SHPE - Winter 2009 - (Page 24)

CONFERENCE 2008 ❚ By Leilani Rangel ❚ Photography by Kenneth Krehbiel, Imageworks Photography Our Time to Shine Ken Krehbiel SHPE Magazine Courtesy of SHPE SHPE Magazine C oming on the heels of a United States general election that invoked a mandate for change, the 32nd annual national conference of the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers empowered attendees to bring about change in their professional aspirations and collectively broaden the pathway for ensuing generations. For the more than 3,250 Hispanic engineering students and professionals in attendance, it validated that the technical talent within their community was intrinsic to the nation achieving its future prosperity. “STEM is all about change,” said Nicolas Donofrio of IBM (banquet co-sponsor) during his keynote address. “We need you to participate for this country to continue having the dream. Now is the time for us to commit ourselves to change, to make a bigger difference, to move the agenda forward before it’s too late. The intensity with which we pursue this agenda is the speed with which things will change.” Not only did participation surpass all expectations, shattering all previous records, but the conference committee also raised the bar with regard to the quality of the programs SHPE’s constituents have come to expect. In 1992, Phoenix was the first city outside of Los Angeles to host the conference, a bold move confirming the Society’s vision to be a national organization. “After that conference, we said that we couldn’t come back because it was too small to host us,” recalled SHPE National President Diana Gomez, who attended the event for the first time as a professional. Phoenix built more convention space and larger hotels, but 16 years later, SHPE returned only to find that it still wasn’t big enough. “We outgrew the City of Phoenix again this weekend!” she exclaimed. (Photo Past Presidents Robert Guzman, Rodrigo Garcia, Orlando Gutierrez, Serafin Fernandez, Melissa Drake and Margarita Colmenares joined Gomez (center) at the Gala Banquet celebration.) The expanded professional program quickly sold out. Hands-on workshops had standing room only and left many wishing for more time to assimilate the lessons. For the first time, many of the corporate representatives, who were there as recruiters, availed themselves of the training. Among them was Southern Company’s Jose Castro, who came away with a new insight from the “Beyond Networking” workshop. “Most people organize by to-do lists, but live by their calendar,” he said. “Networking is important; it needs to be scheduled.” A delegation representing the SHPE Chapter in SHPE’s 2008-2009 National Board of Directors. 24 SHPE ❘ Winter 2009 Ken Krehbiel SHPE Magazine

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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