Apr 20, 2022 | BMES
A week before the College of Engineering’s 2nd annual, “Eggs-Travaganza Hallway Hunt,” scheduled for Thursday, April 14th, nearly 20 Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES) students joined Biomedical Engineering staff members Cassandra Parks and Austin Blevins in putting together special BMEG eggs for the department’s portion of the egg hunt.
“We had a lot of fun, and it went faster than I thought it would,” said Cassandra Parks, BMEG’s fiscal support manager. “We listened to music and finished putting the eggs together quickly because we had so many students help thanks to Fah Sysavanh.” Sysavanh is a senior BMEG student and president of BMES. Young Hye Song is the faculty advisor for the organization.
BMES students assembled sustainable Easter eggs
The hunt, hosted by COE’s First Year Program, is a project to increase student retention and familiarize students with the various COE departments. Most departments are using plastic eggs and adding a piece of candy to each one for students to find throughout the engineering buildings, Bell and White Hall.
BMEG staff wanted to take the project a step further, and with BMEG department head Raj Rao’s approval and support, decided to reuse the department’s shredded paper to create paper eggs for the event. Also, instead of candy, staff wanted to provide more substantial prizes.
Over 125 eggs were put together, each holding a strip of paper informing students of the prize they had received. Prizes included BMEG t-shirts, stress Hogs, and special prizes created by staff and family members. Parks crocheted sets of egg-shaped coasters. Piper Hart, a senior U of A art student, made ceramic eggs, and her father, Gene Hart, made sets of ceramic egg-shaped coasters. The Harts are family members of Peg Hart, BMEG’s grants coordinator. Hart made the paper eggs used in the project.
BMEG Student Daniel Maxenberger
“I am excited about our staff thinking outside the box to come up with this creative spin on the egg hunt,” said Rao. “When we get involved in a student project, we want to make it a special experience for students. I think this is another success.”
Story by BMEG’s Fiscal Guru Cassandra Parks
Apr 13, 2022 | Uncategorized
Being a part of the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) has provided me with a safe space while on my journey to completing my degree. I knew that being a minority in the STEM field would come with its challenges, but the burden is easier to carry when you have a supportive network of people encouraging you along the way. Overall, NSBE is one of the largest student-governed organizations based in the United States; there are over 600 chapters in the country! NSBE’s mission is “to increase the number of culturally responsible Black engineers who excel academically, succeed professionally and positively impact the community”.
Attending the National NSBE Convention in Anaheim, CA was an amazing opportunity for me to network with other engineers in the field, especially with people who looked like me. The 4-day conference consisted of workshops, social events, a 2-day career and graduate school fair, and design competitions. I was able to meet people from all areas of the country to hear about their experience as engineers and engineering students and learn about future opportunities within STEM. I learned how flexible an engineering degree can be and how I could shape my future career based on my personal goals and interests. There was also an abundance of information about job opportunities, special topics within science, graduate schools, and workshops on research grants.
(Photos – Left: Breanna Kilgore on the 1st day of the conference, Right: Breanna and Kaitlin attending a NACME Scholar Networking Lunch)
As someone who desires to attend graduate school, I was able to attend Q&A sessions from women in the field who have obtained their PhD and currently work in the engineering field. It was inspiring to see women, especially Black women, preserve through the challenges within STEM that come along with being a minority. This was my favorite part about attending the conference – feeling inspired by the ones who have come before me. Everyone there was able to share their story and encourage all students to remain resilient on their journey. My favorite aspect of the convention were the many opportunities and connections I made with other Black women who were currently working in the medical device field, which is something I desire to pursue in the future.
Senior BMEG student, Kaitlin Hall, shares her favorite part of the convention:
“My favorite part of the NSBE conference was the carnival because although everyone was attending for professional purposes, the carnival gave us the opportunity to have fun and enjoy our culture. Personally, I went to the conference in hopes of making new connections with different companies in order to obtain a job or internship. I’m proud to say that I was successful and even gained a couple interviews! I would advise anyone looking to expand their connections or just wanting to meet wonderful people to go the next NSBE conference.”
I strongly recommend for all students to attend some type of engineering conference, especially if they cater to specific affinity groups such as Society of Women in Engineering (SWE), Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE), and major specific groups (Biomedical, Electrical, Civil, etc.). Conventions like the National NSBE Conference give students the opportunity to display their talent, discover career pathways, socialize with peers, and the chance to meet the experts in their field. I extend my gratitude to Thomas Carter III, the college NSBE Chapter, and the College of Engineering for the opportunity to travel and participate in this conference!
