Speed Mentoring: Women Helping Women!

Hi everyone!

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 “Speed Mentoring Event – Women in Engineering”! 

This event had 10 different 15 minute workshops that would be run by McMaster Alumnae 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'.

The delicious free food was an added bonus 
to an incredibly valuable evening.

‘Work-Life Balance’ 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!

Next, I attended ‘Taking Time off Work’ 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.

Following that, I attended ‘Managing a Team’ 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.

Lastly, I attended ‘Negotiating Salaries’ 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.

Engaged students participating in the Speed Mentoring sessions.

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.

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! ~Vanessa

Let's Have a (Fire)ball!

Bonjour mes amis,

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! 

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). 

Fireball is also an exciting time because they announce the new McMaster Engineering Society (MES) 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 Mac Eng: Reel Talk 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!

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!

That’s all for now folks!
~Christen

Fellow blogger Danielle and I dressed up all spiffy for Fireball. Engineering and Society program, represent!

Winter Wonderland ~ Welcome to 2014

Welcome Back & Happy New Year!

Me and “Otis” the Eng Outreach Bear catching
 some winter rays! He’s a great hugger and always
 knows just how to cheer the team up when
we’re hit with any winter blues.

Now that 2014 is upon us, it is time to get back to the books. Term 2 started today and McMaster University 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!

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’m such a nerd!) But I really enjoy learning and I’m excited that classes are starting up again.


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!

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!

Until next time, ~ Danielle

Time for a Break: Volunteering for Fall Preview

Ciao everyone!

You get the chance to meet Mac the Marauder!
L to R: Sheena, Mac & Tony.

Classes are under way 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 annual Fall Preview Open House.

You are probably wondering, "What is this Fall Preview?" 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.  

All the Mac Eng Car Team will be at Fall Preview.
L to R: Rich & Alex

There will be campus & 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! 

If you are planning on attending this event, please register beforehand.

I'm very excited to be volunteering for Fall Preview and getting the chance to meet future Mac Engineers!  

Until next time,

 ~ Danielle

PS. Campus always looks so beautiful this time of year, will all the fall colours!

Such pretty colours on all the trees!

ExCELebrate Good Times!

Hello friend!

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.

Some of the wonderful ExCEL volunteers (and me at the right!)

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 rock climbing video that introduced the day's events and got more than a few laughs out of the audience!

Since the event was aimed to showcase the engineering student body, they invited the McMaster Engineering Musical to perform.

Mac Eng Musical's presentation

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.  Check out our special presentation here! Dean Ishwar Puri got a real kick out of it :)

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.

More talented engineers from Musical!

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!

Alright guys, I gotta run to class. Somehow I "gotta" fit school into all the craziness around here.

Cheers!
~Genna

First Month Face Off: Tips to Survive the First Month of University

Ciao everyone!

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. My friend 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!
[Disclaimer: All advice to be taken at your own risk! ]

Christen & Danielle as they battle for the list of top tips.

Danielle’s Top Tips:

• Keep in contact with your high school friends.You will be meeting tons of new people during university (especially during Welcome Week), but don’t forget about the friends that stuck with you through high school.
• Get to bed early every night. “Beauty sleep” is more than an expression; it’s science.
• Stay hydrated. 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.
• Use your resources. Ask your professors for help and visit during office hours; sign up for the Ask an Undergraduate Engineer Program; use the Math Help Centre - dedicated to first year math courses; visit the Student Success Centre and the Student Wellness Centre to find out about the services they offer.
• Get involved. McMaster Students Union has hundreds of clubs and Mac Eng has over 15 clubs and teams for you to get involved with! Try some out and find one that fits you.
• Volunteer. Join the Mac Eng Outreach volunteer team! Send us an email at goeng1@mcmaster.ca and become one of our fantastic volunteers.

I've saved the best tip for last.

• Have fun! University has been the best experience of my life so far. Make sure you enjoy the ride.

Christen here. While those were some good tips, I have some sage-like advice for you. Listen, you will.

Danielle & Christen - they are actually friends

Christen’s Awesome Tips:

• Meet new people! 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.
• Caffeine is your friend. 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. 
• You can be whoever you want to be! 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 “Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You”.
• Get off social media. (Except our blog because we are awesome people). “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!
• Attend as many events as possible. 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.
• Find balance. 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!
• Learn! 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. 

Well, I hope you enjoyed our tips. (Christen, I still think my tips are better than yours!)

Until next time, 

Danielle

Welcome Week 2013: T-minus 1 month!

Vanessa & her housemate sporting Brandon Hall shirts during Welcome Week 2012. 

I remember the excitement I felt around this time last year when I was getting ready for my first Welcome Day and Welcome Week. 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!

During Welcome Week there are thousands of wildly-spirited representatives in colourful funky suits (coveralls, actually) helping first years 'find their place' at McMaster University. There are reps for the entire school (MSU Maroon Reps), each residence (Residence Orientation Representatives or ‘ROR’s) and of course each faculty/program! Each residence and faculty/program has their own coverall colour.

The sea of red; first year engineering students
gather in the Student Centre.

This year, I am equally (if not more) excited for an entirely different reason; I get a chance to be one of the leaders for the first year students! I will be representing the Faculty of Engineering this year during Welcome Week.  Engineering reps are referred to as ‘Redsuits’ (our coveralls are red!). We are credited with the right amount of goofiness, mixed with the willingness to help students get to know campus and each other. I'm looking forward to connecting with as many new students as possible during Welcome Week.

Here's a fun tip: be sure to go out to all of the events you can during Welcome Week. And I mean all 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 Welcome Week.

Engineering is a program that requires a lot of hard work and focus.  Midterms and assignments start to pile up fast, so make the absolute most out of your Welcome Week.  

Welcome to McMaster's Class of 2017! Can’t wait to see you there!    ~ Vanessa

One of the best parts of Welcome Week; the aerial shot of your graduating year! 
This is the photo we took last year during my Welcome Week.

The (My) Dog (Joe) Days of Summer: Discovering My Hamilton

“But isn’t Hamilton like, gross and sketchy?”

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 Hamilton Farmers Market and the Hamilton Waterfront Trail 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...

In my first year at McMaster, I lived in Whidden Hall residence, which backs onto Cootes Paradise. My roommate and I would take study breaks to go for a hike in our own backyard (literally).

The longer I stayed in Hamilton, the more adventurous I became in my exploring! This is me overlooking one of the 126 waterfalls in Hamilton. I believe I have only visited an embarrassing 8 of them.

To stay active while I’m in school, in addition to taking advantage of our olympic-sized pool, I also enjoy cycling on the Hamilton-Brantford Rail Trail. 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.

As I write this, I am sitting, enjoying a cup of Fair Trade iced tea in the lovely My Dog Joe coffee shop in Westdale with my fellow blogger Danielle and our friend Larissa (an electrical and biomedical engineering student at McMaster). The Westdale community 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; Locke Street!

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 your Hamilton.

That’s all for now folks!

~Christen

Beyond Mac Eng: Working at Sunnybrook Hospital

Trinette being interviewed for the video.

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!

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!

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 Sunnybrook Hospital 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 CT/SPECT scanners and CT/PET scanners, 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.

Trinette and David showing Elaine their design project.

During my final year at McMaster, I was fortunate enough to be involved in the filming of Women in Engineering: Our Global Future. This mini-documentary was created in partnership with the G(irls)20 Summit, produced by Double Barrel Studios, hosted by Elaine Kunda, 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.

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 Women in Engineering: Our Global Future, then I would definitely check it out!

~ Trinette

Women in Engineering: Our Global Future

Ciao everyone!

Elaine Kunda being filmed by Double Barrel Studios.

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.

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 professional mini-documentary! That’s right, a professional video, with a director, producer, director of photography, camera crew and make-up artists.

This video, Women in Engineering: Our Global Future, was created in partnership with the G(irls) 20 Summit in Russia, produced by Double Barrel Studios and hosted by Elaine Kunda, 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 18-20!

L to R: Mridula, Nilanthy and Maureen showing us their robot bugs.
You will see interviews with Mridula & Nilanthy in the video. 

I really wish I could have gone to the summit to meet such forward thinking young women!

The video 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.

The G(irls) 20 Summit is streaming online live 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.

Until next time,
Danielle

... Oh you are still here, did you want to see the video I helped make? You can view Women in Engineering: Our Global Future right here. Enjoy!

Bombardier Aerospace: Taking my Education to New Heights

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!

My view walking into work every morning

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.

Editing PCTEL files at my desk

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.

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.

Bombardier & WestJet celebrate the delivery of the Q400 planes

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 (*pun intended) 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. 
 ~Vanessa

"The best weekend ever!" ~ Engineering Experience Weekend

Ciao everyone! 

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 May @ Mac Open House wrapped up this past Saturday, May 11th. 

Along with my 18 undergraduate student leaders and five design challenge leaders, we greeted our guests with warm smiles and enthusiasm. The visiting high school students were assigned a team and a team colour, with each team led by two of our leaders. The weekend was off to a great start!

The orange team is hard at work.

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! 

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! 

The green team presenting their bridge to the judges.

Congratulations to the red team for wining the design challenge.

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! 

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!

Until next time,
Danielle

Some of my wonderful volunteers.

P.S.Here are some helpful links for new students:

• The McMaster Engineering Accepted Class of 2017 is a great Facebook group for meeting future and current Mac Eng students.
• If you want more information on how to register for courses, FAQ's on Eng 1 and living in residence, see our acceptance page.
• The McMaster Engineering Society runs a program called Ask and Undergraduate Engineer. If you would like to participated, email vp.academic@macengsociety.ca