My name is Mandana Hendrickson, I am a PhD student in Material Science and Engineering at University of North Texas. I am a member of Society of Women Engineers (SWE) since June 2014, and I attended the 2016 SWE Region C conference.
During the conference, I was able to go to several social events to meet new collegiate and professionals. This conference was a very good opportunity for me to meet current/future engineers and successful women in industries. I practiced networking and got valuable suggestions and tips from senior members. For instance, the Friday Night Networking Event was fun to attend since we could play trivia game in teams and I could learn many new and interesting things which I did not know before about science and technology. Also, I had the chance to talk to an ABB test manager and learn more about the company and their opportunities. The following day, there were informative speeches by ABB and Walmart companies. Two successful women in their businesses shared their knowledge with us and talked about their experiences throughout their professional careers. In addition, I could meet many SWE leaders, SWE professional members and SWE regional officers, and I have got the chance to learn more about the SWE goals and activities. Specifically, as a graduate student, I could meet new graduate SWE members and by attending Graduate students in SWE seminar, I learned more about SWE graduate section and the benefits. Moreover, I could check out the local career fair and talked to different companies to enhance my networks and learn about my future career path. Personally, I enjoyed the talk about the negotiation skills and realized the importance of gaining professional skills in job searching process. At the end, our UNT SWE won two awards in this conference which have made all of us proud of our school and members. All in all, the regional SWE conference provided me professional networking opportunities, and by attending several speeches and workshops, I have learned good tips on how to develop my academic skills and apply them in professional environments.
Finally, I would like to take the time to thank UNT SWE and UNT college of engineering for providing us the opportunity to attend this conference and for supporting women in engineering to get more involved in professional activities.
During the conference, I was able to go to several social events to meet new collegiate and professionals. This conference was a very good opportunity for me to meet current/future engineers and successful women in industries. I practiced networking and got valuable suggestions and tips from senior members. For instance, the Friday Night Networking Event was fun to attend since we could play trivia game in teams and I could learn many new and interesting things which I did not know before about science and technology. Also, I had the chance to talk to an ABB test manager and learn more about the company and their opportunities. The following day, there were informative speeches by ABB and Walmart companies. Two successful women in their businesses shared their knowledge with us and talked about their experiences throughout their professional careers. In addition, I could meet many SWE leaders, SWE professional members and SWE regional officers, and I have got the chance to learn more about the SWE goals and activities. Specifically, as a graduate student, I could meet new graduate SWE members and by attending Graduate students in SWE seminar, I learned more about SWE graduate section and the benefits. Moreover, I could check out the local career fair and talked to different companies to enhance my networks and learn about my future career path. Personally, I enjoyed the talk about the negotiation skills and realized the importance of gaining professional skills in job searching process. At the end, our UNT SWE won two awards in this conference which have made all of us proud of our school and members. All in all, the regional SWE conference provided me professional networking opportunities, and by attending several speeches and workshops, I have learned good tips on how to develop my academic skills and apply them in professional environments.
Finally, I would like to take the time to thank UNT SWE and UNT college of engineering for providing us the opportunity to attend this conference and for supporting women in engineering to get more involved in professional activities.