the list of top tips" border="0" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdxQiCpFKmPigUL9NSkUArSOzEiG66ebCufz4r_jP4Vq-nu8Tt_KGLKQAHIp_afU-kJOpIFGHLGXWBsbAk1jWvGQyrLfFo3KEBWgEExIIj8BlvUTkTGTfNtpLrsXvs3PgwvYzKjtAiV9ID/s320/Danielle_Christen_Angry.jpeg" title="" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Christen & Danielle as they battle for the list of top tips.</span></td></tr>
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<b><u><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Danielle’s Top Tips:</span></u></b><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Keep in contact with your high school friends.</i>You will be meeting tons of new people during university (especially during <a href="http://studentsuccess.mcmaster.ca/orientation/welcome-week.html" target="_blank">Welcome Week</a>), but don’t forget about the friends that stuck with you through high school.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Get to bed early every night</i>. “Beauty sleep” is more than an expression; it’s <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/15/beauty-sleep-is-no-myth-s_n_797242.html" target="_blank">science</a>.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Stay hydrated.</i> Just because summer is over doesn't mean that the warm weather has left! Septembers in Hamilton are known to be hot, so keep refilling that water bottle.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Use your resources</i>. Ask your professors for help and visit during office hours; sign up for the <a href="http://www.blogger.com/(http://macengsociety.ca/ask-an-undergraduate-engineer-program/" target="_blank">Ask an Undergraduate Engineer Program</a>; use the <a href="http://www.math.mcmaster.ca/index.php/undergraduate-studies/math-drop-in-centre.html" target="_blank">Math Help Centre</a> - dedicated to first year math courses; visit the <a href="http://studentsuccess.mcmaster.ca/" target="_blank">Student Success Centre</a> and the <a href="http://wellness.mcmaster.ca/" target="_blank">Student Wellness Centre</a> to find out about the services they offer.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Get involved</i>. McMaster Students Union has hundreds of <a href="https://www.msumcmaster.ca/clubs-directory" target="_blank">clubs</a> and Mac Eng has <a href="http://macengsociety.ca/clubs-and-teams/" target="_blank">over 15 clubs and teams </a>for you to get involved with! Try some out and find one that fits you.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Volunteer</i>. Join the Mac Eng Outreach volunteer team! Send us an email at <a href="mailto:goeng1@mcmaster.ca">goeng1@mcmaster.ca</a> and become one of our fantastic volunteers.</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I've saved the best tip for last.</span><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Have fun! </i>University has been the best experience of my life so far. Make sure you enjoy the ride.</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Christen here. While those were some good tips, I have some sage-like advice for you. Listen, you will.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsJz9Z3hXSyLdONh8yURGqmQNI3mq2Fb8lJdroahbPESuRMnR_rDwtE_uD-l3P1dda_h3tUQy61l15HMl25a2Gxxuu9RT5PvNfoebH9RM27roHLlOZkaYW5qGPB7w2DOWi7SRfW2S787QJ/s1600/298415_10152100796550311_1423056338_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Danielle and Christen smiling and being friendly" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsJz9Z3hXSyLdONh8yURGqmQNI3mq2Fb8lJdroahbPESuRMnR_rDwtE_uD-l3P1dda_h3tUQy61l15HMl25a2Gxxuu9RT5PvNfoebH9RM27roHLlOZkaYW5qGPB7w2DOWi7SRfW2S787QJ/s320/298415_10152100796550311_1423056338_n.jpg" title="" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.800000190734863px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Danielle & Christen - they are actually friends</span><br />
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<b><u>Christen’s Awesome Tips:</u></b></div>
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<li><i>Meet new people!</i> The best part about university is it is full of thousands of new people. In that mix there is bound to be some that share your love of Shakespearean English.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/coffee/" target="_blank"><i>Caffeine is your friend</i></a>. Those late night conversations about the meaning of life and what happened in the last episode of Game of Thrones are where the best friendships are built. </li>
<li><i>You can be whoever you want to be! </i>None of these people know who you are, how ‘popular’ (or unpopular) you were in high school, or where you got that unsightly scar. This is your clean slate! Take it, don’t wait! Be the best you that you can be, because “<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/10825-happy-birthday-to-you-classic-seuss" target="_blank">Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You</a>”.</li>
<li><i>Get off social media. (Except our blog because we are awesome people</i>). “I’ll just check Facebook for a minute” always turns into several hours of surfing the information superhighway. There are so many other things you could be doing!</li>
<li><i>Attend as many events as possible. </i>Life isn’t too crazy during that first month so it’s a great opportunity to get out and see all the options available to you. Challenge yourself and try at least one thing that is outside your comfort zone.</li>
<li><i>Find balance</i>. With that said, once you have found some activities you want to be involved in, make sure you take some time to sit down and prioritize!</li>
<li><i>Learn! </i>That’s what you came to school for! But don’t forget, not all learning happens in the classroom. Some of the most memorable lessons happen when you are open to learning outside of class time. </li>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Well, I hope you enjoyed our tips. (Christen, I still think my tips are better than yours!)</span></div>
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Until next time, </div>
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Danielle</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8456065056134058827.post-5648632400079528002013-07-31T14:00:00.000-04:002013-07-31T18:17:43.203-04:00Welcome Week 2013: T-minus 1 month!<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVjEgbsSyTxxosz1X0Efqvp3_BL1UORnoPchs-dGZ4oEQxmToqzdq1fR-Ic1M_PbGY2YCDHdOF196P7HqAAdCMQq2HKL22G9Rc_WUG4uihpbIW37Ttkr16mJbLcjHJV8aYabX2dfpiiPw/s1600/brandon.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Vanessa & her housemate during Welcome Week 2012." border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVjEgbsSyTxxosz1X0Efqvp3_BL1UORnoPchs-dGZ4oEQxmToqzdq1fR-Ic1M_PbGY2YCDHdOF196P7HqAAdCMQq2HKL22G9Rc_WUG4uihpbIW37Ttkr16mJbLcjHJV8aYabX2dfpiiPw/s320/brandon.png" title="" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Vanessa & her housemate sporting Brandon Hall </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">shirts </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">during Welcome Week 2012.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I remember the excitement I felt around this time last year when I was getting ready for my first <a href="http://studentsuccess.mcmaster.ca/orientation/welcome-day.html" target="_blank"><i>Welcome Day</i></a> and <a href="http://studentsuccess.mcmaster.ca/orientation/welcome-week.html" target="_blank"><i>Welcome Week</i></a>. I was doing my research on McMaster University, asking upper year students a million questions and generally amping myself up for what was soon to be the most epic week ever!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">During <i>Welcome Week</i> there are thousands of </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">wildly-spirited </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">representatives in colourful funky suits (coveralls, actually) helping first years 'find their place' at McMaster University. There are reps for the entire school (</span><a href="https://www.msumcmaster.ca/services-directory/16-msu-maroons-bring-the-noise-unleash-the-spirit" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">MSU Maroon Reps</a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">), each residence (</span><a href="http://housing.mcmaster.ca/Residence_life/index.php" target="_blank">Residence Orientation Representatives or ‘ROR’s</a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">) and of course each faculty/program! Each residence and faculty/program has their own coverall colour.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikZlILDKuAFOqFOfA6q0l469rVq2CU8QNHu8CMC6q-vLmLiv3SGXtFEza8g1k4lGhromcBrxw9e4igTvK2n94ezyRI4JDGQVPBcwt42myHOYIuwF1tljDfBaOyZEnnpve6ti94fowJKu8/s1600/woobeer.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikZlILDKuAFOqFOfA6q0l469rVq2CU8QNHu8CMC6q-vLmLiv3SGXtFEza8g1k4lGhromcBrxw9e4igTvK2n94ezyRI4JDGQVPBcwt42myHOYIuwF1tljDfBaOyZEnnpve6ti94fowJKu8/s200/woobeer.png" style="padding: 5px;" width="200" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">The sea of red; first year engineering students</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">gather in the Student Centre</span>.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This year, I am equally (</span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">if not more</i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">) excited for an entirely different reason; I get a chance to be one of the leaders for the first year students! </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I will be representing the Faculty of Engineering this year during <i>Welcome Week</i>. Engineering reps are referred to as ‘<i><a href="http://macengsociety.ca/culture/traditions/" target="_blank">Redsuits</a></i>’ (<i>our coveralls are red!</i>). We are credited with the right amount of goofiness, mixed with the willingness to help students get to know </span><a href="http://www.mcmaster.ca/welcome/campusmap.cfm" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">campus</a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> and each other. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm looking forward to connecting with as many new students as possible during <i>Welcome Week</i>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /><u>Here's a fun tip</u>: be sure to go out to all of the events you can during <i>Welcome Week</i>. And I mean</span><strong style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> all</strong><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> of them! I met all my housemates (now some of my closest friends), came out of my shell and had one of the best experiences of my life during my <i>Welcome Week</i>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Engineering is a program that requires a lot of hard work and focus. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Midterms and assignments start to pile up fast, so make </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">the absolute most out of your </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Welcome Week.</i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Welcome to <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/mcmaster.engineering.2017/" target="_blank">McMaster's Class of 2017</a>!</b> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Can’t wait to see you there! </span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> ~ Vanessa</b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKriV_9qghey5eZ46XFXhIJb4OkPonWkR7zHkc1Lf6IvPX0Pm6VbDBxvk_LNxxws8sqKJ4DNtK1rdjcg3a8_3BIcGGno_tklq64ysNd70KlsZeFw-8xejFvWMEb8e0bUofhSaeBsrOO60/s1600/2016.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Aerial shot of Vanessa's graduating year, 2016." border="0" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKriV_9qghey5eZ46XFXhIJb4OkPonWkR7zHkc1Lf6IvPX0Pm6VbDBxvk_LNxxws8sqKJ4DNtK1rdjcg3a8_3BIcGGno_tklq64ysNd70KlsZeFw-8xejFvWMEb8e0bUofhSaeBsrOO60/s400/2016.png" title="" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One of the best parts of Welcome Week; the aerial shot of your graduating year! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is the photo we took last year during my Welcome Week.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />Vanessahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14147680536384492591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8456065056134058827.post-61224185475026024512013-07-24T13:00:00.000-04:002013-07-24T13:07:55.031-04:00The (My) Dog (Joe) Days of Summer: Discovering My Hamilton<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“But isn’t Hamilton like, gross and sketchy?”</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I shake my head for what feels like the thousandth time and politely explain that what they are describing is not my Hamilton. I have called Hamilton my home for the past 4 years, and had frequented to the <a href="http://www.hamilton.ca/CultureandRecreation/Arts_Culture_And_Museums/HamiltonFarmersMarket/?WT.mc_id=farmersmarket&WT.hamilton_redirect_friendly=1" target="_blank">Hamilton Farmers Market</a> and the <a href="http://www.waterfronttrail.org/trail-p-hamilton.html" target="_blank">Hamilton Waterfront Trail</a> since I was a toddler. I will admit I came with some preconceived notions about the city based on my limited experience, but they soon were long since forgotten when I started school here. A picture is worth a thousand words, so I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves...</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In my first year at McMaster, I lived in Whidden Hall residence, which backs onto <a href="http://www.ontariotrails.on.ca/trails-a-z/cootes-paradise---waterfront-trail" target="_blank">Cootes Paradise</a>. My roommate and I would take study breaks to go for a hike in our own backyard (literally).</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheMl5UBwIn3RYCs50PbBmY0NCRrG7ABxIEJ0GCuwSKTec8FoQNspLVYbgIztpX_wP8BhlKJXmuDNgMGUBOZeWOes0YYMbkEE9bifTNQtp9A2eu3HM2RDxrF60cWnRrulTy0-tNbu5fsoSK/s1600/Cootes_1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Blogger hiking up an incline in Cootes Paradise." border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheMl5UBwIn3RYCs50PbBmY0NCRrG7ABxIEJ0GCuwSKTec8FoQNspLVYbgIztpX_wP8BhlKJXmuDNgMGUBOZeWOes0YYMbkEE9bifTNQtp9A2eu3HM2RDxrF60cWnRrulTy0-tNbu5fsoSK/s320/Cootes_1.JPG" title="" width="240" /></span></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ3scNIIwrHb-kLd4W0QZX74AolcPLM3_6nfmqTT3m9yVF7z4HSN7NwU9Ub_rabPcswZrHH-SrjWn2sz9ikDCt8wgM21wxJXFtLWo-xLelF-rHfbR3tFJxOJC1sK1dKedcfeVC0xb_DVbS/s1600/Cootes_2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="View of Cootes Paradise looking through wooded scenery out into the marsh." border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ3scNIIwrHb-kLd4W0QZX74AolcPLM3_6nfmqTT3m9yVF7z4HSN7NwU9Ub_rabPcswZrHH-SrjWn2sz9ikDCt8wgM21wxJXFtLWo-xLelF-rHfbR3tFJxOJC1sK1dKedcfeVC0xb_DVbS/s320/Cootes_2.JPG" title="" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The longer I stayed in Hamilton, the more adventurous I became in my exploring! This is me overlooking one of the <a href="http://cityofwaterfalls.ca/" target="_blank">126 waterfalls in Hamilton</a>. I believe I have only visited an embarrassing 8 of them.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFCRk0829FpgnxpGVQ7fuHtk92YBcQZn2DqQMP-gC3-PRkJbwv41BSf3I6CE_UfIYjjiZ7VWdii8cVo2LiFY3vcaTp92oc83-bufuAgVRU0rFNbLTfK4VGdTZsyAiC1ukWCTrMNSJl8Mgt/s1600/Waterfall_1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFCRk0829FpgnxpGVQ7fuHtk92YBcQZn2DqQMP-gC3-PRkJbwv41BSf3I6CE_UfIYjjiZ7VWdii8cVo2LiFY3vcaTp92oc83-bufuAgVRU0rFNbLTfK4VGdTZsyAiC1ukWCTrMNSJl8Mgt/s400/Waterfall_1.JPG" width="300" /></span></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGZK8ncLRf9HK6P5jmGlslbCb2geKht1HfSwhnvspLNRNUzzd_b3kOQvtbvQYNl1wKJW7KU9fj1n1TFvG4bBzPxfUiuV7GZtMO4d2T93w4rS3qSIjQhOwhoSv9LNug9_adrBrkFj_qThFg/s1600/Waterfall_2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="View of Webster's Falls in Hamilton." border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGZK8ncLRf9HK6P5jmGlslbCb2geKht1HfSwhnvspLNRNUzzd_b3kOQvtbvQYNl1wKJW7KU9fj1n1TFvG4bBzPxfUiuV7GZtMO4d2T93w4rS3qSIjQhOwhoSv9LNug9_adrBrkFj_qThFg/s400/Waterfall_2.JPG" title="" width="300" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To stay active while I’m in school, in addition to taking advantage of our <a href="http://www.marauders.ca/sports/2011/4/11/facilitiespool.aspx?id=179" target="_blank">olympic-sized pool</a>, I also enjoy cycling on the <a href="http://www.grandriver.ca/index/document.cfm?Sec=21&Sub1=86&sub2=0" target="_blank">Hamilton-Brantford Rail Trail</a>. I was up particularly early one morning and caught the heavy dew evaporating from down in Dundas Valley. The Rail Trail boasts 32km of opportunities like these.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivQHGjn7-VbEtmfFnsbo1uB1Sn3Ue_bjqb7mTF0S6yOfVDEiX0JWZFMdcF1K-VnKx_oDk-dpAzzrsQRsl48Lg15fNy1CN0_tHalaL6r9ki6vAaWoKFy6LYAIyGJBkZ3Y4tCB0cFTOJtzap/s1600/Rail_Trail_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Looking out onto Dundas Valley as the morning dew is evaporating giving a foggy appearance." border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivQHGjn7-VbEtmfFnsbo1uB1Sn3Ue_bjqb7mTF0S6yOfVDEiX0JWZFMdcF1K-VnKx_oDk-dpAzzrsQRsl48Lg15fNy1CN0_tHalaL6r9ki6vAaWoKFy6LYAIyGJBkZ3Y4tCB0cFTOJtzap/s640/Rail_Trail_1.jpg" title="" width="640" /></a></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjEXmidvwwcJnV4GpEpty0Va02-vdMcgpf0jfRu91EQq_HJ7IR4XoYuHM5dxBodqK8iO0Yw7b3-iP6iBYXma_MeHX-Eu_BLNMXqy62_doUgTXc8sl6CqHZjMuK94d3MV3h44Ipy8KqRW_Q/s1600/Rail_Trail_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="Hamilton-Brantford Rail Trail marker." border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjEXmidvwwcJnV4GpEpty0Va02-vdMcgpf0jfRu91EQq_HJ7IR4XoYuHM5dxBodqK8iO0Yw7b3-iP6iBYXma_MeHX-Eu_BLNMXqy62_doUgTXc8sl6CqHZjMuK94d3MV3h44Ipy8KqRW_Q/s640/Rail_Trail_2.jpg" title="" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As I write this, I am sitting, enjoying a cup of<a href="http://fairtrade.ca/" target="_blank"> Fair Trade</a> iced tea in the lovely <a href="http://mydogjoe.squarespace.com/" target="_blank"><i>My Dog Joe</i></a> coffee shop in Westdale with my fellow blogger <a href="http://goeng1mac.blogspot.ca/2013/03/danielle-vs-daniela-spot-differences.html" target="_blank">Danielle</a> and our friend Larissa (an electrical and biomedical engineering student at McMaster). The <a href="http://www.westdalevillage.ca/" target="_blank">Westdale community</a> is the friendly neighbour to the university filled awesome shops including everything from comic book stores to bakeries. It reminds me a lot of one of my other favourite places in Hamilton with a similar atmosphere; <a href="http://lockestreetshops.com/Locke_Street_Shops/Home.html" target="_blank">Locke Street</a>!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjla-hPOu5veU7opQf8LA9ChlAY66Ctw6xJ7_W0njbqXQMW9SUE8oCYNYHuRe-vf8__qlhoWG9ulrWXUupyME9fDI6OXGTXriVwMCDbeuWYf8VpGoDPybqoh9-JzzBkd1DKjWDlFKDW12l/s1600/Westdale_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Fellow Blogger Danielle, and friend Larissa reading the local newspaper in the "My Dog Joe" cafe." border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjla-hPOu5veU7opQf8LA9ChlAY66Ctw6xJ7_W0njbqXQMW9SUE8oCYNYHuRe-vf8__qlhoWG9ulrWXUupyME9fDI6OXGTXriVwMCDbeuWYf8VpGoDPybqoh9-JzzBkd1DKjWDlFKDW12l/s640/Westdale_1.jpg" title="" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Blogger enjoying a good book on a bench in front of the Westdale Village sign." border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix4tYGLj9DQssCp_HCb8apLhPpLKDC_0q1MMQwUMu3TPYGfw6ErUVxBNOzmOVLovnA7gfz4Npe1kpBuS1JdRDQB63FCpNXVbeYSP9sIJ_Q7LEQVgNpxKU8ZmfRtM_mE5_nEHlzMGEluIdQ/s640/Westdale_2.jpg" title="" width="640" /></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I came to Hamilton with some biases of my own that may have initially held me back from exploring my city. I hope that having read this, and seen some of what my beautiful city has to offer, you will come with an open mind in the fall and discover <b>your</b> Hamilton.</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That’s all for now folks!</span></span></div>
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<span class="s1"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">~Christen</span></span></div>
Christenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04155122004023518578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8456065056134058827.post-31908863525144290312013-07-17T10:50:00.000-04:002013-07-17T11:27:35.455-04:00Engineers Without Borders Break Down Barriers at Summer Retreat<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Hello out there recent high school graduates! Congratulations and
welcome to the world after high school!</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One of the cool things about university is all the
opportunities that come your way. If you thought you had access to many cool
clubs, teams and organizations in high school, wait until you get to Mac!</span><br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLZR-NUpHwSSpU2FfGZ72zqs54lcAh7-GPbTdYDmYWEO6pO1hfwgR9LaZBS9zFoRFTG_VJsw2wSc4VT8c_zekioGMqOLprxwCfpYBO1vZG5SCW9LX7Uc9gBLudnXaCaIffikEx1rYKM1Q2/s1600/1009626_10151648748669927_1126054183_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Daniela and her fellow EWB members at the end of their retreat." border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLZR-NUpHwSSpU2FfGZ72zqs54lcAh7-GPbTdYDmYWEO6pO1hfwgR9LaZBS9zFoRFTG_VJsw2wSc4VT8c_zekioGMqOLprxwCfpYBO1vZG5SCW9LX7Uc9gBLudnXaCaIffikEx1rYKM1Q2/s400/1009626_10151648748669927_1126054183_o.jpg" title="" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Daniela (bottom left) and her fellow EWBers at the end of their retreat.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Since I started at Mac, I have been involved in the organization </span><a href="http://www.ewb.ca/" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">Engineers Without Borders</a><span class="MsoHyperlink" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><span class="MsoHyperlink" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(EWB). It’s a national organization
with chapters in universities, companies and cities across the country. Some of
the work we do in Canada is focused on engaging high school students to think about
the impact they have on the world, promoting fair trade, influencing
engineering curriculum, and lobbying the government concerning development issues.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">With so many ventures and members across the country, summer provides us EWBers
with an opportunity to get together and talk about the work different chapters
are doing and plan for the coming school year. During the Canada Day long weekend, the Ontario
and Atlantic chapters got together in Paris, Ontario and had three days of intense
discussion and planning. It’s great to unplug and get thinking
with loads of flip chart paper, markers and post-its!</span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFhZj9IfcgV0EJlbWwrmPp5sRmMPd_MLLhuAL2yclljc05jDmDtzJApvRIEbUb4NgVzWbzvsNp8q4GrKmfWzWz8u2cZGh-51UE8Gj86dGUqH609hOEKZGdnbekKGMTqiTSgf1Tc6jWkvM/s1600/DSCN0815.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFhZj9IfcgV0EJlbWwrmPp5sRmMPd_MLLhuAL2yclljc05jDmDtzJApvRIEbUb4NgVzWbzvsNp8q4GrKmfWzWz8u2cZGh-51UE8Gj86dGUqH609hOEKZGdnbekKGMTqiTSgf1Tc6jWkvM/s320/DSCN0815.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">n this session, groups were having a discussion around </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">different </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">types of aid: market-based, needs-based and rights-based.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></td></tr>
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<span class="MsoHyperlink" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One of my
favourite sessions was the Agricultural Extension FarmVillage activity, where
participants learn about some of the challenges that farmers face in rural
Ghana, Africa. When I was a Junior Fellow (short-term volunteer) in Ghana with EWB, I
was part of the Agricultural Extension team, so this session gave me a chance
to share a bit of my experience. (Check out the <a href="http://danielainghana.blogspot.ca/" target="_blank">blog</a>, <i><a href="http://danielainghana.blogspot.ca/" target="_blank">Let's Go Black Stars!</a>,</i> I wrote while I was in Ghana in 2011.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">)</span><span class="MsoHyperlink" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Something that is really awesome about EWB is that the co-founder & CEO, George Roter, comes
out to these retreats and participates with us! We even have a tradition called "Q&A", where we all gather together and can ask him whatever questions we
have about the organization. As students, we play a fundamental role in what
EWB does. It’s pretty cool!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you want to learn more about EWB, shoot me a comment or look
me up when you get here in September! We’ll be at <i>Clubs Fest </i>and <i>Eng Fest</i>,
events where all campus and engineering clubs have sign-up booths.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Later days,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Daniela</span><br />
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Danielahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06575323374479860987noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8456065056134058827.post-91097769705572401452013-07-03T15:15:00.000-04:002013-07-03T15:15:00.954-04:00Beyond Mac Eng: Working at Sunnybrook Hospital<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFMB3_jHIMAEAAHs0l1vsBSFiuuTKJzfMR8jkYRzc_CF6dhmY2SSZULHFOWWKXGQdb0uK1_iZYLF48UNtnAmXvJrpa4cE0FGUoS2F7O5QmYBUd4pzFTEwHKIKI-BtlvBZ9oPsg70rHdtio/s1600/Trinette+smiling+against+Mac+logo5-1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Trinette being interviewed for the video" border="0" height="182" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFMB3_jHIMAEAAHs0l1vsBSFiuuTKJzfMR8jkYRzc_CF6dhmY2SSZULHFOWWKXGQdb0uK1_iZYLF48UNtnAmXvJrpa4cE0FGUoS2F7O5QmYBUd4pzFTEwHKIKI-BtlvBZ9oPsg70rHdtio/s200/Trinette+smiling+against+Mac+logo5-1.png" title="" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Trinette being interviewed for the video.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Trinette has just graduated from McMaster Engineering. She was able to write us a post telling us about her final year and her amazing engineering job. Keep reading to find out more!</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After four years of hard work, the thought of graduating with a degree in Electrical & Biomedical Engineering seemed like a dream… That was until I filled out forms for graduation and completed my eight month design project. Then, I couldn't believe it was finally happening!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Applying for full time jobs was overwhelming and time-consuming. After many applications and a few interviews, I was offered a research engineer position at <a href="http://sunnybrook.ca/" target="_blank">Sunnybrook Hospital </a>in Toronto. My goal has always been to work in the medical field, so being given this exciting opportunity was truly incredible. I started my new position in May and find that working in a clinical research setting has proved to be very intriguing. Everything becomes more exciting and rewarding when you get to work on projects that have real world applications, like find alternative breast cancer drugs. Working with imaging devices such as <span id="goog_1347103788"></span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single-photon_emission_computed_tomography" target="_blank">CT/SPECT<span id="goog_1347103789"></span> scanners</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PET-CT" target="_blank">CT/PET scanners</a>, and learning to operate them during various experiments is unbelievable. It seems as though you never really stop learning after university. Engineering has definitely taught me the problem solving skills required to come up with practical solutions needed for my job.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQmEY2_llFPUdlNnMEvQp0X_y85PFXS7XOogHv04-DQOhQdZAJ55ZJYHO088NO0-EqQtsOhkq071Kf95IidL4vI_ukHU7SNl9_k3dODDFS5JCIMnkoUTU3EUrB833j2_ahwve8o2FvBnCh/s1190/Trinette,+David+&+Elaine-1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQmEY2_llFPUdlNnMEvQp0X_y85PFXS7XOogHv04-DQOhQdZAJ55ZJYHO088NO0-EqQtsOhkq071Kf95IidL4vI_ukHU7SNl9_k3dODDFS5JCIMnkoUTU3EUrB833j2_ahwve8o2FvBnCh/s320/Trinette,+David+&+Elaine-1.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Trinette and David showing Elaine their design project.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">During my final year at McMaster, I was fortunate enough to be involved in the filming of </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=jBLFcnplcTU" target="_blank">Women in Engineering: Our Global Future</a></b></i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">. This mini-documentary was created in partnership with the </span><a href="http://www.girls20summit.com/" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">G(irls)20 Summit</a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">, produced by <a href="http://www.doublebarrelstudios.com/" target="_blank">Double Barrel Studios</a>, hosted by <a href="http://alumni.os.mcmaster.ca/s/1439/index2.aspx?sid=1439&gid=1&pgid=935" target="_blank">Elaine Kunda</a>, a McMaster alumna, and features McMaster Engineering professors. Working with everyone that helped to put the video together was a fantastic experience. There was a lot of interesting conversations as to why many young women decide not to go into fields that are heavily involved with math and science. It was eye opening to hear about everyone’s personal experiences and difficulties in terms of their successes within engineering.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My own experience in engineering has been a mix of ups and downs, but a real passion for it began after my mother was in a bad accident. She was in a wheel chair for over six months, which inspired me to use engineering to improve people’s lives when they don’t have the full range of mobility we so commonly take for granted. I have found engineering to be a very exciting and an interesting field of study. It is also very rewarding because you are constantly building and making things, and you can always look back and say “Look, it works! And I built it!” In short, there is always something to feel proud about. I believe that the world needs more women in engineering and I hope this video inspires some young women to pursue engineering programs. If you have not seen the </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=jBLFcnplcTU" target="_blank">Women in Engineering: Our Global Future</a></b></i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">, then I would definitely check it out!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>~ Trinette</b></span><br />
<div>
<br /></div>
Fireballhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11521892091434859821noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8456065056134058827.post-4244435362064148682013-06-26T11:15:00.000-04:002013-06-26T11:15:00.412-04:00Summer Adventures on (and off) Campus!<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>The summer has just been flying by! I can't believe it's already the end of June!</i></span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjKIYpqUsYXx_6fL1uq39VG9q7rgu37vUOkyXnWkToQhwRk-Hw5xbhEYiImVztBhsSpH4A5Shs_r8olzbNQykkc-ytvs3HBMzY_R2rAWBQTDHcnwr3O7WC_VCfJYkDbn-2nEvYw9zoWzZd/s1600/IMG_0102.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjKIYpqUsYXx_6fL1uq39VG9q7rgu37vUOkyXnWkToQhwRk-Hw5xbhEYiImVztBhsSpH4A5Shs_r8olzbNQykkc-ytvs3HBMzY_R2rAWBQTDHcnwr3O7WC_VCfJYkDbn-2nEvYw9zoWzZd/s320/IMG_0102.JPG" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Genna making a material to administer<br />drugs to the eye through contact lenses.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Once again I'm working in <a href="http://chemeng.mcmaster.ca/sheardown.html" target="_blank">Dr. Heather Sheardown</a>'s lab for the summer, although not the same project as last year. If you're wondering what I was working on last year, check out a blog I wrote about my lab adventures in <i><a href="http://goeng1mac.blogspot.ca/2012/07/keeping-eye-on-things.html" target="_blank">Keeping an Eye on Things</a></i>! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This year I'm investigating silicone contact lenses for drug delivery to the eye. We know that these contact lenses release the drug at a certain rate, but we don't know why. Is it a factor of the drug being trapped in the material, or is it because the drug is binding to the monomers in the polymer chain? That's what I'm researching this summer. Basically, I get to make a bunch of different materials (with different drugs and in different compositions) and test the amount of drug they’ll release in water. After a lot of complicated equations and statistical analysis I can determine which composition is ideal for drug delivery.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm so excited to be working in this area of research because I think the possible applications of these lenses are astounding. Imagine getting an eye infection or eye surgery and instead of having to put annoying drops in your eye, you can just wear your contacts and the problem solves itself!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Enough about work; let's talk about all the fun stuff going on around campus over the summer! As you can imagine all this rain has brought out the best of nature. Now, this may be terrifying news for you allergy sufferers, but for those of us who love going for hikes through Cootes Paradise it's amazing! There's nothing more relaxing than taking a leisurely stroll through the park with some good friends. If you want to hear more about my exciting summer adventures, I've recently been featured in a video, <i><b><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bu7zSRfp9d8" target="_blank">Mac Eng: Reel Talk with Genna</a></b></i>!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There are some other exciting things going on in Mac Eng as well. Last week, the Faculty of Engineering released a mini-documentary <i><b><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBLFcnplcTU" target="_blank">Women in Engineering: Our Global Future</a></b></i>, that was shown to the delegates at the <a href="http://www.girls20summit.com/" target="_blank">G(irls) 20 Summit</a> in Russia. It highlights women in engineering and their potential career opportunities in science, technology, engineering and math, known as “STEM”. Dr. Sheardown is interviewed and provide some compelling facts and insights about the pressing need for women in these fields. See if you can spot my cameo appearance :)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Anywhoo, I guess I should get back to work. These contact lenses won't make themselves!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Cheers!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">~ Genna</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/Bu7zSRfp9d8?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
Genna!http://www.blogger.com/profile/04980629030974111241noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8456065056134058827.post-39364305351801230302013-06-17T09:10:00.000-04:002013-06-17T11:05:41.354-04:00Women in Engineering: Our Global Future<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Ciao everyone!</b></span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4nZsCHu4I0m23OJXWjcgEtbxH2AzJMUL48EiDhd63miPyoWVM5kjgFouV_JSI1879uhisdkEFZm9m-vRVyeWIMOrmfTvt4Qt0bW3Bg14e_mAym7D6kVLrELZasWeXaArsCKjvqeYn3AC3/s1600/IMG_7462.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Elaine Kunda being filmed by Double Barrel Studios" border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4nZsCHu4I0m23OJXWjcgEtbxH2AzJMUL48EiDhd63miPyoWVM5kjgFouV_JSI1879uhisdkEFZm9m-vRVyeWIMOrmfTvt4Qt0bW3Bg14e_mAym7D6kVLrELZasWeXaArsCKjvqeYn3AC3/s320/IMG_7462.JPG" title="" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Elaine Kunda being filmed by Double Barrel Studios.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I cannot believe that we are already in the middle of June! I'm sure those of you that are in high school are busy studying for your final exams, wishing it was summer already and getting ready for university in the fall.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have some very exciting news to share with all of you today. Over the past few weeks, I was given the opportunity to help create a<i> professional mini-documentary!</i> That’s right, a professional video, with a director, producer, director of photography, camera crew and make-up artists. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This video, </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBLFcnplcTU&feature=youtu.be" target="_blank">Women in Engineering: Our Global Future</a></b>,</i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> was created in partnership with the </span><a href="http://www.girls20summit.com/" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">G(irls) 20 Summit</a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> in Russia, produced by </span><a href="http://www.doublebarrelstudios.com/" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">Double Barrel Studios</a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> and hosted by </span><a href="http://alumni.os.mcmaster.ca/s/1439/index2.aspx?sid=1439&gid=1&pgid=935" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">Elaine Kunda</a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">, a McMaster alumna. The summit, which is taking place in Moscow right now, brings together delegates from each of the G20 countries and the African Union. The delegates discuss and design innovative ideas to empowering girls and women globally. Then they present these ideas to G20 Leaders. The best part is that these young ladies are all between the ages </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">18-20</i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">!</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVcUiuFIu0RYlkIXv4jLfGE3WC3H0rArjXB1wHXSmbfzsX4abrNZGcvjb8Xv_h44onHkwTEdRK8_New_hDs1qWo4pH0lMg3cTzN4z-nR369pKWZYW9PYsMqRIQYGOe2PyUrYPfy1AsJpua/s1600/Elec_biomedical_capstone_Mridula-Nila.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Left to Right: Mridula, Nilanthy and Maureen showing us their robot bugs." border="0" height="219" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVcUiuFIu0RYlkIXv4jLfGE3WC3H0rArjXB1wHXSmbfzsX4abrNZGcvjb8Xv_h44onHkwTEdRK8_New_hDs1qWo4pH0lMg3cTzN4z-nR369pKWZYW9PYsMqRIQYGOe2PyUrYPfy1AsJpua/s320/Elec_biomedical_capstone_Mridula-Nila.jpg" title="" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">L to R: Mridula, Nilanthy and Maureen showing us their robot bugs.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You will see interviews with </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mridula & Nilanthy in the video.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I really wish I could have gone to the summit to meet such forward thinking young women!</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The video<i> </i></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">is all about encouraging young girls to study in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields. Being a woman in engineering, encouraging more girls to study in STEM fields is a cause I love supporting.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The G(irls) 20 Summit is <a href="http://www.girls20summit.com/videos/" target="_blank">streaming online live</a> today and tomorrow (June 17th - 18th). If you have a few free minutes, you should check it out here. There are some very cool speakers.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Until next time,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Danielle</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">... Oh you are still here, did you want to see the video I helped make? You can view <i>Women in Engineering: Our Global Future </i>right here. Enjoy!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/jBLFcnplcTU?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8456065056134058827.post-90380612376988289532013-06-12T15:00:00.000-04:002013-06-12T15:00:00.198-04:00Bombardier Aerospace: Taking my Education to New Heights<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<!--StartFragment-->
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Back in Grade 12, when
I first applied to attend McMaster University, I was skeptical about pursuing engineering.
I wondered if it was really for me or if I was choosing a completely wrong path.
So, I chose to enter the engineering co-op program so that I could begin to learn
first-hand whether or not this career path was a good fit. As first year came
to a close, I found out that I was successful in my application to the materials
science and engineering stream and the engineering & management program. I felt ‘wide-eyed
and bushy-tailed’ with excitement about my future! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqOzzy2BCK87CcfgQ_mBh0BvNz5dJGsIERvujOlrHyrgBLu_Nb6pBs_q6n7I4kzZmEizLI4Ag_JxTspXqN8LgpplEhfNKJvifprGukkPBKseZLMydh0Q4zRLDT4lc8ZHDwIRfFnHd4ZT2o/s1600/Vanessa+-+Bombardier2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqOzzy2BCK87CcfgQ_mBh0BvNz5dJGsIERvujOlrHyrgBLu_Nb6pBs_q6n7I4kzZmEizLI4Ag_JxTspXqN8LgpplEhfNKJvifprGukkPBKseZLMydh0Q4zRLDT4lc8ZHDwIRfFnHd4ZT2o/s320/Vanessa+-+Bombardier2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My view walking into work every morning</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I had applied
for an engineering co-op position at Bombardier Aerospace in early January and
was extremely excited and honoured to receive my offer letter in mid-April. I
began my position in May and have been working Monday to Friday ever since. All
of the student interns are given some sort of project to work on over the 600
hour period that they must complete over the summer. My position is within the maintenance programs
and planning sector, one of three sub-sections of the maintenance engineering department.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK2EW7L7XMcFfSrqccmDz1-OyLpYC0BfOrTfvEgnk1K-S3gZ7fi0dPk_DAX3Vi0qjXH5tGMwIUt02K61xefuVbOALbjkgKjkI8KgSoj6y1aETg34fUCiY5dKjBxr_FdTV0eIlLMh-YB1w/s1600/WP_20130607_002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK2EW7L7XMcFfSrqccmDz1-OyLpYC0BfOrTfvEgnk1K-S3gZ7fi0dPk_DAX3Vi0qjXH5tGMwIUt02K61xefuVbOALbjkgKjkI8KgSoj6y1aETg34fUCiY5dKjBxr_FdTV0eIlLMh-YB1w/s400/WP_20130607_002.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Editing PCTEL files at my desk</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At Bombardier, we maintain
computer records known as “PCTEL” files (parts, consumables, tools, equipment,
labour). These files contain the information on the tasks required to
adequately maintain different plane models, which is a very important
procedure. This is where I come in! My job is to update these files based on
the most recent revisions, and improve the automation of how they’re updated.
I’ll be working with Excel and Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) to complete
this task.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So far, I’ve been
extremely happy with the warm and welcoming environment around the office.
Bombardier has nearly 5,000 staff members on-site and every single one that I’ve
had the opportunity to interact with has been respectful and caring. I found
that a lot of the staff are very unique and encourage humour around the office!
When I’m not working away on the PCTEL files, I might be attending daily meetings
featuring conference calls to Montreal, getting a tour of some of the 1.8
million sq. ft. of production space or learning the acute importance of
building strong relationships with those you meet in the workplace. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjch8HSsKBg4dJqGDyxYHEHdMzd7yI8ZHH6R295SEOp_cFFd_Qrl-QczJktq6dV_fazZ5o_7YL-jpGER5Kr7IuSHXTHCw9XpTej9RMFWS6cwnhX4U5G5tpKyafglFlSgmZ9c_O0JN3Pnug/s1600/WP_20130606_008.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjch8HSsKBg4dJqGDyxYHEHdMzd7yI8ZHH6R295SEOp_cFFd_Qrl-QczJktq6dV_fazZ5o_7YL-jpGER5Kr7IuSHXTHCw9XpTej9RMFWS6cwnhX4U5G5tpKyafglFlSgmZ9c_O0JN3Pnug/s320/WP_20130606_008.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Bombardier & WestJet celebrate the delivery of the Q400 planes</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Just the other day, I
got my first opportunity to interact with members of the materials and processing
department. The people I met with were all so willing to tell me everything
about what they do; they gave me amazing material to read (<i>*pun intended</i>) and offered me the opportunity to tag along with
them in the labs and on site from time to time. I even met a woman who
graduated from McMaster’s materials engineering program just a few years ago!
This job has been an unbelievable opportunity thus far and I know it will just
continue to get better as time goes on. Of course, I cannot possibly say that I
know for a fact that engineering is right for me based on my three weeks of
work, but I can say this much – I haven’t felt this passionate about something
in a long time. I simply cannot wait to continue to learn and grow as an engineer. </span><br />
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> ~Vanessa</span></b></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Vanessahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14147680536384492591noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8456065056134058827.post-85503442000249506972013-06-06T21:33:00.001-04:002013-06-07T08:51:59.456-04:00School's out for Summer!<div class="MsoNormal">
I don’t know if you guys know this yet, but in university,
you get… wait for it… a FOUR MONTH SUMMER! (Cue cheering and fireworks) So,
while you lovely people are finishing up classes and staring out the window
while your teacher tries to fill the last weeks of school, we post-secondary
kids are well into our summer vacations. (Sorry!)<br />
<br />
Four months is a good chunk of time. What can you do to make the most of it?
Here are some ideas to get you started:<br />
<br />
<b>1) Get a job<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0Hg5rLeyfMuvaI2JHa1xlJpfLnDaOYgV5Ya8A_44oAXvYd007Hs_zOqw_zoKj55YWkUyCJjcQBPlfUf_e9ajqEwN8ebHeK4aDLM_6KEdpkSFegJe7cQRVBYY7cehYKq09HHGpgC9LYR8/s1600/DSCN0149.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0Hg5rLeyfMuvaI2JHa1xlJpfLnDaOYgV5Ya8A_44oAXvYd007Hs_zOqw_zoKj55YWkUyCJjcQBPlfUf_e9ajqEwN8ebHeK4aDLM_6KEdpkSFegJe7cQRVBYY7cehYKq09HHGpgC9LYR8/s320/DSCN0149.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Last summer, I worked for the Government of Ontario.</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Summer is a great opportunity to get some work experience. Co-op
jobs are available for the summer, and many companies offer summer-long
placements to take advantage of the student talent. As an example, I am working
for the Bank of Montreal as an intern this summer. Jobs also give you some income to pay for
school.
<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>2) Do active stuff</b><o:p></o:p></div>
I don’t know about you, but my Facebook newsfeed is full
of my friends participating in races, obstacle courses and other really cool
exercising opportunities! <i>Tough Mudder</i>
and <i>Run or Dye </i>are pretty common
ones. Get some friends together and spend a day sweating! If getting covered in
dye or swimming in ice cold water doesn’t sound appealing, you could try
recreational sports or join a yoga class.<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<b>3) Get to know your city/town<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Since the weekends are no longer full of studying, they are a
great opportunity to adventure around your hometown or closest city. Try and
uncover those “hidden gems”; whether that may be a restaurant, natural feature (like
a stream) or just chat it up with some people who work in local stores. One
cool thing to do is get on a bus and see where it takes you. <br />
<br />
<b>4) Pick up a book</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This summer, I am determined to read the books I should have
read in high school. In high school, we got a long reading list
and I only ever read what was required for assignments. So far I have read <i>Animal Farm</i> by George Orwell and <i>The Catcher in the Rye</i> by J.D. Salinger.
(I’m also making my way through Knightfall Volume 1, a Batman comic, but I don’t think it has ever showed up on a high school reading list)
<br />
<br />
<!--[endif]--><b><o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEion3PP2NGn73AuZU_gp1daNs3tTAugRLkFKQkmncPy562OJfGUYQmlSspUb3XFCrcm4bnk34MIPjtHbPXJ0t9HJDuUABqMNKeriqctewYazblg8WiSg6qO1qcKqN-bEsWsLEKLGk-jHYI/s1600/20130606_210147.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEion3PP2NGn73AuZU_gp1daNs3tTAugRLkFKQkmncPy562OJfGUYQmlSspUb3XFCrcm4bnk34MIPjtHbPXJ0t9HJDuUABqMNKeriqctewYazblg8WiSg6qO1qcKqN-bEsWsLEKLGk-jHYI/s320/20130606_210147.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Books, books, comics!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
And most importantly…<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>5) Talk to current undergraduate
students about what to expect at university<o:p></o:p></b></div>
Summer is a great chance to learn about what to expect when
you start at McMaster in September! We upper years have a little more free-time
on evenings and weekends and are here to answer your questions. The <a href="http://macengsociety.ca/ask-an-undergraduate-engineer-program/" target="_blank">Ask anUndergraduate Engineer program</a> is run by the McMaster Engineering Society, and
it pairs up incoming students (that’s you!) with upper-year engineering
students via e-mail. Send a message to <a href="mailto:vp.acedemic@macengsociety.ca">vp.acedemic@macengsociety.ca</a> if
you are interested!<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
When that school bell rings for the last time, make the most of your summer! Good luck on your exams! You'll kill it! :)<br />
<br />
Later days,<br />
Daniela<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
Danielahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06575323374479860987noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8456065056134058827.post-85467944268009236112013-05-29T11:22:00.000-04:002013-05-29T11:22:18.724-04:00My Super Summer Jobs<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Chicka Chicka Bow Wowww.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Done third year. Done classes, and assignments, and studying, and exams, and… work!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I thought I’d talk a little bit about working throughout your undergrad, since today is my last shift working with the Engineering I Outreach office, and in a couple of days I'm off to work a summer co-op position!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In my first summer, I was a <a href="http://leap.mcmaster.ca/headstart.html" target="_blank">Headstart</a> instructor for two first year engineering courses. Headstart allows students to complete up to two first year courses before entering Engineering in their first year. I had a wonderful time working there but my favourite aspect is seeing where all my students ended up. I frequently bump into many of them, many of whom are now entering their third year of engineering, or starting their own co-op positions!</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Posing with Deborah McIvor, </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">May@Mac coordinator for the </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Faculty.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Last summer I worked for the office that posts these biogs: <a href="http://www.eng.mcmaster.ca/future/" target="_blank">Engineering I Outreach</a>. I've literally done a little bit of everything here from designing magazine advertisements, to learning bits about database management, testing and launching a new panoramic website, and a whole lot of event planning, and coordinating in between. One of the events I helped with again this year was May@Mac Open House on Saturday, May 11, 2013. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I've had a chance to work on tons of interesting and diverse projects, and every day evolves into something a little different than yesterday. I started the position this time last year, and kept working throughout the school year. A </span><a href="http://sfas.mcmaster.ca/work_study/jobs.html" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">campus job</a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> is amazing for students. I could literally walk out of my class, and down the hall to make it to my work shift. They’re super flexible around your academic schedule, and know that your school work comes first.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This summer, I've landed a <a href="http://www.eng.mcmaster.ca/eccs/index.html" target="_blank">co-op</a> position with a well-known company in Toronto! In retrospect, all my non-technical questions from the interview were usually answered with my experiences from the past two summer positions I've held. And now, in the next few months, I’ll be using many of my learned skills to help me in building a business plan and launch a set of training videos for their technical products. I can honestly say I'm nothing but excited!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">New people, new software, new skills; It’s going to be a fantastic summer!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">~ Helen</span>Fireballhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11521892091434859821noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8456065056134058827.post-2433102707834490142013-05-22T10:31:00.000-04:002013-05-22T10:39:53.079-04:00Transformers, the MMRI and Formula Hybrid Cars ~ A Love Story<div style="text-align: right;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: justify;">Hello world!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC0d3hocHssfv3HtzCvZfy9l3ku49EwWGCG4gmI_hflnDk0q5_z9fxqyDhWEslFGWxfawPVI5Uml5bt7YuTJAQGk9Fvqd9CK4kVsnDPnvVBwuGGo85EwSTbACcyvxxwP2OnREvbmFA5ev9/s1600/DSCN3267.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Author sitting in one of the McMaster Engineering Custom Vehicles, the Carpool" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC0d3hocHssfv3HtzCvZfy9l3ku49EwWGCG4gmI_hflnDk0q5_z9fxqyDhWEslFGWxfawPVI5Uml5bt7YuTJAQGk9Fvqd9CK4kVsnDPnvVBwuGGo85EwSTbACcyvxxwP2OnREvbmFA5ev9/s1600/DSCN3267.jpeg" title="" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Me Sitting in the Carpool</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My name is Christen and I am the new, 'old' kid on the block! I am going into my final year of Mechanical Engineering and Society here at McMaster, but it has taken four years to come out from behind the scenes to say hello on this amazing blog. I am heavily involved with <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ewb.mcmaster" target="_blank">Engineers Without Borders (EWB)</a> here on campus, and have been since my first year developing workshops, and helping to organize conferences to get students excited about being a globally-minded engineer.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWCqdgNLqFw3eECJmgygPHkaZzje79EL-4LQE9mgN71XOZgJG_RN1wowJ8VLjAT5Wj9sAwV-drNcK98Gch91C3AO8pIjhm8cYpan2pyVb2Zfluf-cidBOBw_4KcQ3rAYqH-y8gfxTSr32W/s1600/486078_10152437362520311_856695851_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Author and other blog contributor Danielle dressed up for the Engineering formal, the Fireball" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWCqdgNLqFw3eECJmgygPHkaZzje79EL-4LQE9mgN71XOZgJG_RN1wowJ8VLjAT5Wj9sAwV-drNcK98Gch91C3AO8pIjhm8cYpan2pyVb2Zfluf-cidBOBw_4KcQ3rAYqH-y8gfxTSr32W/s1600/486078_10152437362520311_856695851_n.jpg" title="" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Danielle and I at Fireball</span></td></tr>
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Aside from EWB and being a full time engineering student, I somehow manage to find time for skiing, kayaking, silk screening, indoor farming, and reciting Shakespeare in parks. I could go on and on about my various other interests and passions, but I feel you get the picture; just like a Transformer, there’s more than meets the eye!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now that all the awkward introductions are done, let’s get to it! Last week I had the privilege of attending a showcase at the <a href="http://mmri.mcmaster.ca/" target="_blank">McMaster Manufacturing Research Institute (MMRI)</a>. What is the MMRI you might ask? It is a huge facility on McMaster campus doing research in polymer, automotive, aerospace, tool, die and mold industries. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghalsWIWbr0Dx8z30qZzYb7K0O0j5cNF3w7XLODnxPDna4aFlHPyH9e8IvBdCkk_DSkL2vwyqo-EW3k82ndDSfefFztzor07RazTpV3baHPzmTi_EL_q3LPtxKpyrdyGbmm8YzMmBt_W9z/s1600/P1020632.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="Graduate student Emma holding a Turner's Cube manufactured in the MMRI" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghalsWIWbr0Dx8z30qZzYb7K0O0j5cNF3w7XLODnxPDna4aFlHPyH9e8IvBdCkk_DSkL2vwyqo-EW3k82ndDSfefFztzor07RazTpV3baHPzmTi_EL_q3LPtxKpyrdyGbmm8YzMmBt_W9z/s1600/P1020632.JPG" title="" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Turner's Cube</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I was starstruck! Imagine a room filled with million dollar equipment, machining parts that are strong enough to cut through steel. Not to mention, their Computer Numerically Controlled (CNC) machines are so precise they can manufacture these cool Turner's Cubes in one go! It was a great time to chat with leading industry professionals and some of my favourite professors about manufacturing processes.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Also being showcased at this event was our <a href="http://www.blogger.com/[http://www.formulahybrid.ca/" target="_blank">Formula Hybrid Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE)</a> team sporting four awards from a competition earlier this May at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway. The formula hybrid car is designed by McMaster undergraduate and graduate students to compete in the <a href="http://www.formula-hybrid.org/competition.php" target="_blank">Formula Hybrid International Competition</a>. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="McMaster's Formula Hybrid SAE team posing around the car and their awards." border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGWlq4jmRFS4rUUiPGvfPD4NQBjE2kjtt1ObnLQIhZHVSaFxDdaIp4flrXT482y8YSI_a8LhYyaZcxcoYqjEAWcnMEvZwPoW3WeU9ZhymBVn2tbohFIv2eymMPmN_A1AzTi6IVeDHT_ZGm/s1600/Team-md.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="" /></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">McMaster's Formula Hybrid SAE Team</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Our team won several awards including: the <a href="http://dailynews.mcmaster.ca/article/formula-hybrid-student-team-earns-major-hardware/" target="_blank">1st Place GM Best Engineered Hybrid Systems award and the IEEE Engineering the Future Award</a>. I am so proud to see our team rock the international stage in sustainability. I look forward to an encore performance next year!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That’s all for now folks!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Christen</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-3Fekit0SDf18fDuN6KCmCpfTP6wbMpIpXwbFd8CYJi6WEEvCPYOsRkYmgdAZnMpUV6EoNcoQoOBXZek2bd7RBhxIMfLQFvkuglo4DOXgRHbEwrOeSxKxh0L7-zydEQuw5OzArnclgLue/s1600/Formula+Hybrid-+Action+shot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="McMaster's formula hybrid car racing on the New Hampshire Motor Speedway" border="0" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-3Fekit0SDf18fDuN6KCmCpfTP6wbMpIpXwbFd8CYJi6WEEvCPYOsRkYmgdAZnMpUV6EoNcoQoOBXZek2bd7RBhxIMfLQFvkuglo4DOXgRHbEwrOeSxKxh0L7-zydEQuw5OzArnclgLue/s640/Formula+Hybrid-+Action+shot.jpg" title="" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">McMaster's Formula Hybrid Car in Action (no, that's not me)</span></td></tr>
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Christenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04155122004023518578noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8456065056134058827.post-53758660053719522052013-05-16T13:56:00.000-04:002013-05-17T12:20:42.226-04:00"The best weekend ever!" ~ Engineering Experience Weekend<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Ciao everyone! </b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">May is a beautiful time on campus at McMaster University, and the warm weather arrived just in time for our annual outreach event for high school students considering our engineering program. As the coordinator for our Engineering Experience Weekend, I was pleased to welcome 66 prospective students for an overnight event that started just as our </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://future.mcmaster.ca/tours/visit/open-house/" target="_blank">May @ Mac Open House</a></span> wrapped up this past Saturday, May 11th. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Along with my 18 undergraduate student leaders and five design challenge leaders, we greeted our guests </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">with warm smiles and </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">enthusiasm</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">. </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The visiting high school students were </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">assigned a team and a team colour, with each team led by two of our leaders. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The weekend was off to a great start!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIxCF0SErG5NCXTQZSPa-_oIzDLOGRLkjU1B8SwSFesc56d2pF6RBhHundKrEvbFxw-s4kKfIyAHofLK2TWqy942qtNLqPtXZ1Ej9HkwVoGPTzeo0YyMts_m41OUBc56TUWgfJJJYmfrQa/s1600/DSC03723.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="The orange team is hard at work." border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIxCF0SErG5NCXTQZSPa-_oIzDLOGRLkjU1B8SwSFesc56d2pF6RBhHundKrEvbFxw-s4kKfIyAHofLK2TWqy942qtNLqPtXZ1Ej9HkwVoGPTzeo0YyMts_m41OUBc56TUWgfJJJYmfrQa/s320/DSC03723.JPG" title="" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On Saturday night, we held a design challenge, where the students had to build a bridge to span a 75 cm gap. But there was a catch! The bridge could only be built from one side and needed to extant over to the other. The teams were given popsicle sticks, glue guns, tape and string as well as a remote controlled car to help them with their task. It wasn't an easy challenge, but all of the students can up with fantastic designs! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sunday morning, three McMaster Engineering alumni came to judge the bridges build for the design challenge. It was great to have Mac Eng graduates come back for this event. Everyone enjoyed the design challenge presentations and some of the students’ parents came to watch them too! </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikkuq_EoxnpZwZfPL-UU4I3mJ0tU7vxZ13_LiDKASfQQx-ZY_4w3TXIZNa6hpTXkPM0X-5D9DhK_QwBU9HnqOGzbZgRT0oNtRex-3j03dRRzdn9yfalAOo_WicrBxzuBgqkdDAUfcarMA6/s1600/DSC03781.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="The green team presenting their bridge to the judges." border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikkuq_EoxnpZwZfPL-UU4I3mJ0tU7vxZ13_LiDKASfQQx-ZY_4w3TXIZNa6hpTXkPM0X-5D9DhK_QwBU9HnqOGzbZgRT0oNtRex-3j03dRRzdn9yfalAOo_WicrBxzuBgqkdDAUfcarMA6/s320/DSC03781.JPG" title="" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The green team presenting their bridge to the judges.</span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Congratulations to the red team for wining the design challenge.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">EEW would not have been possible without my wonderful team of volunteers! They are all fantastic leaders and I cannot thank them enough for all their help! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To all the amazing students who came out to EEW, I hope you had as much fun as I did! I enjoyed getting to meet you all and I know the team leaders and design challenge helpers did too. I look forward to welcoming you in the fall!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Until next time,</span></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Danielle</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzgNJWicWudrZ2wRwaTUc0UoucCuXY_SunKrN8pV2c_ymIM4Bvu7uGqYrw8HbXLNXM8zlBoh4q7aQWVvJoG9yHT8Uld7Qi_Vb5xgjczHUHrnhuZCVBPVq9h0GrAbsw66ofUn-KSc6A93pg/s1600/DSC03721.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Some of the wonderful team leader volunteers." border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzgNJWicWudrZ2wRwaTUc0UoucCuXY_SunKrN8pV2c_ymIM4Bvu7uGqYrw8HbXLNXM8zlBoh4q7aQWVvJoG9yHT8Uld7Qi_Vb5xgjczHUHrnhuZCVBPVq9h0GrAbsw66ofUn-KSc6A93pg/s320/DSC03721.JPG" title="" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Some of my wonderful volunteers.</span></span></td></tr>
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<i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">P.S.Here are some helpful links for new students:</i><br />
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<li><i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/mcmaster.engineering.2017/" target="_blank">McMaster Engineering Accepted Class of 2017 </a>is a great Facebook group for meeting future and current Mac Eng students.</span></i></li>
<li><i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you want more information on how to register for courses, FAQ's on Eng 1 and living in residence, see our <a href="http://www.eng.mcmaster.ca/future/accepted.html" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" target="_blank">acceptance page</a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">.</span></span></i></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>The<a href="http://macengsociety.ca/" target="_blank"> McMaster Engineering Society</a> runs a program called Ask and Undergraduate Engineer. If you would like to participated, email <a href="mailto:vp.academic@macengsociety.ca" target="_blank"><u>vp.academic@macengsociety.ca</u></a></i></span></li>
</ul>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8456065056134058827.post-1356124705649729482013-04-30T13:36:00.002-04:002013-05-01T09:05:29.447-04:00Farewell to First Year: How I Survived Engineering 1It's hard to believe that only eight months ago I was being greeted by <a href="http://studentsuccess.mcmaster.ca/orientation/welcome-week.html" target="_blank">Welcome Week</a> reps for the first time. I had never entered the <a href="http://macengsociety.ca/services/blue-lounge/" target="_blank">engineering 'BLUE' lounge</a> before and had never lived in residence; I hadn't spent more than a few hours on campus at all! But here I am, a first year, getting ready to complete my finals, move into a house and prepare to enter level two in the engineering discipline of my choice. It can be a stressful and scary time, but looking back on my experiences so far makes me feel fantastic about how I spent my first year here at <a href="http://www.mcmaster.ca/" target="_blank">McMaster University</a>.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFmY1fJetTuI9iBnYiQIC7I8zBYXyw9qINcovYz96mP6ikmd4o09WHZOH_pL2Suia7OBu3pCXG8nvr7h0vqPA_V_WDDH6DeoZr6altOlGTTg2E-xQ0rdgRBP7xbXLqA4yCrzfiZZO2Raw/s1600/Vanessa+-+Fireball.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFmY1fJetTuI9iBnYiQIC7I8zBYXyw9qINcovYz96mP6ikmd4o09WHZOH_pL2Suia7OBu3pCXG8nvr7h0vqPA_V_WDDH6DeoZr6altOlGTTg2E-xQ0rdgRBP7xbXLqA4yCrzfiZZO2Raw/s200/Vanessa+-+Fireball.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vanessa - in pink - at the Fireball Formal</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Ever since Welcome Week, the upper year engineers have been nothing but kind and welcoming! They helped me to find my place and feel at home very quickly. First semester for me was all about hitting the books and figuring out how to adapt to the academic side of things. But once I started going out to more events that the faculty was hosting, I began to really feel like a part of the community...a part of the 'Mac Eng' family.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfTw5QS-1JyiuxL0GEoWk8MdMqzBb6kL4b5WA8zy0k1Iq8VP3Es1TJFQnfw96iwqeoHjCBCy6WG3iWqvosbm6vXOuPr2lHa7R3Yz5jGKMUcl0sR-dUuUWusEx1QGs5l4-9QD7zQDa9Hbo/s1600/Vanessa+-+volunteering.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfTw5QS-1JyiuxL0GEoWk8MdMqzBb6kL4b5WA8zy0k1Iq8VP3Es1TJFQnfw96iwqeoHjCBCy6WG3iWqvosbm6vXOuPr2lHa7R3Yz5jGKMUcl0sR-dUuUWusEx1QGs5l4-9QD7zQDa9Hbo/s320/Vanessa+-+volunteering.jpg" width="179" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Daniella & Vanessa volunteering</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Some of my favourite memories from <a href="http://www.eng.mcmaster.ca/future" target="_blank">Engineering 1</a> would be getting to wear my prom dress again at the <a href="http://goeng1mac.blogspot.ca/2013/01/put-on-your-dancing-shoes.html" target="_blank">Fireball formal</a>, giving back to the neighbourhood by helping to clean up Westdale, laughing my butt off at all of the jokes in the<a href="http://www.macengmusical.com/" target="_blank"> Engineering Musical </a>and wearing a pink baby onesie for 5 days straight in my successful attempt to earn a <a href="http://macengsociety.ca/culture/traditions/" target="_blank">Redsuit</a>.<br />
<br />
I originally decided to attend Mac because everytime that I visited, I felt this really strong sense of belonging between all of the people that I met. As a grade 12 student, I desperately wanted to know that feeling for myself. And now, I can confidently say that the way to get to that point is to seize the numerous opportunities to get involved and put yourself out there as often as you can. It may be scary at first. I sure felt that way at the beginning of the year - but now I get to look back on my first year and be proud of everything that I have accomplished.<br />
<br />
To all of our high school followers, I hope that you get to enjoy your
first year of university like I did. And if you end up at Mac one day, I
hope I get to meet you! ~ <b>Vanessa</b><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpABQMKXbkU2064phNSM0G6c1RL_Vu0NSFaVV8ZATg7bL8REpdgP39nWjarMvp6GWUiTBqLJOV-seUbd93aPfFee-eqBxbrZ0tUYFc2jUA1de0B93mtFmQQX5FH29oJLkrrx5jQu7Mzvw/s1600/Vanessa+-+Cleanup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpABQMKXbkU2064phNSM0G6c1RL_Vu0NSFaVV8ZATg7bL8REpdgP39nWjarMvp6GWUiTBqLJOV-seUbd93aPfFee-eqBxbrZ0tUYFc2jUA1de0B93mtFmQQX5FH29oJLkrrx5jQu7Mzvw/s400/Vanessa+-+Cleanup.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Redsuits help clean up the local community - Westdale</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />Vanessahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14147680536384492591noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8456065056134058827.post-24782228660527446972013-04-24T11:53:00.001-04:002013-04-24T12:35:08.730-04:00A tradition continues during exams: fun yet...salty?!<h3>
Well, it’s that time of year again…final EXAMS.</h3>
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDtT15whs5UZZjiu9flPcQ-jop2HmyWXy5dBsOK_FDh72erpb1mndU_4D03tgif1OWlxB9_i0iVgkYeu72kSfTyYj6ki42YZWq7Uq-7Bd9s5He_gjGjpDgDojciMotf-WT1lK_BKtqWU3s/s1600/27997_4612046833014_389031498_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDtT15whs5UZZjiu9flPcQ-jop2HmyWXy5dBsOK_FDh72erpb1mndU_4D03tgif1OWlxB9_i0iVgkYeu72kSfTyYj6ki42YZWq7Uq-7Bd9s5He_gjGjpDgDojciMotf-WT1lK_BKtqWU3s/s200/27997_4612046833014_389031498_n.jpg" width="150" /></a>Although you may shudder at the thought of writing 4 to 6 three-hour exams in the span of two weeks, exam season is a very exciting time around campus. For example, McMaster's upper year engineering students will get together and hand out saltine crackers to the first years as they enter their exam sessions in order to calm their nerves and settle their stomachs.<br />
<br />
It’s so much fun cheering them on and getting them pumped up to write their exams! And the University provides lots of support for students who need a little extra help. You can always visit the <a href="http://future.mcmaster.ca/student/support/" target="_blank">Student Success Centre or Student Wellness Centre</a> for counselling, academic and peer support.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7klGkUWKkih79DqhIVGRxpnPk8Fyz-Y5TvsyVcetP62n-pQ7J8tYU490tMjYPO69MPp8MQdQ06fZPLMmmQ14UVG6LATYRs31JwMF4DB1zkTMA6ayj8jpvzh7flEu-eLMHyPdm7No95xfB/s1600/44345_4612050513106_498658919_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7klGkUWKkih79DqhIVGRxpnPk8Fyz-Y5TvsyVcetP62n-pQ7J8tYU490tMjYPO69MPp8MQdQ06fZPLMmmQ14UVG6LATYRs31JwMF4DB1zkTMA6ayj8jpvzh7flEu-eLMHyPdm7No95xfB/s200/44345_4612050513106_498658919_n.jpg" width="150" /></a>Check out some photos of all the goofy Redsuits in their element, handing out crackers. We all remember how it feels to be an 'Engineering I' student going through our first set of final exams. As you can see, our Redsuits are here to greet new students arriving in September, but they continue to welcome the new members of our Mac Eng community throughout the year. This is just one of the many established traditions we value and continue to bring to life! Check out our <a href="http://macengsociety.ca/culture/traditions/" target="_blank">McMaster Engineering Society website</a> page dedicated to our traditions.<br />
<h3>
</h3>
<h3>
Happy Thoughts...</h3>
<br />
With the end of exams comes the beginning of summer! The sun is shining and the weather is (finally) clearing up. I can tell you that makes it very difficult to study indoors.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVmVrJRImfHcrkABc2KoSvTOaDvF_WEtwOIjspBj_Mj0Ld04gskeeS67ssqW_NAgq4Dd5HQkCso3JQThUEmqF74BeFjv298EEmF4NVNlV3zejSmJrsaosjfR2GsomXkOednIPcCOd_JDDv/s1600/936856_4612081273875_56723470_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVmVrJRImfHcrkABc2KoSvTOaDvF_WEtwOIjspBj_Mj0Ld04gskeeS67ssqW_NAgq4Dd5HQkCso3JQThUEmqF74BeFjv298EEmF4NVNlV3zejSmJrsaosjfR2GsomXkOednIPcCOd_JDDv/s200/936856_4612081273875_56723470_n.jpg" width="150" /></a>However, I’ve got to <i>power through</i> and study for these last few exams in order to enjoy my summer. Then it’s nothing but fun and frolicking all summer long! Maybe I’ll have time to get some work done in there…<br />
<br />
Hope everyone has an amazing summer.<br />
Cheers! <b>~Genna</b>Genna!http://www.blogger.com/profile/04980629030974111241noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8456065056134058827.post-16466051895723404302013-03-25T14:58:00.004-04:002013-04-09T12:39:56.123-04:00Engaging Education at the Global Engineering Conference<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKDK4AWqGd0h67bmHc7h6gLO3wJ8xe0iZAS_wCv4JRBPnCxZPalhbmgL0mu6DwCh4W0zGPGm1HaxWxqgFjJbmSguplWDXxnNDT9rkhtIWN7Y0oSk_iD2dxR4MQrKYT8oQVHbXTGEyPRwo/s1600/GEC+2013+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKDK4AWqGd0h67bmHc7h6gLO3wJ8xe0iZAS_wCv4JRBPnCxZPalhbmgL0mu6DwCh4W0zGPGm1HaxWxqgFjJbmSguplWDXxnNDT9rkhtIWN7Y0oSk_iD2dxR4MQrKYT8oQVHbXTGEyPRwo/s1600/GEC+2013+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKDK4AWqGd0h67bmHc7h6gLO3wJ8xe0iZAS_wCv4JRBPnCxZPalhbmgL0mu6DwCh4W0zGPGm1HaxWxqgFjJbmSguplWDXxnNDT9rkhtIWN7Y0oSk_iD2dxR4MQrKYT8oQVHbXTGEyPRwo/s1600/GEC+2013+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKDK4AWqGd0h67bmHc7h6gLO3wJ8xe0iZAS_wCv4JRBPnCxZPalhbmgL0mu6DwCh4W0zGPGm1HaxWxqgFjJbmSguplWDXxnNDT9rkhtIWN7Y0oSk_iD2dxR4MQrKYT8oQVHbXTGEyPRwo/s1600/GEC+2013+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKDK4AWqGd0h67bmHc7h6gLO3wJ8xe0iZAS_wCv4JRBPnCxZPalhbmgL0mu6DwCh4W0zGPGm1HaxWxqgFjJbmSguplWDXxnNDT9rkhtIWN7Y0oSk_iD2dxR4MQrKYT8oQVHbXTGEyPRwo/s320/GEC+2013+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<h3>
Hello all those in cyber space! I hope you are enjoying March so far!</h3>
<br />
One of the cool things about university is the plethora of opportunities that present themselves. The biggest piece of advice I got in first year was “get involved”. I bet many of you have heard that in high school too. Experience is very important for engineers, and all students for that matter. In the working world, engineers in particular wear many different hats and have to fill many different roles. From efficiency calculations, to financial reporting, to presentations, we are expected to be adaptable. There is a new concept for this type of engineer: the Global Engineer.<br />
<br />
<br />
On March 2, the Engineers Without Borders chapter at McMaster hosted a Global
Engineering conference around re-framing your education. We brought in speakers
and facilitators from Hamilton to Kingston, to give students an opportunity to
see how approaching problems from different perspectives and how engineering
fits into things outside the technical realm. Engineering problems benefit from
an understanding of business, law, history – you name it!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKLkvFydYF9ORdNQEl7GmOgRXZYqJ7u8e10kLeHKPcf7zpgwbr014RuPNlNJTq3NkN-ScEOyvIRIUWwJLDr3IzedjWkvzKsawgfzvdVz6Z4WHJ4INfYNRlAX4AyDUwEwjfW31Z9MNfBpo/s1600/GEC+2013+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKLkvFydYF9ORdNQEl7GmOgRXZYqJ7u8e10kLeHKPcf7zpgwbr014RuPNlNJTq3NkN-ScEOyvIRIUWwJLDr3IzedjWkvzKsawgfzvdVz6Z4WHJ4INfYNRlAX4AyDUwEwjfW31Z9MNfBpo/s320/GEC+2013+1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Students from McMaster, as well as some from the University
of Waterloo, University of Windsor and the University of <span style="font-family: inherit;">Toronto, participated
in learning sessions that provided ideas and tools around engaging their
education through experiences. There was also a panel discussion between the
Dean of Engineering here at Mac and York University, a representative from the
Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board and an engineering
professor/motivational</span> speaker. <br />
<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">If you want to learn a bit more about the 2013
Global Engineering Conference, check out the website at <a href="http://mcmaster.ewb.ca/gec2013/index.html">http://mcmaster.ewb.ca/gec2013/index.html</a>.
Hope to see you at next year’s conference! <br />
<br />
Global Engineering is one of the venture areas of Engineers Without Borders
Canada, an organization that works towards social change in an effort eliminate
poverty through accelerating development in rural Africa and policy change here
in Canada. We have chapters in
universities, cities and companies across Canada! To learn more about Engineers
Without Borders, click here: <a href="http://www.ewb.ca/">http://www.ewb.ca/</a>
<br />
<br />
Later days,<br />
Daniela</span></span><br />
<br />
<o:p></o:p><br />Danielahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06575323374479860987noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8456065056134058827.post-63056523301507807992013-03-11T15:46:00.000-04:002013-03-11T15:47:30.496-04:00Danielle vs. Daniela: Spot the differences!<h3 style="text-align: left;">
Ciao everyone! </h3>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6Op7I88Lu8cK4wwuSDoYsdNBVEMPCxNLPngIc8JAOIYXpgPlaDpiCOFw8ReLhvhmC4FHlp_Xg-1scVqOyrlYSIWIzuNktaMhcLyytMlE8Tye9z_xpEtSb9FG9faZF6Ln4ESvhLaAGiIr_/s1600/DD-twins.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photo of Daniela and Danielle on chairs" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6Op7I88Lu8cK4wwuSDoYsdNBVEMPCxNLPngIc8JAOIYXpgPlaDpiCOFw8ReLhvhmC4FHlp_Xg-1scVqOyrlYSIWIzuNktaMhcLyytMlE8Tye9z_xpEtSb9FG9faZF6Ln4ESvhLaAGiIr_/s320/DD-twins.jpg" title="" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Mirror image? Or not?</b><br />
[L to R: Daniela, Danielle]</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
My name is Danielle, I’m new to the <i>Hear it from Her</i> blog and just to help you out...no, I am not the same person as Daniela. You would not
believe the number of people that get us mixed up. We don’t look that similar, do we?<br />
<br />
As you can see from the photo on the left, we both have brown hair and eyes, glasses and our names can be easily confused. But there are some differences between
the two of us in the second photo. <b><br /></b><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Can you spot the differences between us now? </b></div>
<br />
<h3>
</h3>
<h3>
So a little bit about me...</h3>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR49Zy9nzXqtdhryNeQ-c36NxXvkQrswiuSm6sBxAVkRnNUjh1YsKd3nN24i7PfPMuAMV2Q5fB7uo-rwE7wEinN9F0tnZA87fQeRPniTp9TcT6-MNBFMeD8OC9J3EfR0LmgyYGlyU7H1np/s1600/DD-twins-AFTERt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR49Zy9nzXqtdhryNeQ-c36NxXvkQrswiuSm6sBxAVkRnNUjh1YsKd3nN24i7PfPMuAMV2Q5fB7uo-rwE7wEinN9F0tnZA87fQeRPniTp9TcT6-MNBFMeD8OC9J3EfR0LmgyYGlyU7H1np/s320/DD-twins-AFTERt.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">One of these things is not like the other...</span></b><br />
[L to R: Daniela, Danielle]</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Here at McMaster University, I am in my third year Materials Engineering and Society. But since all work and no play, is not very fun, I have many
interests outside of my studies.
The <a href="http://macengsociety.ca/" target="_blank">McMaster Engineering Society</a> or "M.E.S." has a magazine which highlights the accomplishments of the engineering students and provides the reading with MacEng news.
Why am I telling you this? Well, I am one of the co-editors of this publication, <a href="http://macengsociety.ca/publications/frequency-magazine/" target="_blank">Frequency Magazine</a>. I am also involved with the Material Science and Engineering Club as the secretary this year.<br />
<br />
Outside of the world of engineering, I am a member of the <a href="http://future.mcmaster.ca/student/clubs-athletics/" target="_blank">McMaster Dance Club</a>. In the little free
time that I have, I love knitting. Right now I am knitting headbands to keep the ears of my friends and family warm.
It’s so exciting to become a new member of this team of MacEng bloggers and to help you get a glimpse into being a woman in engineering! I hope
you’ll welcome me by reading my posts and commenting when you want to share your thoughts.<br />
<br />
Until next time... let's have a little fun with our Mac Eng Frogger! ~ Danielle<br />
<br />
<div align="center">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/playlist?list=PLs_qbIuHILh2Ot27314vX9Lc9tBLVRtfp" width="560"></iframe></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0