SHPE - Spring 2009 - (Page 26)

ADVISOR CORNER ❚ By Leilani Rangel F changes all at once,” Sanchez recalled being told. “The best type of progress is the type that you can managerially attain because you know your own limitations.” At the “ground zero level,” Cantu takes or nearly five years, the SHPE student chapter at California greater involvement with the chapter’s team Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, has consistently building and leadership development workshops. “During transition workshops brought large numbers to the SHPE Conference and produced win- in May, outgoing executive members use ning design teams. With nearly one-third of its 196 members in experiences and lessons learned to inform the incoming executive board members as attendance and taking home the top two places in the most recent design to what goes on,” Cantu explained. “We do competition, 2008 was no exception. Such records are rare considering the large scale planning and develop goals and objectives for the year, but they tend to be continuous turnover in student leadership. Yet behind SHPE-Cal Poly SLO’s very broad at that point.” Freshmen and success has been the constant guidance of its advisor, David Cantu, Director sophomores who have the potential to of the Multicultural Engineering Program (MEP). His approach, he says, is be leaders are also encouraged to take advantage of corporate-sponsored training not a secret – it’s the university’s motto: Learn by Doing. in effective communication and project management so that the seeds “Student leaders make decisions and are planted early. When the learn from their experiences,” Cantu said. officers regroup in August, “Problems can be used as learning opporequipped with RLDC and tunities to improve a student’s planning, NILA training, objectives and implementation and execution of tasks. I try goals are refined and planning to help them learn from their experiences.” for the first part of the year Since 1985, Cantu has advised student is finalized. chapters of the Society of Hispanic As it continues its efforts to Professional Engineers (SHPE), National establish a SHPE Jr. chapter at Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) and Santa Maria High School, American Indian Science and Engineering SHPE-Cal Poly SLO is Society (AISES). So it comes as no surprise also broadening its visibility that he is a fountain of knowledge when it through greater participation comes to best practices and programs David Cantu trains SHPE leaders at Cal Poly SLO by in campus activities and related to anything from academic helping them learn from their experiences in decision making and problem solving. reaching the next membership excellence to community outreach. When advisors meet at the SHPE Conference, current chapter president. “The new board milestone: 200 members. It also manages a Cantu is often the one to which his peers took over and was very motivated to make scholarship program that annually awards look to provide perspective on which drastic changes, but it did not have a clue as between $10,000 and $15,000. Professional development workshops on résumé and to how to begin.” programs produce the best results. Included in that board was David interviewing skills are scheduled prior to He has also become an expert in coaching students through the leadership Sequeira, who went from being a general quarterly career fairs and the SHPE cycle. Students first step up to be committee member to chapter president. “Cantu guided Conference, and in the fall, students share chairs, then to the positions of secretary and us through the transition and helped me their summer research and internship treasurer and eventually vice president and learn everything I needed to do,” he said. By experiences. In 2010, SHPE-Cal Poly president. “Some years we will have five or walking him through decision-making and SLO will achieve another longtime goal, six returning officers, and other years we problem-solving exercises, Cantu also pre- welcoming more than 250 members as start from ground zero,” Cantu said. “The vented him from making ambitious rookie host of the Region I Leadership organizational memory of the student mistakes. “I tend to focus on the positive, but Development Conference. “On the West Coast, we are one of the groups is three to four years. We try to he always had me consider negative factors document everything we do with electronic to see if a decision was really worth bigger SHPE chapters,” said RSR Sequeira. files, but every few years, you have to give a pursuing,” Sequeira continued. Such training “Without David Cantu as our advisor all of lot more attention to what leaders are doing later help Sequeira step up to become the these years, I don’t think that we would be the strong program that we are now. He has 2008-2009 Region I student representative. [because they are all new].” Current chapter president Sanchez also been invaluable in terms of guiding leaders Two years ago, SHPE-Cal Poly SLO faced just that situation. “The old executive board benefited from Cantu’s guidance to make with what they need and providing simply vanished,” explained Jaime Sanchez, realistic goals. “Don’t try to make drastic opportunities to our members.” ■ SHPE ❘ Spring 2009 Cal Poly’s David Cantu: ‘Learn by Doing’ 26

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of SHPE - Spring 2009

SHPE - Spring 2009 Contents President’s Letter A Letter from the CEO Calendar Browser Diana Gomez, SHPE: The People's President Grace Lieblein, GM: A Driving Force in Mexico Dr. Elsa Murano, Texas A&M: Education with Impact Regions Connect and Explore Common Base 'Learn by Doing' A Grad Degree, for Free? Programs & Services Think, Pair, Share: Partnering to Increase STEM Awareness Inner Circle Employer Profiles STAR Awards: Call for Nominations Regional Roundup

SHPE - Spring 2009

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