SHPE - Winter 2009 - (Page 18)

MEET THE PRESIDENTS Region VI Central Illinois Region VI Kentucky Bluegrass Jacques Ceballos As a student, Jacques Ceballos was encouraged by a professor to start a SHPE chapter at the California Maritime Academy. With the help of the Academy’s president, Ceballos and two other Ceballos wants members attended the 2004 national conference. SHPE-CI to He returned determined to start the chapter. The provide benefits following year, SHPE-CMA hosted a regional for members conference, “SHPE on a Ship,” which attracted 100 at all stages of students and professionals. their careers. Since his recent graduation, Ceballos now keeps busy at the helm of SHPE-CI. “SHPE has shaped all aspects of my professional life,” he explained. “It opened the door for me to connect with companies and has provided the environment for me to excel at work, network with fellow Latinos and give back to the Latino community.” As a professional, he has already participated in much professional development, and his goal is to lead the chapter in extending such training to local engineers. “Ultimately, we would like to provide benefits for members at all levels of their careers, from entry-level/recent grads to mid- and higher-level managers, so that they are suited with the correct set of skills in a volatile employment market,” he added. Jacques Ceballos has been a SHPE member for five years and is an associate engineer with Caterpillar. Claudia Marin Since Claudia Marin completed her undergraduate degree in France and attended a graduate school where SHPE was not yet active, she only recently joined the SHPE familia in 2006. Marin was However, her recent exposure to SHPE a founding didn’t prevent her from becoming a lifetime member of the member in 2007 or from being a founding Kentucky member of SHPE-KYBG in 2008, the first and Bluegrass only chapter in the state. Professional “What I find most rewarding about my Chapter. involvement in SHPE is being able to serve the Hispanic community in Kentucky,” she said. “Our chapter recently held a Noche de Ciencias event, and it was great to see kids truly enjoy the activities and hear the positive feedback from parents and teachers.” On a personal note, Marin is interested in the professional development training offered at SHPE conferences and making it available to local Hispanic engineers. “A professional chapter should provide opportunities that will help members improve their skills and build their résumés in order to be prepared to face a volatile employment market,” she explained. “It should also offer networking as an effective way of finding new career opportunities.” Claudia Marin works as the materials synthesis manager at Lexmark International Inc. Region VI Twin Cities, Minnesota Region VI St. Louis Gateway, Missouri Mariano Rojas As a student at City College of New York, Mariano H. Rojas turned to SHPE for mentors, study group support and friendships among other Hispanic engineers. He got even more than Rojas promotes what he expected. “Through SHPE conferences SHPE’s profesand events, I connected to the corporate world,” sional develophe said, “and with the credibility of SHPE, I ment and obtained three summer internships. My current networking. job was the result of an interview at the 2005 conference.” Rojas served two terms as student chapter IT co-chair. When he relocated to Minneapolis in 2006, he became SHPE-TC webmaster and later vice president. The chapter regularly provides mentors for student retention programs such as the Walter’s Wish Foundation. Yet, during tough economic times, Rojas promotes SHPE benefits related to professional development and networking. “We encourage our members to attend the SHPE Conference by providing sponsorship opportunities for active members,” Rojas added. “We have offered seminars on graduate school programs in Minnesota, and in the near future, we are planning more seminars focused on personal finance and professional skills.” A switchgear systems engineer with Cummins Power Generation, Mariano Rojas has been a SHPE member for more than eight years. Eyeri Comas Coworkers were the first to tell Eyeri Comas about SHPE. They were already SHPE members and encouraged him to join. The opportunities he saw to convince young students into pursuComas credits ing careers in engineering moved him to follow the SHPE their lead and become a member. Conference Recently becoming more actively involved in with helping him SHPE, and currently serving his first term as a develop skills chapter president, Comas recognizes the opporto succeed as a tunities that SHPE provides. “I want to take professional. advantage of the workshops that I can attend at the SHPE Conference and at a local level,” he said. “Also, being involved with SHPE, I get the opportunity to network with other professionals.” Among other activities, Comas sees SHPE-STL “providing training to members and attracting recent graduates to become members.” Such activities, he said, “will help professionals to be more productive at work and avoid layoffs.” He cites a recent example from his own chapter. This year it attracted two recent college graduates who received funding to attend the SHPE Conference. ■ Eyeri Comas, a design engineer for The Boeing Company, has been a SHPE member for three years. SHPE ❘ Winter 2009 18

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

SHPE - Winter 2009 Contents President's Letter Browser Calendar Professional Chapter Leaders - Providing the Right Resources at the Right Time Closing the Expectation Gap - Summit Addresses ‘Diploma to Nowhere’ Conference 2008 A Career Building Diversity in Engineering Education Graduate STEM Degrees Extend Technical Reach Programs & Services Inner Circle Employer Profile Regional Roundup Annual Report Advertisers Index

SHPE - Winter 2009

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