mind the gap

In my last few posts, I discussed my concern with meeting deadlines, coordinating with groups, and combating burnout. These are all still very much at the forefront of my mind, but I want to take a break thinking about those things and instead talk about something different, but not unrelated to Engineering.

Within the past week, I’ve attended three separate networking/professional development events: a Philadelphia Chapter ASME Awards Banquet, an alumni panel for SHPE, and a Women in STEM panel for SWE. It was a lot of networking in a short amount of time, and by the time I got to the ASME banquet (just this Tuesday), I must admit that I wasn’t much in the mood to socialize, and didn’t take advantage of the opportunity as I should have. However, I wonder if perhaps part of why I didn’t socialize as much at that event had as much to do with the environment as it did with my own energy levels.

Before I elaborate, I’ll give a quick rundown on each of these professional organizations for those of you that may not be familiar with the acronyms:

ASME – American Society of Mechanical Engineers
SHPE – Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers
SWE – Society of Women Engineer

While all three of these organizations are wonderful resources, I find myself drawn especially toward SWE and SHPE–and even though I am not from a minority group, I find that aspects of both my gender and background intersect with those of minority groups. Especially in a field dominated by white men, it’s easier for me to relate to other women and minorities who have faced challenges that the majority in the field haven’t. I’d like to focus this post particularly on women in engineering, as I identify as a woman, but I will also draw connections with minorities.

I try to avoid being political, however when it comes to the representation of women and minorities in STEM, I believe it’s not a matter of politics, but of an untapped resource. Innovation often comes from taking a different perspective, or understanding a need that’s been unfulfilled. To that end, wouldn’t it be better to have a diverse group working on a project, rather than a group of people with similar backgrounds?

Truthfully, I’m fortunate enough that most of the people I’ve encountered in my education and my internship have been open-minded and supportive of peers regardless of background, gender, etc. The people here at Temple are a pretty diverse group (compared to my first go at university back in Wisconsin, where there were very few ‘non-traditional’ students and minorities were still underrepresented), and while I appreciate it, I still find myself looking around my classes to see that women only represent about 20-30% of my classmates. Attending the ASME banquet Tuesday night, I felt that difference much more acutely–Temple’s ASME representation was split pretty evenly between men and women, but the rest of the students and professionals were by majority men.

Engineering is only second to Computer Science in the lowest representation of women. As of 2014, that percentage was less than that of 2004, but looking around me, I can hardly say there’s been much forward momentum to draw women into Engineering and CompSci.

This is by no means a complaint about ASME itself, but it served as a stark reminder of the lack of diversity currently in the field.

I subscribe to Dr. Ferrar’s Intentional Academy emails, and one of his recent emails discussed ‘biases,’ and how there are still people who aren’t ‘part of the conversation’ in certain things. I think, absolutely, women and minorities are underrepresented, especially engineering, and for me this is an important issue. Why? I touched on this subject in a previous post, about how I came to decide to pursue engineering, and how it didn’t even occur to me until later in life, because I had no role models to see myself in this position. There’s also another aspect to this, which I heard echoed by the guests at the SWE and SHPE panels: Imposter Syndrome.

I think that, by now, there has been enough research to back Imposter Syndrome as a very real thing. When we don’t see ourselves represented in a field, it’s easy to think I’m a fraud, or I don’t belong here. Sometimes even feeling as though everyone else is smarter than you–ever sat next to an Honors student with straight A’s and felt completely inadequate?–is enough to knock you down a few pegs. I often have to remind myself that I’m pretty damn smart, too, because even if I’m not at the same level as an Honors student, I know engineering requires no small amount of intelligence.

The SHPE and SWE panels gave me a chance to connect with people going through the same challenges–and that common background made it easier to talk to them freely. While I have no doubt that the gentleman at ASME would be anything but welcoming and friendly, I was more hesitant to connect with them without that common background. I’d like to change that about myself, and I’d like to see to it that future engineers don’t have to face those same difficulties. I want to see equal representation, and the innovation that comes from a group filled with diverse perspectives.

I know what I can do to try to move in that direction. I will continue to be a strong proponent for women in STEM and be involved with SWE and other orgs to do outreach activities with minority groups and young children. But I challenge you to ask yourself: what can you do to help push us towards closing the gap for underrepresented groups? What can you do to make sure your projects reflect the diversity present in the real world?

If you’ve stuck around for this long, thank you for your time! I hope you can help us take steps forward in having a more inclusive, diverse group in Engineering or your respective field. Until then, let me leave you with this:

burn rubber…not the candle at both ends

We’re entering the final stretch for the semester–less than three weeks left! It leaves me a bit torn, though. On the one hand, I’m counting down the days and can’t wait to be done. I have plans to attend Philly’s annual Science Festival Carnival on May 4, and I have a week free before my internship starts to go visit my mom for Mother’s Day (which I haven’t been able to do since moving out). Then I have a full summer of gaining experience in my field, and more importantly, earning a significant income. It’ll be much more relaxed than attending school, and I’m really looking forward to it.

There is a downside, though. It’s mainly the looming deadlines for group projects and studying for final exams. We’re in crunch time, and everyone is tired and stressed. We’ve been working non-stop since January, with only a few brief breaks during the semester and a slightly longer break over winter. There’s less than three weeks left, but each week is jam-packed with last-minute quizzes and midterms and deadlines for group projects. I wrote before about my concerns for scheduling time for group meetings for these projects; so far I think I’ve been managing…but we’ll see in a couple weeks just how well I’ve been managing.

With all that said, I think it’s understandable that one of my concerns for the tail end of the semester is burnout. When I began writing this blog, I mentioned that last semester I overloaded myself because I thought I had enough time to take on extra classes. It ended with a nearly-spectacular burnout at the end of the semester: I was ill for the last month of classes, I was constantly exhausted, and as a consequence, my work suffered and my grades tanked. I can say with confidence that I’m in a much better place this semester compared to last semester, and I’ve mostly managed to avoid burnout.

How I felt at the end of last semester…and what I am trying to avoid for the future

I read an article on LinkedIn this morning, How to Protect Your Team from Burnout. It was geared towards leaders in the workplace, but the bottom line can be applied to school, too. The subheadings were: “manage the whole human,” “realign your team’s expectations–and your own–through compassionate directness,” and “help your team detach in the evening–and reattach in the morning.” The bottom line of all of these sections was this: the physical and emotional experience of work are just as important as the actual work; an open dialogue around expectations can help relieve stress; it’s important to detach from your work at the end of the day, rather than being engaged 24/7. I will say that school is a good environment for managing expectations, as professors issue syllabi with grading criteria, etc., although the rest of the points were things that could be counted as self-care.

These things aren’t exactly revelations, but it’s easy to forget about them. Speaking personally, I know there’s often temptation to be on for school the whole day. There’s so many things demanding our attention and we have to be sure to meet all of our deadlines, etc, and sometimes we even feel guilt doing something that’s not schoolwork, despite the fact that we need the break. I know I’ve had trouble in the past, but I’ve made an effort this semester to do better.

Here’s a look at things I did differently this semester that I think really benefited me compared to previous semesters:

I took breaks during homework sessions. In particular, when I got stuck on a problem, I stepped away and came back to it later, rather than allowing myself to get frustrated. Recently, I did push too hard trying to do a homework assignment, and wound up only making things more difficult for myself, but when I returned to the assignment later, I had a fresh mind and was able to finish it with much less difficulty than the first attempt.
I started keeping a physical planner, which has made it easier for me to keep track of all of my obligations, assignments, group meetings, etc, which has consequently made time management and prioritizing much easier.
Perhaps most importantly: I have set hard cut-offs for my “work” day. This was a bit more difficult for me to do in previous semesters, where I worked off campus and/or worked more hours. My work day and school day stretched from whenever my classes started to whenever my work day ended, and I did homework when and where I could. This semester, I’m fortunate enough to have on-campus work. Now, I try to get all my school work done before leaving campus, so that when I do leave campus for the day or the weekend, I’m done. It doesn’t always happen that way, but having that mindset has made it easier for me to disengage from school–which I think has improved my productivity and success overall.

Near the start of the semester, I wrote about improving my time management. I can confidently say that I’ve made progress with that goal, and that I’m seeing improvements in my work and mental health because of it. I’m still stressed, but I’m not five minutes away from a breakdown because of burnout like I was last semester. Granted, what works for me might not work for others, but what’s important is to figure it out, either way, for the sake of grades and productivity and mental health.

I’d rather do the burnout that you do after you win a race!

I guess I’m ready for the semester to be over, after all. I’ve got a pretty good handle on things, especially compared to past semesters, and I just have to see them through to the finish line!

If you made it to the end here, I appreciate you sticking with me! Remember to take care of yourselves, if not for your mental health (though personally I think that should be a priority), then for your performance at work/in school. Figure out what works best for you, and run with it!

you spin me round

We spend a lot of time in college talking about professional development. I’ve even already written a bit about networking and making the most out of an internship—but I wanted to revisit the topic. A couple of my friends attended a recent internship fair on campus, and I offered to help them with resumes, and in the case of one fortunate friend, preparing for an interview he landed. I also of course encouraged both of them to use the campus resources, but I know sometimes it’s easier to get help from people you’re already comfortable with.

I am no expert on resumes or interviews, I will admit that outright, but when you attend enough resume workshops, you can at least get a general idea of where to start. The student who I worked with on her resume is a transfer student with a background similar to mine—that is, not a lot of engineering/technical experience, but with other life experiences that will help her stand out from others in the field. We put our heads together to work on how to spin retail experience and an AA in Liberal Arts to be attractive to engineering firms.

I’m a bit farther along in my education than my friend, but I’ve been encouraging her to search for internships now–one thing I regret is waiting until the third year in my degree to find an internship. At the very least, she’ll get a head start by exposing herself to professional development/networking events sooner, rather than later. At worst, it can be practice for the future; at best, she may get an internship offer. It’s to that end that we were working to tailor her resume.

I’m not sure of the actual statistics, but based on my experience interacting with my classmates, Temple’s College of Engineering has a pretty diverse group, with a fair amount of transfer and “non-traditional” students–like me. We may not all have a strong math and science background coming into the field, but I like to think that a different background offers an advantage, rather than a disadvantage. For example, those of us with retail/customer service experience have a leg up on handling conflict that someone who’s only been a student might not be equipped to handle. A liberal arts background may focus more on academic writing, but it gives us a non-technical perspective, which we can turn around to use when communicating technical details to laymen, who may be CEO’s, etc, once we reach the field.

It’s these “soft skills” that I know I excel at, and that I like to encourage my friends to use as a selling point when they work on their resumes or prepare for interviews. So how do you spin these non-technical skills? The first thing to do is to stop focusing on what you did, and instead focus on what skills you learned that have carried forward.

Here’s a couple examples of non-technical work experience, and the “whats”:

Worked as a barista at Starbucks; made customer’s drinks; restocked supplies
Worked as a concierge/front desk at a luxury apartment building; delivered packages to residents, handled incoming dry cleaning; monitored security
Tutored [subject] to students

They aren’t exactly glamorous jobs, and they definitely don’t sound like the “relevant” experience that you want to put on your resume. However, anyone who’s worked one of these kinds of jobs knows that they come with their own sets of challenges; it’s just a matter of figuring out how to make them sound like an asset for technical work.

Now here’s how I would spin the above examples:

Starbucks: Required to make independent decisions and solve problems under pressure; coordinated product, personnel (if applicable), etc, in a fast-paced environment
Concierge/front desk: Adhered to high standards of professionalism for distinguished clientele; monitored building security and maintained confidentiality with residents’ information
Tutor: Developed and reinforced study and time management skills for new and returning students; acted as a resource for students to help them understand key concepts

These are of course just suggestions, and you should definitely choose your own words and tailor your descriptions based on your own experience. But let’s take a look at these examples.

For Starbucks (or similar work), it’s inevitable to make a mistake with a customer’s order, and while you can pass a difficult customer off to your manager, it’s more likely that you have to think on your feet to keep the customer happy and avoid escalating the situation, and what you do varies for each situation. You have to work as part of a team (coordination!) to keep the store running smoothly. These are assets even in a technical field. You have experience working under pressure (imagine looming deadlines), as well as working as part of a team towards a common goal.

For Concierge/Front Desk, it’s a different kind of customer service job. However, whether you worked at an apartment building or a hotel, you were likely required to have a neat and professional appearance–especially if you were the first face the customer sees when they entered the building. Knowing how to act in a professional environment isn’t something we know inherently; it’s something we have to learn, and having that extra experience outside of professional development activities at school puts you ahead of the curve. Monitoring building security and maintaining confidentiality with residents/guests can easily be translated into a security clearance, which may be necessary depending on what kind of job you’re looking for. While a company will educate you on what each clearance would require, you can show that you already have experience keeping necessary confidentiality.

For tutoring, or any kind of teaching or mentoring, you’re essentially doing leadership activities. You’re breaking down tasks or key concepts into small chunks to make them easier to access for your students–this translates into communication skills, and especially if you are tutoring for a technical subject, it shows you can communicate technical material with someone who may not know all the ins-and-outs of the subject. You’re also demonstrating an understanding of time management by guiding students in their own time management and study skills.

These skills are referred to as “soft skills” because they aren’t based in hard science or technical skills, but are valuable skills nonetheless. Ultimately, whatever you get your degree in, your education will be comparable with any other Jack or Jill with the same degree. Especially in Engineering, where courses and accreditation are strictly standardized, it’s not going to be the degree itself that sets you apart from the rest of the pack. (There are of course other things you can do to drive yourself forward, but that’s another topic for another time.)

This post is mostly directed at tailoring your resume with these skills, but I encourage you to also consider them as you prepare for any interviews. Talk not about what you did, but about the lessons and skills you learned, and how those might apply for the position you’re interviewing for.

If you’ve made it this far, thank you for sticking with me; I hope you found my words helpful! I encourage you to use whatever resources your school offers as you pursue work or internships–they’re the experts and they’re there to help you succeed. I also wish you good luck in all your endeavors!

When life gives you lemons…

…make lemonade.

It’s a phrase you’ve probably heard a lot. It encourages you to make something good out of a bad situation–the lemons are the bad situation. Personally, I’ve always liked lemons and lemon-flavored things. In fact, I bought a small lemon tree at the Philadelphia Flower Show over spring break last week! It was definitely a high for me.

Still, there’s definitely wisdom in trying to make the best out of a situation that may not be ideal. Last summer, I worked as an intern at Lockheed Martin–which is probably an ideal internship for some people! Unfortunately, they placed me in robotic process automation–as a mechanical engineer, I felt very out of my depth during my internship, and it had the potential to ruin the whole experience for me.

Sometimes we get so desperate for any internship or work that we’re willing to take anything, even if it’s not a good fit. In my case, I was excited for the opportunity to work at such a strong company, and I assumed that they would give me a position that fit my background. It didn’t happen that way, and honestly I was disappointed at first. Still, I saw it as both a learning opportunity and a way to get my foot in the door. I knew there were mechanical engineering positions within the company, so I made an effort to network to find a a position that would be a better fit.

We’re encouraged to network throughout our college education, with the obvious goal of finding a job when we graduate, but networking can be a scary, unknown beast at times. How do you do it? As someone who has struggled with social anxiety, I know it can be hard to approach new people, especially if they are managers or recruiters and you want to make sure you make a good impression. Ideally, you want to do your networking before you start working, so that you can get the connection to get the job, right?

I’ve found that, in fact, the best way to network is to do so organically. By that I mean, it’s better to make natural connections with people–don’t just add random people on LinkedIn, for example. My internship at Lockheed didn’t start with Lockheed; it started with a person I was acquainted with from my day job (a concierge at an apartment building) who suggested I look into the company he works for, which turned into me attending a networking/info event, which then turned into an internship offer. And once I was there? I connected with people that had similar interests. I connected with the president of Philadelphia SWE through our shared involvement in the society, and then she introduced me to a Temple alumna. One of the people in charge of my intern group introduced us to her protege, and I connected with her.

It sounds easy, but really, it should be! If you think about it, you’re more likely to remember someone from a warm, interesting conversation, than from a cold, stinted approach. We all have interests that make us animated when we talk, and the key is to find a way to bring that into a professional conversation–what’s your favorite thing about your degree, or your school? What really makes you want to get up in the morning? Sometimes the person you’re trying to approach will be closed-off, and in that case, it might be time to move on, but there will probably be at least a few people you can connect with.

Yes, the point of networking is to have connections for finding work, help, etc, but also the point is to find the right fit for you in the workplace. Do you really want to go work somewhere where everyone is closed off? Or would you rather go to work where you can have a conversation with your coworkers that makes the day more interesting? I know I really enjoy a lively work environment, and that’s why I’m going to be returning to Lockheed this summer–this time in a position that’s more suited to my background!

But what about the position that wasn’t a good fit for me? I used it as a learning opportunity. I know software isn’t where I want to go, but it could’ve been, and if I hadn’t had the first-hand experience, I might not have known for sure. Still, I dug my hands in and gave it my best, and I learned more about coding than I ever have before. I learned vocabulary that I wasn’t familiar with, and I learned more about how computers and networks go. As an engineer, we’re still going to have to interface with computers and technology–perhaps even more than ever before–and this experience has given me a leg up on my previous knowledge.

So maybe I’m not meant for any kind of software job, but I learned so much over summer that I’m still grateful for the experience. Lemons, lemonade…it’s only bad if you make it so.

There’s no crying in baseball! (but maybe in Engineering…)

Today was the last day before spring break. It was evident in the half-empty classes and the nearly vacant workspace in the Engineering building that we fondly refer to as the “fishbowl” — but it’s a little hard to think of it as “spring” with snow causing transit delays and slipping hazards today.

There’s been temperatures to match all week. Unfortunately, that included this past Tuesday, which you may recall from my previous post was the date of Temple SWE’s site tour with Pennoni. Still, despite the cold and blustering winds, it was a great experience! As an engineering student, there’s a lot of time spent in the classroom or over homework, or if you’re trying to prepare for an internship or work, professional development events. It can be easy to get lost in all of that (as I’ve mentioned on more than one occasion!), and sometimes it’s hard to imagine what it’s actually like to be a real Engineer on a real project. Going on site tours or visiting a company can give you that insight, and it serves as a great reminder for what lays at the end of the long tunnel of your degree.

This particular tour took place at Citizens Bank Park, home of the Philadelphia Phillies. I’m not a huge sports person, but I can still appreciate how cool it was to get up close and personal to development on a structure that sees tons of traffic and publicity.

All geared up in our PPE as we start our tour of Pennoni’s security project at Citizens Bank Park!

But what I appreciated more was the chance to see the application of engineering in a real life setting. Most of us know that what we see in a classroom is an idealized version of the real world. We don’t expect a fluid flow to be exactly how we calculated it, but we can at least try to model it by simplifying it enough to make our calculations in the first place, and it should be at the very least somewhat close. But that doesn’t account for even a small part of what we might encounter in the field!

Pennoni’s project encompassed several facets, some of them more menial (McFadden’s Bar at the ballpark is being replaced with something a bit more family-friendly) but some of them more substantial–a security perimeter of bollards that surround the grounds, as well as some hydraulic security wedges at key points such as the loading dock. Which, ok, maybe it sounds a bit…meh. Maybe.

But take for example, the main component of this installment: the bollards. From a layman’s perspective–or even me, before Tuesday–they’re just pillars along the perimeter of the grounds. You probably don’t even think twice when you see them, especially in the city, because you see them all the time; at best, you think ‘Oh, it stops cars from going onto the sidewalk,’ without really thinking about what makes them work.

Example of a security bollard with footing – https://www.ledasecurity.com.au/foundations-requirements-for-pas68-security-bollards/

There are of course different bollards for different applications/needs/etc, but ultimately they are designed to stop high-force impact. The ones we saw were steel tubes with concrete centers, and a footing that extended some distance into the ground. The footing was reinforced concrete, with rebars to create a continuous connected footing. The connected footing helps distribute the impact force and absorb energy (hey, engineering!), which is what stops an incoming vehicle from penetrating the barrier. And of course they’re spaced in such a way that vehicles cannot pass between them.

Of course, that’s the easy part. The fun part is the installation of these guys. Between safety standards that dictate how they must be installed and the actual placement of the footing underground, not to mention the timeline constraints (baseball is off season for only a finite time, and most of that is in winter…which, concrete and winter, yikes!), our guides shared with us some of the many challenges they faced while working on this installation. Mostly: EXISTING INFRASTRUCTURE. This is the second construction site tour I’ve gone on–last spring I visited the Philadelphia Art Museum CORE Project–and one thing that still impresses me is how much of a challenge existing infrastructure is, and how the engineers and contractors tackle those challenges.

THE HORROR OF EXISTING INFRASTRUCTURE! Philadelphia is a relatively old city. We’ve got lots of beautiful historic sites, but if you dig underground (please don’t…remember to call before you dig!), you’re probably going to be in for some surprises. No matter how good records are–and if you’re going back 50+ years, they probably aren’t great to begin with–there’s no telling if they’re exact or if a previous contractor had to make changes in the field that never got documented, and things just…aren’t always where you expect them to be. Some of the fun things I learned this time around: if you see two manholes near each other with the Bell logo on them, there’s a concrete vault somewhere under there. Most likely, you’ll have to work around them. Other utilities have concrete vaults that you have to watch out for, too. Also, one of the water mains near CBP was installed in the 1940’s and is made with cast iron pipes–if you’ve taken Materials Science, you’re probably cringing as much as I am. Even as students of engineering, a lot of us are at least somewhat aware of how much improvement needs to be done on the infrastructure in this country (and that’s a whole rant right there), but sometimes you don’t quite realize it until it’s right there in front of you.

(It might even be enough to make you cry.)

If you’ve made it this far, thank you for your time! I hope you’ve learned something, and maybe you’ll even be inspired to take advantage of similar opportunities when they present themselves. Go see what it’s like in the field!

In search of success…

This semester is really flying by. Spring break is in a week! And as ready as I am to enjoy a week of no classes, I have to say that my excitement for spring break was quite possibly exceeded by my excitement for Engineer’s Week, which was this past week. It happens every year: the school hosts a bunch of Engineering-related events such as panels and round-tables with alumni and professionals, demo days, and student org-sponsored events. Since it’s recognized nationally, there’s also events around the city—today they wrapped up the week with a celebration at City Hall, with hands-on STEM-related activities, etc.

Even though it’s yearly, this is the first year I’ve really had a chance to participate in any events: I helped out Temple’s SWE chapter at our table for Demo Day, and participated in a round-table event organized jointly between SWE and NSBE. I was especially pleased with the round-table event, which we called the Five Pillars of Success

The idea was to give underclassmen an opportunity to ask upperclassmen about their experiences with challenges as engineering students, and how different approaches have succeeded…or not succeeded. Our five pillars were: academic planning/major decisions, internship experience, interviews and professional development, time management/study habits, and stress/mental health. It’s the kind of event I wish I would’ve attended when I first started studying engineering, and I wish that more underclassmen had taken advantage of, because many of the things I know now would’ve been so helpful back then—and I imagine it would be a huge help for new students.

For my part, I discussed my internship experience. Things like, how did you get your internship? That one’s a bit hard to pin down—I think partly because bonded with my interviewer when he saw I listed French as a second language and we talked about his recent trip to France! Although I’ve also been told that having a second language on your resume helps you stand out because it shows you can adapt to other languages, which is a must when programming languages are becoming more and more integrated with engineering jobs.

Another question was, what was expected of you during your internship? Of course it varies depending on what your particular internship entails, but a good friend already in the field helped allay many of my fears by telling me that the company you intern for will teach you everything you need to know that’s specific for your project. In fact, my internship last summer required my team to teach ourselves an entirely new program the first couple weeks, and then use it to complete our project—again there’s that adaptability!

Of course, that only scratches the surface of the conversations we had, and every person’s experience will be different. After all, I’m a non-traditional student, so some of my challenges will be different from someone who’s come to university straight after high school. But in the end, we’re all engineering students trying to figure out how to get from point A to point B.

I want to succeed on my path. It hasn’t been easy, and there’s been plenty of times when I’ve doubted if I’m even cut out for engineering. The truth is, not everyone is. I look at the kids in the Intro classes and think, probably half of them will decide they aren’t cut out for it. I had to look up the retention rates after the thought, and according to CollegeTransitions, “A gulp-worthy 60% of freshmen engineering students eventually drop-out or change majors.” That’s…a lot.

I want to succeed, but I also want others to succeed, and I know engineering is a strenuous and intimidating pursuit. However, I know I think it’s worth it, despite all my stumbling and set-backs, and I don’t want other potential engineers to be scared away. I think that’s why I enjoyed sharing my experiences and offering advice so much, because I want to help others avoid some of the mistakes I’ve made, and to show them the potential I see in this path.

While I’m here trying to promote success and motivation, and because this is my own blog, I’m going to use the space to promote another SWE event coming up! It’s a little short notice, so I’m hoping attendance doesn’t suffer…so feel free to sign up if you’re interested!

(As a side note, I put the event in my new planner that I bought to help me with my time management–it’s got unicorns on it, which is perhaps not ‘professional,’ but it’s FUN and MAGICAL and motivating!)

The road less traveled…

This week I’m in the process of applying for scholarships through Society of Women Engineers (SWE). It’s probably no big deal for some people to fill out scholarship applications, but somewhere along the way to where I am now, I thought, “most scholarships are worth more trouble than it’s worth.” I think this was more true when I was studying liberal arts, where you’re often required to submit long, thoughtful essays about a piece of literature or something that impacts society, blah blah blah, on top of a list of your “volunteer work” or other “extracurricular activities”—as if working full time while attending school full time and maintaining a decent GPA wasn’t enough!—and you’re competing with who knows how many other students. Then of course, there’s the doubt that even after that, you’re still not “worth it.”

It’s an attitude I’ve been trying to change for a long time. I’m still not entirely sure how to navigate applying for scholarships, especially with a less-than-exemplary GPA, but I’ve been working on changing my way of thinking about the scholarships, but perhaps a bit more importantly: myself. As I was writing my scholarship essay (which asked why I want to be an engineer), I spent several minutes thinking critically of why I might deserve a scholarship any more than another person: what makes me different from other students. But then I had a thought that changed how I approached the question.

In choosing to pursue an engineering degree, in investing in my education, I am also investing in myself.

It’s often said that our harshest critics are ourselves, and that’s absolutely true for me. For a long time, it was difficult to see a future beyond my day-to-day job, and I think it was partly because I didn’t believe I had it in me to do it. Choosing to leave the security of my day-job to return to school was an especially difficult decision when you consider the ever-increasing cost of tuition. However, 5+ years in working in retail made me realize that I have so much more potential, and that investing in my education–myself–would be the best way to reach that potential.

Of course, that’s not what the essay prompt asked, but it was part of my thought process. The actual question was both easier and more difficult. The short answer is, I want to make money in a job that challenges me and I like making things. The real answer is much longer, and has changed and taken shape as I’ve gone through the experience of being an engineering student, and actually is tied very closely to why I became involved with SWE in the first place.

As I mentioned above, it was difficult to see a future for myself for a long time. Aside from personal doubts, one thing I realized (after I chose engineering) is that women still represent a minority in STEM fields. Without bringing politics into it, what this means for me is that I didn’t see myself pursuing an education in STEM because I didn’t see myself represented in STEM–I didn’t have a role model to look up to when I was younger. I don’t want that to happen to other young girls, so I want to be that person that I didn’t see in my younger years. I enjoy engineering, and I want young girls to see that they can enjoy it, as well.

Perhaps this post began with the discussion of scholarships, but what it’s truly about is self-growth. When I first returned to university, I kept to myself and struggled to connect with my classmates. It had a little to do with the lack of self-confidence I discussed above, but it didn’t help that I was working full-time while trying to balance a full class load and readjust to attending school. There’s so much I didn’t know–resources to use, people to lean on or build me up when in needed it.

But eventually I managed to fit in the time to become more involved. By being involved with SWE, whatever my reasons, I have been able to connect with people that are like-minded, and who are going through many of the same trials that I have faced. I’ve been able to connect with students in other organizations, through collaboration or shared spaces, and I’ve not only made wonderful friends, but have also been able to connect with my classmates to form study groups.

It may be a no-brainer to some people. Of course you’re better off with making these connections, being involved, etc, but sometimes it’s easier said than done, and sometimes you need a little help to get there.

Someday, when I’m not balancing quite so much, I’d like to mentor young girls interested in an education in STEM. I may not have taken a traditional path so far, but that just means I have more experiences to draw from. I’d like to do it now, truthfully, but I keep reminding myself not to overload myself. If you read my previous post(s), you’ll know that my goal for this semester (or just in general) is to work on time management. It was easier at the start of the semester–and it seems like just yesterday I was making my first blog post!–but it’s already time for the first round of midterms, and I have a quiz or exam or two every week now. All of the ease of the first few weeks has given way to the pressure to do well on these. (As a side note related to fluids, this morning we discussed how a difference in pressure along an airfoil/plane wing causes lift–high pressure below and low pressure above–and I think as an optimistic person I ought to relate that to success, somehow.)

In any case–until then, I will have to satisfy my desire to be a mentor through SWE outreach and part-time work. I have been tutoring at the local community college, which has been more rewarding than I initially expected, but this week I was offered a position as a TA on my campus, instead. It’s not terribly different, because I’ll still be helping students, and it’ll be easier on me because I’ll have less commuting to do–and it’ll free me up to pick up ice skating lessons again, which is a huge win for self-care! But it’s still a change, so wish me luck in readjusting my schedule!

As I wrap up this post, I want to stop and circle back to where I started: the “volunteer work” and “extracurricular activities” that scholarships look for, that once seemed impossible to me, have become an integral part of my university experience. Perhaps it’s a little ironic, but I think it may instead be more likely that I just hadn’t found the right thing for me yet. Maybe a straight path is faster, but I’ve learned a lot more by taking one less traveled.

*“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I – I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.” –Robert Frost (*http://www.chicagonow.com/)

Don’t stop me now

In my last post, I talked about time management, and how it’s a weakness for me that I’ve been wanting to improve. One of the ways I said I was going to work on this was spreading my homework assignments out through the week, rather than doing them all in one shot (and often, last-minute). It’s not just time-management–it’s a good study habit, to keep the information fresh in my head as I revisit it throughout the week.

I’ve been keeping up with this particular goal for the most part, so far, and it’s paid off, especially this week! As it turns out, I’ve fallen victim to illness, as so often happens when one is surrounded by people. As we all know, it’s much harder to be productive when you’re ill, and it’s much harder to recover from being ill when you’re trying to be productive. Luckily, I already made headway in my assignments for the week, so that by the time I decided I needed to stay home and recuperate, I was more than halfway through the work. It meant I had less time I needed to dedicate to studying, and more time to dedicate to resting and recovering. I’m still not feeling great, but it certainly helped that I had some wiggle room with that. The last thing I have left before the weekend starts is this blog.

Dr. Ferrar gives us optional prompts to use for our blog posts, and while they’re just that–optional–sometimes it’s helpful to have a little direction when working on these things. Otherwise I might go off on some tangent that’s only partly related to fluid mechanics (we would call that a streamline in fluids: a family of curves instantaneously tangent to the velocity vector of a flow). In any case, this week’s prompt is to pick a topic we’ve discussed in class and find a real-world application for it, and how the concepts from class might have influenced its design and function.

Since I’m distracted by how much my nose is stopped up, I thought I’d take a look at dams.

The infamous Hoover Dam (photo from: https://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/wilderness-resources/photos/10-americas-grandest-dams/dam-great )

The Hoover Dam is possibly the most well-known dams in the USA; a veritable feat of engineering. Of course there was so much more to consider in the design of Hoover Dam (and other dams) aside from the most basic fluid mechanics aspects–I’m not a civil engineer but I know enough about concrete to know that the concrete aspect alone was a challenge–but from the fluids side of things, I can better envision the whys of the dam’s design. We’ve been discussing fluid statics and Pascal’s Law recently, and with it all of the force reactions, and while it may seem obvious that pressure–and therefore force reactions–are greater as the depth of a fluid increases, due to the weight of the fluid above it, it may not be so obvious to make the connection between that information and the shape and design of a dam. But it’s there in the dam’s specs!

Aside from the curved shape of the dam that forces the concrete into compression, it is also much wider at the base than at the top: 660 ft at the base, compared to 45 ft at the top, according to Wikipedia. It makes sense, because the pressure and resultant forces near the top of the dam are much less than those at the bottom of the dam.

Of course, the Hoover Dam is just one of so many. As a Wisconsin native, I’ve heard the phrase “The Wisconsin River is the hardest working river in the nation,” so many times over that I can’t pick out any one source, but a quick internet search tells me that there are 26 hydroelectric along its 500-mile-long journey through the state (Wisconsin River Power Company). It’s a subject that makes me want to know more…but perhaps that’s something for another time.

Time is a construct…maybe.

The semester has just started, and like every semester before, I’m trying to stay wary of what’s to come—the semester tends to start out slow, and it can easily lull a student into a false sense of security. You’re coasting along, and the next thing you know, it’s week five and you have deadlines and exams in every class, all at once. On top of that, you have other considerations: it’s going to be Engineers Week before we know it, and the Career Fair is just around the corner!

I’m not sure what my plans are for Engineers Week yet, and I’m lucky enough to already have an internship lined up, but it doesn’t hurt to drop by the Career Fair to work on approaching people to network and build those professional skills. Whenever I have to approach someone in that kind of setting, I try to remember my favorite character from the Princess Bride:

It’s a meme, but that doesn’t make it any less relevant to understanding how to approach potential employers. Or even just connecting to people through LinkedIn! Just remember to be courteous and professional.

But back to where I started: I’m wary of what the semester has in store for me. I know that time management in an academic setting has always been a weakness for me. I’m a returning student, and while I have been back in school long enough to be aware of the expectations and lifestyle that comes with being a student, I still struggle to strike the right balance between school and work and home. I’m hardly the only one with this issue, but there’s a huge difference between simply working and leaving your work at the job when you go home, and being a student, where homework is where most of your work needs to go—and that’s on top of the hours already put in inside the classroom. This year has been particularly challenging for me, because it’s the first year I haven’t worked full time hours during the school year—which may sound like a load off, but I’ve found that it comes with its own set of challenges.

What kind of challenges? As it turns out, I have a bad habit of overestimating how much I’m capable of doing, and as a result, end up overloading myself. It’s less of a problem when my only commitment is to a job, but each class is like a job in itself, and each semester it takes me time to find a new balance. Without having to dedicate as much time to going to work, my first response was, “I can take more classes!” It sounds good in theory, but again, I overestimated, and in my attempt to take on more classes, I ended up shooting myself in the foot.

My goal for this semester (and for all future semesters), therefore, is to work on time management to allow me to strike a balance without overloading myself. It is doubly a personal and a professional goal–if I find that balance personally, I will improve both professionally and academically.

In order to achieve this goal, I want to start by becoming more aware of my current load: what obligations and tasks do I currently have? How much time/energy does each one require? What needs to be prioritized? Does any particular obligation or task give me more trouble than another? Answering these questions will give me a time frame to take care of each obligation or task, and by prioritizing, I can begin tailoring a schedule for my current tasks, based on time, priority, and other considerations.

For example, these blog posts are fairly straightforward and easy, and although they take some time to reflect on and write them, I can do them on my phone while I’m on the bus or the train–one less thing I have to worry about when I sit down to work on homework. Meanwhile, the problem set portion of the homework takes much longer, and requires more concentration–so I should plan to spread out the work over the course of an hour-to-two hour blocks through the week. Etc etc for other tasks, until I have a nice round schedule.

And then, the key thing for me: will taking on another obligation/task be feasible? My instinct at the start of the semester was to say yes, but after a couple weeks of class and reflecting over my time constraints, I have realized the answer is, probably not; at least, not without having adverse effects on the things I already have on my plate.

So, here goes! I’ll work on improving managing my time, and share my results as the semester goes on.

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Who is Melony Breeze?

“I am a Mechanical Engineering student…”

It’s true that this is probably the first thing I would tell an employer or professor, and it’s true that “Mechanical Engineering student” defines a significant portion of my life. But it is far from the whole of who I am, or even representative of the rest of my experiences. It’s hard to remember that when I’m neck-deep in homework and group projects and trying to study for my next exam. In fact, sometimes it’s hard to even remember why I’m here.

I like to consider myself a learner. I like learning new skills — I’ve taken up knitting and figure skating and I even tried to play violin for a bit — and I enjoy contemplating history and literature, and comparing the physics of Ant-Man to those of the reality we live in. I like building things, and I find space both terrifying and immensely intriguing.

It can be difficult to remember all these things that drove me to decide to be a “Mechanical Engineering student” when I’m busy being frustrated with trying to recall some bit of Calculus I learned two years ago.

I’m still learning how to balance the what and the why. It’s taken me longer than I care to admit. I’m 30 and I still sometimes need a firm reminder to not overload myself. It’s how I ended up in Fluids this spring (for which this blog is a requirement!), having only just missed the passing mark last semester. It’s a bummer, to say the least. Still, I didn’t made it this far to give up now, and even failure teaches us things (I’m sure plenty of engineering students can relate). Even the spaces in between, the time it takes to figure things out, is an opportunity to grow.

Sunset just means there’s a new day just around the corner!

So maybe I’m behind the curve in my education, compared to others. And I’m certainly not a model student. But the important thing is that I am here now, and that I am making the effort to keep learning, keep moving forward. When I say, “I am a Mechanical Engineering student,” I mean, “I want to find my full potential.” The finding isn’t the same for everyone, but for now, our paths are tangent.

Blogging as a part of that path is a way to enforce the lessons I learn and the discoveries I make along the way, and a course requirement is as good an excuse as any to start doing so. So, here goes!