SHPE - Winter 2009 - (Page 36)

CONFERENCE 2008 For Students, Success Starts Here winners each receiving $700 and the most improved chapter, $500. This year’s winners summarize some of the programs that merited the recognition. University of Virginia Small Chapter (10-25 members) By Peter D. Rios Jr., President SHPE-UVA is a small but effective organization. We pride ourselves in organizing community outreach activities while also promoting academic excellence and professional development. In the past year, SHPE-UVA has doubled its size to 30 members. Also, we were awarded a $7,000 AHETEMS grant for our Juntos Podemos (Together We Can) high school outreach program. The high school weekend visitation has grown since its inception in 1999, expanding from just 15 students to almost 100 accepted applicants. The cost-free program serves as an important introduction to engineering and higher education for Northern Virginia high school students. We have members in our chapter and in the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences at UVA who are products of this program. This spring, our chapter will host the Regional Leadership Development Conference (RLDC), which will have a particular emphasis on creating community outreach programs such as Juntos Podemos. I am very optimistic about this upcoming year and strongly believe we have several emerging leaders in our chapter. I have a sense that many of our new members will be leaders in the university and eventually in their career fields. SHPE’s Regional Student Represntatives. Through their overwhelming representation at the SHPE Conference, students – nearly 2,930 strong – represented the Society’s present foundation as well as its future leaders. Some chapters Student Role Model Miguel Guerra received were only able to a $5,000 scholarship. send a handful of members; others shattered their attendance records, such as the University of Florida, which brought 97 students to Phoenix. Regardless of whether or not they left with individual or chapter recognition, they were bound by their love for the SHPE familia as well as their common goals: personal and professional development, corporate networking and cultural celebration. Ken Krehbiel categories. The reports are also graded on professional presentation and adherence to guidelines. With tougher standards, SHPE has raised the bar for the chapters, in turn making the award more prestigious. When compared to chapters of similar size, the 2007-2008 National Chapters of the Year received the best overall scores. Each received a $1,500 award, with regional Future Leader Award By Alejandra Hernandez and Francisco M. Rivera National Undergraduate Student Representatives The Future Leader of SHPE Award is a tradition started in 2004 by past National Student Representative Yuliana Porras. It recognizes the leaders within the organization that assist in the accomplishment of SHPE’s goals. This year, we and the team of Regional Student Representatives honored Peter Rios, SHPE-University of Virginia president, and Jay Fitzgerald, Region V Vice Regional Student Representative. Future Leadership Award winner Rios’s enthusiasm for SHPE has motivated an 87 percent Peter Rios (center) with NUR increase in SHPE-UVA’s membership, a huge success consider- Hernandez and VNUR Rivera. ing the relatively few Hispanics in the Charlottesville area. (Jay Fitzgerald not pictured.) Moreover, he has engaged difference resources as SHPE-UVA prepares to host the 2009 Region IV Leadership Development Conference. VRSR Fitzgerald has demonstrated impressive passion not only toward the SHPE organization by representing his sub region, but also in assisting the Region V Student Representative with regional communication and student questions among other responsibilities. They both have demonstrated great leadership skills which are also present in their local members. Student Chapter Awards Each year, the National Affairs Committee (NAC) recognizes outstanding student chapters based on the End of Year Reports that all chapters are required to submit. Each report is evaluated on member participation and programs within five 36 SHPE ❘ Winter 2009

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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