fall 2012 NEWSLETTER

Career Fair with GE 10/4

TAKING ACTION POST CAREER FAIR WITH GE We began our event with a GBM starting at 6:30 PM. Members who arrive before 6:30 PM are eligible for a raffle prize. In this workshop, the prizes were provided by GE. Members were able to mingle over a Carribean dinner with the three corporate representatives from GEs Hispanic Hub. At 6:45 PM, we concluded our SHPE updates to the membership and stepped aside for GE to present. The presentation focused on expanding your resources, dos and donts of a Career Fair, and how to make yourself someone that recruiters wont forget. By the end of the event, we were able to open the floor to questions. Members greatly enjoyed this event because it met their expectations. It is more impactful to hear how to talk to and follow up with recruiters from recruiters themselves!
2012 Executive Board

preparing for career fair with GE 9/18

WMP/SWE/SHPE/NSBE WORKSHOP ON PREPARING FOR THE CAREER FAIR WITH GE The event started off with a WMP General Body Meeting. Following, the first speaker from GE covered the main aspects of how to prepare for the Career Fair. They focused on resumes, pointing out the differences between a resume for a Career Fair and one submitted online. Next, the speaker covered topics regarding the 10 second sell when talking to a recruiter, and also how to follow up with the recruiters to assure you are provide lasting impact on the recruiter. The second speaker from GE covered the topic of dressing professionally. Six male and six female volunteers from all participating organizations modeled good and bad Career Fair attire. After the event, there was a designated Q&A session with the GE speakers and Dawn Cairns Weaver, the Associate Director at CCPD at RPI. Following the Q&A session, students got a chance to get their resume critiqued by many GE employees.

34TH ANNUAL NSBE/SHPE CAREER FAIR The NSBE/SHPE Career Fair was open to students from 10 AM 3:30 PM on September 28th and September 29th. The Career Development Committee consists of both NSBE and SHPE members. This years NSBE/SHPE Career Fair Co Directors were Kayla Pena (a previous SHPE E Board member) and Christian Griffin (a previous NSBE E Board member). This year over 120 companies attended over the course of two days and all interview rooms were at full capacity. 2,380 students attended on Friday the 28th, while 2,620 students attended on Saturday the 29th, and we received positive feedback from many companies who attended.

Career Fair 9/28-9/29

top, 2012 NSBE/SHPE Career Fair; bottom, SHPE JR at Amsterdam High School

SHPE JR. AT AMSTERDAM HIGH SCHOOL After applying and being approved a grant from NAVSEA this semester, our chapter started working on establishing its first SHPE Jr. Chapter at Amsterdam High School. We are excited to help this Hispanic community reach its fullest potential. Vice President, Paulina Bukanowska, advises our SHPE Jr. Committee, composed: Nia Prado, Angelo Polanco, Ambar Mena and Rafael Aguilar. The SHPE Jr. Advisor is Craig Jones, a NYC SHPE Professional member and substitute math and science teacher at Amsterdam. We held three successful workshops with the students this semester. Our goal is to hold at least one activity per month. In October, we attended the college fair to spread the word about our new SHPE Jr. Chapter. The committee held a SHPE Jr. information session to spark interest among the 12 students in attendance. In November, we held an SAT/ACT information session and a leadership workshop. In this second activity, over 20 students attended the workshop. Over 10 students attended our December event about financial aid, study habits, and the Graduates Ready for Tasking workshops.

2012 National Conference in Fort Worth Texas 11/14-11/18

NATIONAL CONFERENCE This year our chapter was able to bring almost half of our membership across the country to the National Conference. Speaking on diversity and conference highlights; we would like to share excerpts of a letter from a member who is a foreign exchange student from Brazil. I just would like to express my gratitude to [the executive board] for giving me the opportunity to attend the national conference this year. The workshops were really helpful and the grad lab was extremely clarifying. The career fair was beyond any of my expectations. And if I had the chance to enjoy all these extraordinary talks, this is also thanks to all the effort you guys put in every day to make SHPE RPI be what it is. It has been my pleasure to spend this semester with all of you. SHPE is a good example of learning outside the classroom and I have no words to express how much I have learned! This is a true testimonial on how SHPE changes lives, and we are proud that SHPE RPI was able to do its part.

XEROX SCHOLARSHIP This academic year we were very fortunate to have been able to offer scholarships to our members. This was possible through the donation from Xerox Corporation. The applicants were evaluated based on their academic achievements at RPI thus far, and their contribution to our chapter. The scholarships of about $1,000 each were given out to: Angelo Polanco, Ashley Zuraitis, Catalina Sposato, Lucas Silva, Malaney Young, Rafael Aguilar, and Rita Hidalgo.