Sunday 19 October 2014

I Will Survive ... A Grad Cover Version You Must Sing!

I had a blast at the Graduate School Survival Skills GHC session. It was about surviving, but most of all thriving in graduate school! I have posted session notes here. We ended the session with this version of I will survive (It's a must go-to karaoke song for all grad students! To be sung to the tune of "I Will Survive"):

At first I was afraid, I was petrified
Thinking I could never do research, I'd have to hide
I spent so many nights thinking all I did was wrong
I grew strong
I learned how to carry on
Now my groove's back!
From a dark place.
I just walk in and people leave
with love of my research taste
I have changed the way I work
Now I know that was the key
And I know for just one second
Grad school doesn't bother me

And now I'll go! Walk out the door

I'm turned around now
Doubt's not welcome anymore
I used to feel so very hurt that I could cry
I thought I'd crumble
I thought I'd lay down and die
Oh no, not!!
I will survive!
As long as I know how to think
I'll make ir out alive
I've got all my life to live
I've got all my thoughts to give
And I'll survive
I will survive!
Hey, hey!

Stay great,
Daniella


Daniella is a Master's student in Electrical and Computer Engineering at Carleton University. One of her dreams is to inspire more women to embrace STEM careers and unleash their full potential. Although she is hardworking and can be very serious, she enjoys comedy and dancing, has a big sense of humour, and believes that a little kindness goes a long way!
@niyodanie

Sunday 12 October 2014

Volunteering to Promote STEM Education - GHC14

The "Volunteering to Promote STEM Education" panel was one of the panels I was the most excited about. It's a subject dear and near to me and I'm convinced that it's a great way to pay it forward and inspire the next generations. Several wonderful women were on the panel: Jennifer Arguello, Fauzia Chaudhry, Lindsay Hall, Linda Kekelis, and Michelle Clark.

1. Kapor Centre for Social Impact (by Jennifer Arguello)

Jennifer started by explaining who needs effective STEM education. In a general context, you would think that only K-12 students need it but it is also needed by parents, communities and educators. As a volunteer, there are many ways to bring something to the table. This can be done through inspiration (be a role model, you don't always realize you can be one, but there might actually be young students who look up to you), motivation(be a mentor), Share your skills and knowledge, bring in your cultural competency and exercise your leadership skills(managing a group of high school girls might be a very good way to develop your leadership abilities). If you want to volunteer,  but cannot be physically present or you want to reach out to a broader audience, there are great virtual platforms. These include Curiosity Machine(a community of scientist, engineers and kids creating together), Nepris(connects teachers to professionals) and MentorNetv(Online Mentors and Protégés). One of the things that struck me from her talk was that there is something that you can do, and bring to the table.

2. Want to change a life? Be an effective role model (by Linda Kekelis)

It's never too soon to talk to our girls about the future...
TechBridge is a  non-profit organization that mainly uses hands-on projects through after school and summer programs. One important thing that Linda particularly pointed out was that having only hands-on activities was not enough in order to get girls to consider computer science or STEM careers. They were more taken like hobbies. The key ingredient that has to be included is effective role models. In order to have effective conveyors, training is a must-have (role models have to be able to communicate appropriately their tech passion and also share effectively their experiences), and little things matter. In addition to great hands-on activities for students, role models are also offered with materials to help them make their story interactive and promote perseverance.

3. Google K-12 (by Lindsay Hall)

Google has many initiatives that promotes STEM education.
Studies have shown that for women to choose Computer Science, they have to be involved very early. This means acting on their self-perception, career-perception, academic exposure since elementary, middle and high school levels. Made With Code is an example that demonstrates different things that can be made using Computer Science.

4. Union Pacific STEM motivations (by Michelle Clark)

Union Pacific organizes hands-on workshops and specifically introduce girls to electrical engineering and computer science.

Takeaway: No matter who you are, where you are in your career, you can always volunteer to promote STEM Education.

Note: You can also find the complete session notes here.

Stay great,
Daniella


Daniella is a Master's student in Electrical and Computer Engineering at Carleton University. One of her dreams is to inspire more women to embrace STEM careers and unleash their full potential. Although she is hardworking and can be very serious, she enjoys comedy and dancing, has a big sense of humour, and believes that a little kindness goes a long way!

@niyodanie

Wednesday 10 September 2014

Gearing Up for GHC14

It’s been a couple of years since I’ve wanted to attend GHC and it’s finally happening! No need to say that I’m super excited and can't wait to be there![I really hope I’ll be able to behave and not jump all over the Phoenix Convention Center] 

It's D-28!

In the meantime, I’m preparing the trip and setting myself up for an amazing experience. If you are attending this year’s GHC, you are probably going through the same steps: booking your flight, hotel,… Here are some things that might be helpful :

1) Ground transportation from/to the airport
Options, pricing and contact info are included below. If you find someone to arrange ground transportation with, you can split costs!
  • Recommended shuttles
  • Average taxi rate from PHX (30$ to Downtown)
    • Taxis are available and waiting at the airport.  No advance booking is required, however, be aware of the cost.
  • Public Transportation
2) Tips for first time attendees

 3) Pick your sessions in advance
The schedule is here.  I’ve spotted some key sessions already but I wish I could be at two places at the same time…

4) Sign up to volunteer
Volunteering at GHC is a great way to network and share your experience with the world. Plus, it might change your life (Read Gail’s post here) . The deadline to be a GHC Community Volunteer is September 12, don’t miss this opportunity! You can help with tweeting, blogging and more. Fill out this form if you are interested. 

Many thanks to everyone who shared the above information with me.
If you want to share more tips or tell how you are preparing for GHC, feel free to drop a line!


Stay Great!