SWE - Fall 2008 - (Page 10)

A Conversation with FY09 President Virginia Connolly, P.E. I’m strongly committed to listening to SWE member needs and seeking input from all of our stakeholders. When did you join SWE? What prompted you to join? I joined SWE in 1985 while I was a student at Arizona State University. Like many of us, high school was easy for me, so much so that I worked almost full time during my senior year and then struggled a bit in college. Somehow, my mother — an extremely wise and resourceful woman — found out about SWE. Remember, these were preInternet days. She told me to join and gave me the money. When she “encouraged” me to join SWE, we had a memorable fight that is seared in my brain and reminds me how much I appreciate all the things my mother has done for me. I said that I wanted to have a good time in college just as she had. Why should I join a technical organization when she was in a sorority? She told me that her sorority sisters would give her a couch to sleep on in a new town for a few nights, but that I was going to need a stronger network that could do a lot more to improve my career opportunities. She was quite convincing, and it was SWE for me. Ironically, I think SWE actually does both — it gives me a strong network to move my career along and a network of SWE sisters. seems to be a connection to SWE somewhere. Connections to the companies I’ve worked for have all come through SWE. While in college, I got my first internship assignment through Arizona State University’s office of minority affairs. I knew the director because of my work in SWE, and when he got a call from a local company looking for a good student to work year round, he thought of me. I wouldn’t have known him if it weren’t for SWE and, in turn, wouldn’t have had that connection for my first engineering job. Through my local section I met several Medtronic employees and then decided I wanted to work there, too. One of those SWE members functioned as my internal agent and recommended a position that suited me. I decided to pursue a master’s degree in industrial engineering in large part due to many discussions with Dr. Mary Anderson-Rowland, a longtime Phoenix Section member, and recipient of SWE’s Distinguished Engineering Educator Award in 2002. As I considered an advanced degree, she helped me to work through the different options available. She later became my thesis advisor and set a high bar for me, for which I am very thankful. I pursued my current role as a Master Blackbelt because of the foundational knowledge of statistics and process improvement I gained during my course work while getting that degree. Most of my friends are either SWE members or people I met through a SWE connection — graduate school, leadership development groups, etc. There is a reciprocal dynamic between SWE and work, so my growth in one arena always benefits the other. For example, a few years ago my site was ready to develop a new strategic plan. I felt confident to volunteer for this task force because I had experience developing SWE’s strategic plan. Tell us what SWE has done for you professionally and personally. My experiences in SWE and my relationships with SWE members have shaped my life — both professionally and personally. When I observe the different aspects of my life, there always 10 SWE FALL 2008

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of SWE - Fall 2008

SWE - Fall 2008 Heritage Club Contents Farewell Message from FY08 President Michelle Tortolani Congratulations SWE Magazine A Conversation with FY09 President Virginia Connolly, P.E. Introducing the FY09 Board of Directors View from the Executive Suite Editor's Page Public Policy Update SWE Retention Study, Part 6 Membership Information & Calendar A&B SWE Member Kristina Johnson First Woman to Receive John Fritz Medal University Labs Fuel a New Era in Energy Women Engineering Leaders in Academe 2008 Opening the Gateways to Engineering Your Collegiate Section History is Waiting to Be Discovered Honoring the Legacy of Ada Pressman, P.E. Report from WEPAN Engineering World Proposed Bylaws Amendments Point of View Correction Career Toolbox Corporate Partnership Council Book Review SWE Smiles In Memory Opportunity Index SWE Scrapbook

SWE - Fall 2008

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