Women in STEMM Alumni Society Celebrates First Anniversary

 

 

 

 

Women in STEMM Takes Root

Cindy Conner, PhD., a two-time graduate of the Department of Ceramic Engineering, earned her BS and PhD degrees just prior to the merger of the Departments of Metallurgical Engineering and Ceramic Engineering. Admittedly, her passion for STEMM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine) fields and engineering have led her to promote the disciplines to women well beyond her career in advanced materials at Battelle. She is a charter board member of one of the newest Alumni Associations, Women in STEMM and actively engages with the Department of Materials Science and Engineering to promote their purpose. Destiny and good timing met in 2017 when Ohio State’s ADVANCE and OSUAA programs recognized the need for a special interest society to provide an avenue for alumni, students, and faculty in STEMM fields to network with women and to promote and support women in the STEMM community. Cindy agreed. Other alumnae agreed.

The Ohio State University’s ADVANCE conducted a survey of alumnae to gauge interest in a society for women in STEMM fields. An enormous response from women wanting to network, mentor and engage with students was generated. An informational meeting was arranged in October 2017, and 19 volunteers showed up at the first board meeting one month later. Standard operating procedures and leadership roles were defined, and the constitution was drawn up. The Women in STEMM Alumni Society was officially approved by OSUAA Board of Directors in February 2018 and the 49th Ohio State alumni society was formed.

Harvesting Active Members

As Women in STEMM moves into their second year of operation, a key objective is to grow active members by converting their mailing list recipients to active participants. A strong emphasis on communication and social outreach is a priority for this young society, which attained Scarlet status as an Outstanding Alumni Society in their first year. Today’s members represent ceramic engineering, mechanical engineering, biomedical engineering, metallurgical engineering, and civil engineering. The graduation dates of members span from 1980 to 2015 and that range will widen as spring graduation approaches.

Cindy shares that the society has allowed her to reconnect with former alumnae from Ceramic Engineering and meet alumnae who were in Metallurgical Engineering at the same time:

“It is so fun to compare memories! I look forward to the growth of our society and catching up with women I have lost touch with since graduation. I hope that connecting through the Women in STEMM Facebook page will keep the momentum going.”

Women in STEMM Pollinating

Women in STEMM meets every month or two in the Central Ohio area and the geographical footprint has grown to include an event in Dayton. Plans to expand into other regions around the country are under way, as part of the growth strategy.

Events hosted during their inaugural year included:

• Dinner with 12 Buckeyes, a networking platform of six students and six alumni
• Buckeyes After Work, a networking event held close to main campus
• Unhidden Figures, a panel of faculty from STEMM fields offering their insights to alumni and students
• Community Clean-up, an Earth Day service project hosted by Land Grant Brewery, which was founded by two Ohio State alumni
• Paint Night, a collective painting activity featuring an Ohio theme.

 

Women in STEMM anticipates adding new programming to the 2019 calendar. “We are planning a variety of events to support women in the workplace. For example, since we often hear how much work is conducted on the golf course, we are offering a golf clinic for women to get them more comfortable with the game of golf. We hope women can become comfortable playing in golf scrambles which are excellent networking opportunities with colleagues and customers.” To this end, these events are opportunities for members of industry to network with women engineers and develop value mentorships.

Women in STEMM invites alumnae from around the country to consider starting a local chapter in their region. Membership of women hailing from materials science and engineering and welding engineering is scarce at present. Seeing participation from women in these disciplines is expected to grow as we welcome more young women into these undergraduate programs.

Some industries or companies represented by Women in STEMM members:

• IT management and training, U.S. Government
• US Patent and Trademark Office
• Battelle
• Pharmaceuticals
• Health Policy Researcher,  Ohio Colleges of Medicine Government Resource Center
• Traffic engineering
• Molecular Genetics
• Biochemistry,  Medical Research

If you are interested in learning more about Women in STEMM or would like to pitch an event idea, please contact Cindy Conner or visit their social pages.