Past 2017-2018 Events
View all of Western Michigan SWE's events our online calendar! Or subscribe to our feed with Outlook, iCal, etc.
Joint Meeting Panel Discussion with SWMI SWE
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Thursday, May 17, 2018 5:30-7:30pm Four Roses Cafe in Plainwell |
Our May meeting will be a joint meeting with the Southwest Michigan SWE section and is a panel discussion. It will be hosted at the same location as last year, which those who attended know had a wonderfully large and delicious dessert menu- and were voted best desserts in Michigan!
Topics to be focused on how to negotiate your next career move, keeping in mind varying aspects of what could affect your decision to take another position/promotion. Get some tips from people who have to negotiate for an increase in pay, increase in responsibility, change due to personal reasons (elderly parent/kids at home/spouse changing position), lateral move to get into another area of the business, etc.
Location:
Four Roses Cafe
663 N 10th St.
Plainwell, MI 49080
Topics to be focused on how to negotiate your next career move, keeping in mind varying aspects of what could affect your decision to take another position/promotion. Get some tips from people who have to negotiate for an increase in pay, increase in responsibility, change due to personal reasons (elderly parent/kids at home/spouse changing position), lateral move to get into another area of the business, etc.
Location:
Four Roses Cafe
663 N 10th St.
Plainwell, MI 49080
Yoga & Dinner Social
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Thursday, April 19, 2018 Yoga @ 6pm, Dinner to follow at Cellar Brewery Snap Fitness in Sparta |
Please join for some yoga and dinner with SWE on Thursday, 4/19 at 6 pm. We will start with a complementary yoga class at Snap Fitness in Sparta at 6 pm. Following the class, we will head to Cellar Brewery for dinner.
Enjoy some casual fun, stretching, and networking with your SWEsters! Please RSVP to Vanessa Decker if you can join us. You are welcome to bring your own mat, or Snap will provide you one.
Location:
Snap Fitness
630 S State St
Sparta, MI 49345
Enjoy some casual fun, stretching, and networking with your SWEsters! Please RSVP to Vanessa Decker if you can join us. You are welcome to bring your own mat, or Snap will provide you one.
Location:
Snap Fitness
630 S State St
Sparta, MI 49345
The Empowerment Project
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Wednesday, March 14, 2018 6-9pm Caledonia High School |
There will also be a showing of the Empowerment Project documentary after the Expo, and a panel discussion following that. The panel is full, but we are encouraged to join the audience and field any questions that may come up specific to our industry. This is not required for volunteering.Caledonia High School is working on an amazing event for their community called “The Empowerment Project” that will include an Expo, a Documentary Screening, and a Panelist Conversation with strong female leaders in our community. The purpose of the evening is equip and empower middle-school through adult females to consider the question “What would you do if you knew you would succeed?” Caledonia Community Schools would love to have SWE members participate in the Expo (and stay for the documentary and panel conversation). Essentially they are looking for women to discuss their careers, promote their companies, talk about the ladder to success, etc.
The request for volunteers from SWE is to share your experience with female students and their parents at the Expo part of this event, 6 pm – 7 pm. This is a “career-fair format,” with companies and organizations at tables. We recently did a similar event at Rockford High School, and it was a great experience; we were non-stop busy with questions on what does it mean to be an engineer, how do I get into engineering school, how do I choose an engineering discipline, etc. We are looking for people with a variety of engineering backgrounds and experiences, new grads to senior experienced alike!
Contact Vanessa Decker or Kim Braybrook if you are interested in speaking or volunteering at this event with SWE!
The request for volunteers from SWE is to share your experience with female students and their parents at the Expo part of this event, 6 pm – 7 pm. This is a “career-fair format,” with companies and organizations at tables. We recently did a similar event at Rockford High School, and it was a great experience; we were non-stop busy with questions on what does it mean to be an engineer, how do I get into engineering school, how do I choose an engineering discipline, etc. We are looking for people with a variety of engineering backgrounds and experiences, new grads to senior experienced alike!
Contact Vanessa Decker or Kim Braybrook if you are interested in speaking or volunteering at this event with SWE!
WE Local Milwaukee
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March 9-11, 2018 Milwaukee, WI |
Regional conferences this year are now replaced by WE Local. Different name, same great opportunity for networking, professional development and job searching! Registration ends March 2, so register today! If you are going, contact Kathy Joseph to meet up with the group or arrange carpooling, room sharing, etc. sWE hope to see you there!
Wine & Webinar: How to Navigate Successfully through Workplaces Shaped by Subtle Bias
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Thursday, February 22, 2018 7-8:30pm Amy Zeboor's House, Rockford, MI Bring either an appetizer or a bottle of wine |
Come relax and learn with West Michigan SWE on Thursday, February 22nd from 7-8:30pm! We’ll be watching the webinar "How to Navigate Successfully through Workplaces Shaped by Subtle Bias" from the SWE Advance Learning Center. Bring either an appetizer or a bottle of wine- we will provide munchies and pop, sparkling juices and iced tea for those who can’t or don’t want to have wine. Thanks to SWE member Amy Zeboor for hosting this event from her house in Rockford (address to be sent to those who RSVP).
Webinar Synopsis:
Gender bias falls into four distinct patterns. 1) Prove-it-again!: women have to provide more evidence of competence to be seen as equally competent. 2) Tightrope: Women have to behave in traditionally masculine ways (direct, commanding, ambitious) to be seen as go-getters—but women are expected to be feminine. Often women find themselves walking a tightrope between being seen as too feminine to be competent or too masculine to be likable. 3) Maternal wall: Motherhood triggers strong negative competence and commitment assumptions. 4) Tug of War: Gender bias fuels conflict among women, for example when women receive the message that there’s room for only one woman at the top. My interviews with 127 women (over 60 of them in STEM) show how these biases play out in everyday workplace interactions—and the strategies successful women have used to navigate workplaces shaped by subtle bias.
• At the end of this session, women will be able to recognize gender bias in the workplace
• Attendees will have the tools to implement strategies for navigating successfully through workplaces shaped by subtle bias ones that will not hurt their careers
For more information, go to http://www.genderbiasbingo.com
Webinar Synopsis:
Gender bias falls into four distinct patterns. 1) Prove-it-again!: women have to provide more evidence of competence to be seen as equally competent. 2) Tightrope: Women have to behave in traditionally masculine ways (direct, commanding, ambitious) to be seen as go-getters—but women are expected to be feminine. Often women find themselves walking a tightrope between being seen as too feminine to be competent or too masculine to be likable. 3) Maternal wall: Motherhood triggers strong negative competence and commitment assumptions. 4) Tug of War: Gender bias fuels conflict among women, for example when women receive the message that there’s room for only one woman at the top. My interviews with 127 women (over 60 of them in STEM) show how these biases play out in everyday workplace interactions—and the strategies successful women have used to navigate workplaces shaped by subtle bias.
• At the end of this session, women will be able to recognize gender bias in the workplace
• Attendees will have the tools to implement strategies for navigating successfully through workplaces shaped by subtle bias ones that will not hurt their careers
For more information, go to http://www.genderbiasbingo.com
Griffins Hockey Game Social
Friday, January 12, 2017
Dinner: 5pm @ The Woods
Game: 7pm @ Van Andel Arena
Tickets are first-come-first-serve to active professional or collegiate SWE members.
Dinner: 5pm @ The Woods
Game: 7pm @ Van Andel Arena
Tickets are first-come-first-serve to active professional or collegiate SWE members.
It's that time again for the annual West Michigan SWE Griffins Hockey Game Social! We will be meeting at The Woods at 5pm for dinner and walking over to the arena for the game at 7pm.
Also a big thank you to Cummins for sponsoring the tickets again!
Location:
Also a big thank you to Cummins for sponsoring the tickets again!
Location:
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Game:
Van Andel Arena 130 W Fulton St Grand Rapids, MI 49503 |
Dinner:
The Woods 77 Grandville Ave SW Grand Rapids, MI 49503 |
Holiday Cookie Decorating
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Saturday, December 16, 2017 2-4pm Liz Terrien’s house in Byron Center BYOB and an appetizer to pass |
SWE is keeping it light for December with a family-friendly cookie decorating gathering on Saturday, December 16th! SWE will provide cookies, decorations, hot beverages, and plenty of holiday cheer! Please bring an appetizer to pass and any other beverages you may want (SWE cannot provide alcohol, but you can bring it :) ). Our secretary, Liz, has graciously agreed to host this event at her house in Byron Center. We hope to see you there!
Location:
Liz Terrien's House
(Address will be sent to those who RSVP)
Byron Center
Location:
Liz Terrien's House
(Address will be sent to those who RSVP)
Byron Center
Small Group Discussions with GVSU SWE
Wednesday, November 15, 5:30-7pm
Dinner will be provided
Cost: $10 for professionals, FREE for collegiates
Dinner will be provided
Cost: $10 for professionals, FREE for collegiates
Our November Meeting will be a joint meeting co-hosted by the GVSU SWE Section. Dinner will be provided as we break off into small groups for guided networking and discussion. We will rotate into different groups and have a list of discussion questions to get things started, but feel free to take the discussion in any direction your group chooses! This event is a great opportunity for our professional members to serve as mentors to college students and for college students to pick the brains of the professional members. We hope that you will be able to join us!
Location:
GVSU Kennedy Hall of Engineering, Room TBD
301 W Fulton
Grand Rapids, MI 49504
Location:
GVSU Kennedy Hall of Engineering, Room TBD
301 W Fulton
Grand Rapids, MI 49504
WE17 Conference in Austin, TX
As an engineer—or aspiring engineer—you likely look at engineering as more than a way to earn a living. You see it as a WAY of living. A mindset that assesses life from an inquisitive, problem-solving, point of view—a mind that’s always engineering. Attend WE17—the world’s largest conference and career fair for women in engineering and technology—to connect with thousands who share your engineering outlook. Together, you’ll learn, find new jobs or internships and be inspired. You’ll connect with new friends and mentors, or re-connect with colleagues and classmates you've grown with. We promise it’ll be three unforgettable days for all of us who are always connecting and always engineering!
Volunteer Opportunity: Grand Rapids Girls FIRST Robotics Competition
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Saturday, October 7th, 2017
Contact Amy Rokos for more details |
SWE is helping to sponsor an all-girls FIRST Robotics competition on Saturday, October 7th at Wyoming High School. We are looking for volunteers to help staff the event and spread the word about the event, especially to any elementary to middle school-aged girls. Please help however you can, however a special request was made to SWE for Assistant Emcees and field referees.
Here is a short video of what you can expect to see at the competition: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXx0gho-xr0.
More information and sign up here: https://app.vroomhq.com/s/girls-robotics-2017
Contact Amy Rokos (amy.rokos@gmail.com) for more details.
This event was a hit with the members that participated last year. It was awesome to see all the robots and all the girls who participated!
Location:
Wyoming High School
1350 Prairie Pkwy SW
Wyoming, MI 49509
Here is a short video of what you can expect to see at the competition: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXx0gho-xr0.
More information and sign up here: https://app.vroomhq.com/s/girls-robotics-2017
Contact Amy Rokos (amy.rokos@gmail.com) for more details.
This event was a hit with the members that participated last year. It was awesome to see all the robots and all the girls who participated!
Location:
Wyoming High School
1350 Prairie Pkwy SW
Wyoming, MI 49509
Vander Mill Cider Production Tour
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Tuesday, September 26th, 2017
5:00 - 6:00 pm Attendees must be 21+ ID will be required Cost of the tour is $10/person. We will meet for dinner & drinks after the tour (not provided). |
Learn About Hard Cider production from Behind the Scenes!
Come join us for a private tour of the Grand Rapids production facility and enjoy some dinner and drinks after. Cost is $10 for the tour, plus the cost of any dinner & drinks following. Please RSVP by Wednesday, September 20th for tour and/or dinner, so Vander Mill can properly prepare staff. Feel free to bring a friend, spouse, or significant other; although we must cap the tour at 20 attendees. Note: Due to restrictions on the tour, you must be 21 to attend this event.
Information About the Tour...
Tour the brand new spacious Vander Mill Cider Production facility in Grand Rapids. Vander Mill offers a unique 45-minute guided cider experience. Take an in-depth look at how cider is fermented, filtered and blended into tasty Vander Mill hard cider that is sure to delight your palate. Three 5oz. samples are provided throughout tour and a commemorative glass. Please note that there is a flight of about 20 stairs that guests will need to walk down and portions of the production floor may be wet from cleaning.
Location:
Vander Mill Cider Production Facility
505 Ball Ave NE
Grand Rapids, MI
Meet at the bar area and we will be shuttled down to the production floor.
Come join us for a private tour of the Grand Rapids production facility and enjoy some dinner and drinks after. Cost is $10 for the tour, plus the cost of any dinner & drinks following. Please RSVP by Wednesday, September 20th for tour and/or dinner, so Vander Mill can properly prepare staff. Feel free to bring a friend, spouse, or significant other; although we must cap the tour at 20 attendees. Note: Due to restrictions on the tour, you must be 21 to attend this event.
Information About the Tour...
Tour the brand new spacious Vander Mill Cider Production facility in Grand Rapids. Vander Mill offers a unique 45-minute guided cider experience. Take an in-depth look at how cider is fermented, filtered and blended into tasty Vander Mill hard cider that is sure to delight your palate. Three 5oz. samples are provided throughout tour and a commemorative glass. Please note that there is a flight of about 20 stairs that guests will need to walk down and portions of the production floor may be wet from cleaning.
Location:
Vander Mill Cider Production Facility
505 Ball Ave NE
Grand Rapids, MI
Meet at the bar area and we will be shuttled down to the production floor.
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