Newsletter Edition: Fall 2015
Contributed by David Morck
On October 20th professionals and students from a variety of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) fields will be taking part in the 3rd Annual “Drop In, Take Ten” Speed Career Mentoring Event. The Oviatt Library is proud to present this event in conjunction with the Bonita J. Campbell Endowment for Women in Science and Engineering (WISE). This event gives an opportunity to college students in STEM fields to network and receive mentorship from professionals in a wide variety of fields.
The Bonita J. Campbell Endowment was established in 2009 by Professor Emeritus Bonita J. Campbell of the CSUN Department of Manufacturing Systems Engineering and Management. The WISE board has worked in conjunction with the CSUN campus and the Oviatt Library to honor and promote women’s achievements in the fields of science, math, and engineering. This event is an exceptional opportunity to get face time with successful working professionals in these fields, and has involved leaders from a variety of organizations such as Nestle, NASA and Xerox. Students who attend the speed career mentoring event will have the opportunity to receive eight mentoring sessions, with between ten and fifteen minutes to speak with and establish relationships with industry professionals. In addition, a short keynote address will be presented by Rosemarie Christopher, founder and CEO of the MEIRxRS family of companies with over 25 years of experience in the field of STEM recruitment.
One of our past mentors, CSUN alumna Kathleen “Kappy” Paulson, recipient of the 2010 NFESC Engineer of the Year award, who has worked with the Department of Defense and the Navy, among others, spoke to us about the importance of mentorship and why it is vital to those in science and engineering. “Mentoring and networking can be a onetime event or a lifelong friendship,” she noted, adding that “I still socialize with my first mentor, a female Geologist who I met when I worked in Toxicology. She convinced me to return to school for Engineering. . . . In the beginning of our friendship, she gave me career advice. Now she gives me retirement advice. She is also getting me hooked into her charity work!” Students will have an opportunity for highly focused and personalized mentoring sessions that can provide deep insight into a career in the sciences. “Mentors are crucial to understand career paths. . . Good mentors can also help suggest non-standard ways to make yourself known,” Paulson says. This unique opportunity is beneficial for students, professional participants, and the surrounding region, as the “range of needs for students is wide. From freshmen needing advice on courses, to seniors needing a resume review, to grad students needing career startup advice. We are working to ensure that all the groups’ needs are addressed.”
This remarkable event will be held in the Jack and Florence Ferman Presentation Room on the Garden Level of the Oviatt Library, located in the heart of the University’s campus, from 4:00pm – 6:00pm on October 20th, 2015. For more information, or to learn how your professional organization can partner with WISE for this and future outreach events, please visit their website at http://library.csun.edu/WISE or call (818) 677-2638. Persons with disabilities needing assistance and deaf and hard-of-hearing persons needing interpreters, please call the above number in advance for arrangements.