WOMEN IN ECE

ALUMNAE NEWSLETTER

Welcome to the very first issue of the WECE Alumnae

Newsletter! This is an opportunity for the current students at

Georgia Tech to stay in touch with those who have previously

roamed the halls of Van Leer. We are truly standing on the

shoulders of giants. This unique, tightly-knit community has

grown so much over the past couple of years. Beginning with

only five women in 2004, WECE has evolved to support active

undergraduate and graduate members and expanded to a

twelve-member executive advisory panel.

WECE prides in the strength of three pillars: academic

support, professional development, and social events. We

continue to strengthen these key pillars through events and

activities, ranging from registration workshops to help

students pick out classes, to corporate information sessions

and interview workshops. We also work with other ECE

organizations to host more than 300 students at our annual

Holiday Party.

WECE has even expanded beyond these three core pillars.

WECE members continue to give back and make a difference

in the school by giving tours of Van Leer to middle to high

school students, in the community through volunteering at

the FLL Lego tournament, and in the world by repairing

medical equipment at MedShare International with

biomedical and mechanical engineering students. In hopes

of expanding our impact, we have created a brand new

executive position, Outreach Chair, aimed towards

Letter Letter Letter Letter ffffromromromrom the President the President the President the President InsidInsidInsidInside te te te this Issuehis Issuehis Issuehis Issue

Letter from the President 1

Ghosts, Goblins, and Ghouls 1

I Am My Own Defense 2

What we have been up to 2

Spreading the Holiday Cheer 3

increasing our involvement in the community that helped

to shape who we are.

In a male-dominated industry, it’s hard being the odd

one out. Every girl remembers the first day she walked

into an ECE classroom and all eyes turned to her

because, well, she’s a girl. WECE has become a haven for

the women in ECE, providing a special community and

support network for the ones that stick out in the crowd

of male-dominated W200.

It has been a wonderful year working with future

leaders, prospective members, and alumnae of WECE.

Please consider being on our alumnae e-mail list to

receive semester updates of WECE and alumnae activities

by e-mailing wece@ece.gatech.eduwece@ece.gatech.eduwece@ece.gatech.eduwece@ece.gatech.edu. We would also love

to get feedback on what you would like to see in future

newsletters and events. Here's to keeping the spirit of

women in ECE alive!

Best regards,

Jenny Liu President 2010-2011

Spr ing 2011 Newslet ter , Volume 1, I s sue 1 Apr i l 22, 2011

Ghosts, Goblins, and GhoulsGhosts, Goblins, and GhoulsGhosts, Goblins, and GhoulsGhosts, Goblins, and Ghouls By Layla Marshall

Social Chair

In October 2010, WECE and the Society of Women

Engineers (SWE) co-sponsored a Halloween party for the

School of ECE. Students colored “Halloween-y” pictures and

played games such as Harry Potter Trivia, Pumpkin Bowling,

and Candy Toss to win raffle tickets for prize drawings.

Festive music was provided by WECE’s webmistress, April

Rogers. Delicious food and a costume contest, won by a

lookalike President Obama and his secret service agent,

culminated the spooky evening.

Photo courtesy of DaNae Robinson

WECE members show off faWECE members show off faWECE members show off faWECE members show off fabulous costumes at the bulous costumes at the bulous costumes at the bulous costumes at the HHHHaaaalllllllloooowwwweeeeeeeennnn PPPPaaaarrrrttttyyyy....

Page 2 WECE Alumnae Newsletter

I Am My Own DefenseI Am My Own DefenseI Am My Own DefenseI Am My Own Defense

By Erin Hanson

Secretary

During a general meeting on Tuesday, March 29, 2011,

the WECE girls had the privilege and honor of hosting an

extensive self-defense workshop with Officer Alex Gutierrez

of the GTPD Crime Prevention Program. Gutierrez began

with a presentation highlighting GTPD's key initiatives of

crime alerts, crime awareness, 'Clear the Clutter', and the

RAD (Rape Aggression Defense) program. He explained that

while knowing how to protect yourself is important, learning

how to avoid the confrontation is the best defense you could

have. However, when avoidance is impossible, programs

like RAD are available to teach women how to defend

themselves in violent situations. Gutierrez closed the

workshop by teaching the attendees a couple of moves to

get out of uncomfortable encounters.

Since the number one crime on campus is theft among

students, the 'Clear the Clutter' program focuses on keeping valuables locked up and out-of-sight, especially in vehicles.

Keeping expensive items like laptops out of

sight (in backpacks or stashed in the trunk)

removes the temptation for any potential

robbery. The Georgia Tech Police Department is

open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and can be

contacted at (404)-894-2500.

Photo courtesy of Christine Kho

SelfSelfSelfSelf----defense workshop included contact defense workshop included contact defense workshop included contact defense workshop included contact

information and defense techniqinformation and defense techniqinformation and defense techniqinformation and defense techniques.ues.ues.ues.

EXECUTIVE OFFICERSEXECUTIVE OFFICERSEXECUTIVE OFFICERSEXECUTIVE OFFICERS

Jenny LiuJenny LiuJenny LiuJenny Liu

President

Brittney EnglishBrittney EnglishBrittney EnglishBrittney English

Vice President

Erin HansonErin HansonErin HansonErin Hanson

Secretary

Layla MarshallLayla MarshallLayla MarshallLayla Marshall

Social Chair

Prabha ViswanathanPrabha ViswanathanPrabha ViswanathanPrabha Viswanathan

Publicity Chair

Lindsey WarreLindsey WarreLindsey WarreLindsey Warrennnn

Treasurer

April RogersApril RogersApril RogersApril Rogers

Webmistress

Christine KhoChristine KhoChristine KhoChristine Kho

Historian

Jessica BlockJessica BlockJessica BlockJessica Block

Service Chair

Malini JagannadhanMalini JagannadhanMalini JagannadhanMalini Jagannadhan

Freshman Liaison

Ketaki MangalmurtiKetaki MangalmurtiKetaki MangalmurtiKetaki Mangalmurti

Graduate Liaison

JanuaryJanuaryJanuaryJanuary

Registration Workshop

Alcatel-Lucent Info Session

ECE Career Fair

FLL Lego Tournament

Study Abroad Workshop

Epic Info Session

FebruaryFebruaryFebruaryFebruary

Valentines’ Day Craft

DoPP Job Search Workshop

Salsa Night with IEEE/SWE

Dress for Success

Officer Bonding Night

MarchMarchMarchMarch

Inspirational Speaker:

Jennifer Coleman

Bowling Party

Girls at College Outreach

Self-defense Workshop

AprilAprilAprilApril

Registration Workshop

Pool Party

Picnic with IEEE and SWE

Kids@Kollege

End of the Year Banquet

What we have been up to…What we have been up to…What we have been up to…What we have been up to…

Spreading the Holiday CheerSpreading the Holiday CheerSpreading the Holiday CheerSpreading the Holiday Cheer

WECE helped host ECE’s annual Holiday Party is held

in the Klaus atrium during the first week of December,

attracting a turnout of over 300 students each year. The

Holiday Party is a big breather for all ECE students, from

undergraduates to graduates. It has a perfect holiday

ambience with hand-made snowflakes, artificial snow

machine, and other winter wonderland decorations.

While all the students get ready to survive dead week

and finals, the Holiday Party helps to ease the pressures

of coursework. It’s a social gathering where we have

various games, provide a delicious and tempting free

buffet dinner, and raffle off some of the latest

electronic gadgets. The raffle always generates a lot of

excitement.

The WECE Holiday Party allows us to celebrate our

accomplishments of various goals and surviving

through a precious year of ECE life at Tech. It’s a

chance for students to emerge from the computer labs

and enjoy a break from rigorous coding assignments to

mingle with friends welcome the new year. We bid the

sweetest goodbye to the old year and welcome the New

Year with the joyous gathering planning by the

thoughtful and creative WECE officers. Holding such

activities helps the ECE student-faculty community

remain active and lively. Joining forces with IEEE and

HKN helped make this social event successful every

Page 3 WECE Alumnae Newsletter

year and supporting such a huge turnout.

It’s definitely my favorite social gathering of the ECE

community. We hope to carry this tradition forward to

many more years to come. ■

By Prabha Viswanathan

Publicity Chair

Photo courtesy of: Eta Kappa Nu

Students enjoy a break from studying at the ECE Students enjoy a break from studying at the ECE Students enjoy a break from studying at the ECE Students enjoy a break from studying at the ECE Holiday Party. Holiday Party. Holiday Party. Holiday Party.

Member SpotlightMember SpotlightMember SpotlightMember Spotlight

Nikki Rennalls

Current Position:Current Position:Current Position:Current Position: Eaton’s

Leadership Development

Program for Operations

Engineers

Past WECE Post:Past WECE Post:Past WECE Post:Past WECE Post: President

Major:Major:Major:Major: EE 2009

Dream JobDream JobDream JobDream Job: Design and

implement sustainable power

systems in businesses worldwide

Shruti Gupta

Current PoCurrent PoCurrent PoCurrent Position:sition:sition:sition: MSEE at

Stanford, focus in robotics

InvolvementInvolvementInvolvementInvolvement:::: Industry

Liaison for Women in EE

Major:Major:Major:Major: CMP 2010

Future Plans:Future Plans:Future Plans:Future Plans: Work in

industry with a possibility of a PhD

Brittney English

Current Position:Current Position:Current Position:Current Position: Vice President

Major:Major:Major:Major: CMP 2011

Interests:Interests:Interests:Interests: Research, Hardware

Design, Robotics, Crew,

Traveling, Cooking, Baking

Future Plans:Future Plans:Future Plans:Future Plans: Become Dr.

Brittney, to have a positive effect on the world

Prabha Viswanathan

Current Position:Current Position:Current Position:Current Position: WECE President

(2011-2012)

Major:Major:Major:Major: CMP 2012

On lifeOn lifeOn lifeOn life:::: When the going gets

tough, the tough gets going! I

take life as it comes.

Future Plans:Future Plans:Future Plans:Future Plans: Graduate as a well

educated ECE professional and

have academia and big brand name companies career options.