This month: Make your vision REAL in your mind – Leadership lessons from #HiddenFigures

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SWE: Embracing February by Irma Khan, SWE-CI President

Love engineering? Love movies? Of course you do :)! This month I have two recommendations for your movie must-watch list! If you didn't already join SWE-CI for the movie outing, then welcome Black History Month by watching Hidden Figures. What better way to celebrate the month than to view a box office topper about women in STEM? Second on the list is Dream Big: Engineering Our World. It's a first of its kind film for giant screen theaters that is aimed to transform how all of us think about engineering. Featuring the Great Wall of China, the world’s tallest buildings, underwater robots, solar cars and smart, sustainable cities, Dream Big is about celebrating the human ingenuity behind engineering marvels big and small. In Central Illinois, the movie will be playing at the Peoria Riverfront Museum and premieres Feb 18th. The movie will also be playing at Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry. What? Movies aren't your thing? For more of a hands-on experience, join local activities to celebrate Engineers Week Feb 19 - 25th. In Peoria, the Riverfront Museum is hosting the

annual Engineering Day on Feb 19th. It's a day of free entry to the museum and incredible learning and experiences. Our own SWE-CI Outreach Committee will of course be there front and center with our passionate volunteers engaging in various experiments and activities with our visitors. If you are thinking of volunteering for outreach for the first time, this is a great event to do so! It's cold...you'd prefer to stay in? I'm addicted to SWE's new research website, http://research.swe.org. One way to advocate for our Society's mission is to be well versed on issues affecting women in engineering and in STEM. This website makes it easy to do so! It features SWE's original research alongside other well known sources.

2017 Annual Members Brunch

Each year in January, Central Illinois SWE members meet to open the New Year surrounded by friends sharing the same interests. It has become almost a tradition to meet at Stacey’s house – a beautiful place in winter – spend few hours together, networking, enjoying a good breakfast, chatting about subjects of common interest and planning ahead for a great new beginning. This year we had around 50 participants, from the Peoria region, covering a large range of age, employment, origins, interest, but eager to meet with their “SWE friends”. We also welcomed 2 new SWE babies participating to the event and few more staying at home with Dads. The icebreaker section of the event was a very good opportunity to find common interests, to find new things about our SWE friends, learn about a book, or learn about a new “thing”. It’s been a pleasure to see those that participated this year and looking forward to continue this wonderful SWE tradition. Thank you all that participated! A special thank you to all leaders within SWE-CI who provided the goodies for the Brunch!

Calling all Members in Central Illinois

Do you live on the outskirts of Peoria or work in Bloomington, Champaign, Decatur? SWE CI is looking to expand events to the Bloomington-Normal, Champaign-Urbana, and Decatur areas. Please join us on Monday March 6th from 5pm-7pm for our first informal meeting/event at Guido's Bar and Grill in Champaign for a happy hour and to discuss what events you would like to see in our area! If you have ideas/opinions for future events and cannot attend, please email Amanda Reader at reader_amanda@cat.com

Want to Be More Involved in SWE? Right now we are looking for support in:

• Website or Facebook support: You don't need previous experience, there is a user friendly interface. Contact Kirsten Mauritzson if interested. Mauritzson_Kirsten_J@cat.com

• Caterpillar WE18 SWAT Chair-elect: The SWAT team is a Caterpillar team that focuses on improving the experience of Caterpillar employees at the annual SWE conference. The candidate must be a Caterpillar employee. Planned attendance at WE18 or WE19 is not required. This role with assist the WE18 SWAT Chair in preparation for leading the WE19 SWAT team. Contact Cheryl Verbeke if interested (P: 309-675-5068, E verbeke_cheryl_l@cat.com )

• All Bloomington/Champaign/Decatur Members! SWE CI is looking to expand events to the Bloomington-Normal, Champaign-Urbana, and Decatur areas. Please join us on Monday March 6th from 5pm-7pm for our first informal meeting/event at Guido's Bar and Grill in Champaign for a happy hour and to discuss what events you would like to see in our area! If you have ideas/opinions for future events and cannot attend, please email Amanda Reader at reader_amanda@cat.com

• SWE-CI Nominations Committee: Nominations for committee chairs will be opening soon (2/27). Start thinking about which position(s) you would like to run for in the next fiscal year (July 2017 through June 2018). Then, watch your inbox for a survey to express your interest or those you think would be a good fit for roles. You may nominate yourself or others! Not sure what all the committee positions are? Check our website http://centralillinois.swe.org/committees.html. Once nominations have been obtained, elections will follow.

National Engineering Week Museum Free* & Open to the Public (*Does not include "Titanic" exhibit)

Come kick off the start to Engineer's week with a FREE DAY at the Riverfront Museum generously sponsored by local engineering groups. The Museum will be packed with engineers providing hands on activities, exhibits, demonstrations, videos, and more. Ask these professionals and enthusiasts your engineering questions, explore potential career options, and visit the rest of the Museum! Make sure you stop by the SWE table and see all the exciting items the Outreach Committee has been creating. https://www.peoriariverfrontmuseum.org/posts/700

Outreach Update Total Impact to Date for FY17 SWE-CI: 2,074 students! Mentoring at Charles Lindbergh Middle School SWE-Outreach had its 5th mentoring session at Charles Lindbergh Middle School on January 17th. The girls placed different objects in a container with tap water and in another container with saltwater and observed if they floated or sank. The kids learned about Archimedes principle and buoyant force. Great way to start 2017!!! The 6th mentoring session will be on February 21st and we and the girls are always welcoming new volunteers! Feel free to join us @ Charles Lindbergh Middle School, 6327 N. Sheridan Rd., Peoria, IL 61614. Contact: Gina Riley, rileygm@cat.com 4H University of Illinois Extension 4H University of IL Extension invited SWE Outreach to conduct a Teen Role Model Training for their teen teachers. The session was held on January 19th at the University of Illinois Extension’s office in Peoria,IL. Christiana Aguirre, Ursula Towne and Smitha Chirala performed two experiments with the Teen Teachers and talked to them about how to: interact with kids during STEM Outreach Events; keep kids engaged and guide them during an experiment; motivate them to ask questions and how work in a team environment. These teenagers will help SWE during future events in partnership with the University of Illinois Extension. Thanks Judy Schmidt (University of IL) for this great opportunity!!!

GEMS On January 24th, SWE Outreach went to Morton,IL for another great STEM session with the girls from GEMS (Girls Excelling in Math and Science). The girls were very excited to do the Marshmallow Challenge and they came up with the most creative structures! During the second part of the session, we had a catapult competition. Each girl built their own catapult and launched pingpong balls at a target. After some discussion with the group, the girls improved their designs and we then had the final competition! Everybody had lots of fun! GEMS groups are a part of the AAUW (American Association of University Women) and SWE Outreach is grateful to have this new partnership! Big thanks to our volunteers: Robyn Konen, Ursula Towne, Christiana Aguirre and Constanza Garcia.

Opportunity for High School Girls STEM Bootcamp The Society of Women Engineers-Central Illinois is partnering with University of Illinois Extension and Bradley University to offer a STEM Bootcamp on April 22nd at Bradley University from 10am-4pm. The cost is only $5 and is open to girls in high school (freshman-senior). This includes snacks and lunch during the event and all supplies . Scholarships are available if youth are unable to pay the registration fee Registration is online at:

https://web.extension.illinois.edu/registration/?RegistrationID=15766

New SWE-CI Member Spotlight: Ursula Towne Why did you join SWE? In 2013, after having worked as a mechanical engineer with Caterpillar for almost 15 years, it occurred to me the wave of women in engineering that I figured would appear by then simply hadn’t. Having graduated in 1995 with only a few other women from the University of Wisconsin-Platteville, I expected that there would be a surge in young women seeking out careers in engineering of all kinds. After all, by then we had all seen great examples of these women in science related careers proving we can do it. Here is a great list of these women, many of whom inspired me: http://discovermagazine.com/2002/nov/feat50 These women and other more famous women like Sally

Ride shaped our vision of what was possible. I noticed however that instead of seeing women coming out of college with engineering degrees and joining me in the work I do developing diesel engines for Caterpillar or in other challenging technical fields, the numbers were pretty flat. It was one of those moments where you look around and realize it is up to you to change things. To help me drive this passion, I joined the local SWE branch and began taking science into schools that very month with a joint effort through Quest Academy in Peoria. I set out to change the statistics. What were your expectations from this group? I was hoping SWE could help me network with local schools and education groups to inspire young people to pursue scientific careers. It has been all of that and then some. I feel I have made real, lasting impressions on young minds and forged some valued friendships in the process. Seeing a young girl; wanting to put electric circuits on her Christmas wish list, or to be present the moment a student understands an advanced principle we are trying to convey, are priceless moments which may alter the course of someone’s life and by that same grace, the path of all mankind. A brief biography: I grew up on a dairy farm in Wisconsin. I had the virtue of things around me breaking down all the time to ignite a mechanical interest in machines and what makes them work. Combine that with the fly-overs from the local military air base and you have a recipe for inspiration. When Top Gun was in the movie theatres, F-14s were really doing mock aerial combat over my parents’ farm. I decided way back then that I would become and engineer. Although, at the time, I was interested in aeronautical engineering. My father said it was too difficult for women to do a job like that which only fueled my desire to prove that I could. With the help of a basketball scholarship to get me through 90% of college, I was able to go to school at a time when my parents would not have been able to afford helping with college expenses.

UPCOMING EVENTS Tip: Import SWE-CI's Google Calendar -- no typing needed!

OUTREACH COMMITTEE: ENGINEERING DAY SUN | 02.19 @ 12:00 PM - 5:00 PM Peoria Riverfront Museum 248 SW Washington St., Peoria, IL 61602 OUTREACH COMMITTEE: THE LAUNCH SAT | 02.25 @ 4:00 PM - 8:00 PM The Launch at Hickory Grove Elementary School Fundraising event for the the school. SWE-CI will be hosting exciting experiments RSVP: https://doodle.com/poll/86igu8t6qtm72b4q WORK LIFE INTEGRATION: Vino Van Gogh SUN | 03.05 @ 1:30 PM - 4:30 PM Coventry Farms Clubhouse 113 Windsor Dr, Germantown Hills, 61548 Costs $33.00 RSVP: http://tinyurl.com/SWEPAINT

SWE-CI Happy Hour in Champaign! MON | 03.06 @ 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM Happy Hour at Guido's Downtown Champaign 2 E Main St, Champaign, IL 61820 RSVP: Reader_Amanda@cat.com or

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