The Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers Puget Sound Chapter established a Chapter Scholarship Fund in 2017, which began awarding scholarships in 2018 to students pursuing STEM degrees in the state of Washington. All students in the state of Washington with an affiliation to SHPE or the Latinx/Hispanic community, and pursuing a STEM degree with a minimum 3.0 GPA, are encouraged to apply.
The Scholarship award will range from $500 to $1000 depending on the number of applicants. Scholarship recipients will be invited to attend SHPE Puget Sound’s 3rd Annual Scholarship Fundraising Gala on June 1st, 2019 where the scholarship recipients will be formally recognized and will have an opportunity to meet and interact with distinguished members and donors of SHPE Puget Sound.
The deadline to submit the application is May 24th, 2019 at 11:59pm. Please submit all information and supporting documents to scholars@shpepsc.org by the deadline. The subject of the email shall be “Scholarship 2019: Name_LastName” and all supporting documents must be in word or PDF format.
As 2018 comes to a close, we would like to take an opportunity to reflect on what we have accomplished, give thanks for those who have supported our organization and prepare for what is to come in the next year.
We are happy to see the continuation of programs we have put in place and the foundation being created for new programs.
Four of our board members were able to attend SHPE National Conference in Cleveland, Ohio this year, which was the largest conference to date. There is still much work to be done, but we were encouraged to see the support shown from companies from around the country and their willingness to support the SHPE mission.
Since the start of our fiscal year in June, the University Outreach program has been busy. We grew our mentorship program to 17 student-mentor pairs, held mock interviews, a mock career fair and resume reviews for 19 university students, and aided in sending five University of Washington students to SHPE National Conference this year, including two of our Puget Sound SHPE Scholars.
To our volunteers who give of their time during these events, we sincerely appreciate your support and the joy with which you serve.
We look forward to growing our professional development program in the coming year and continuing to support our university students at the UW, Everett Community College and Seattle U.
Warmest wishes during the holiday season and a very happy New Year. We will see you in 2019!
SHPE Puget Sound Board
Students and Professionals at the Conference Crash Course Event held on October 27th, 2018.
Christian, Joe and Leann at SHPE National Conference in Cleveland, Ohio.
FIRST (For the Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Washington engages youth ages 6-18 in exciting mentor-based programs that build science and technology leaders. Along with 5,500 mentors and event volunteers, we serve 11,500 youth on 1,140 teams across 130 school districts in 33 of Washington’s 39 counties. While this is a powerful statement, it is not enough. With nearly 1.1 million K-12 Washington State students, the opportunity for growth is significant. Over 100,000 students are eligible to graduate each year, and yet Washington State employers are forced to look out of state to fill positions. Washington employers agree that in the next five years, 740,000 jobs in our state need to be filled and they want these jobs filled by locally grown talent.
At FIRST, youth can progress through four programs that use project-based learning: FIRST LEGO League Jr. (grades K-4); FIRST LEGO League (grades 4-8); FIRST Tech Challenge (grades 7-12); and FIRST Robotics Competition (grades 9-12). Our programs stand out among other programs in that they immerse youth into a real-world engineering experience, a subculture of STEM that they can’t get in a traditional classroom. Under the leadership of a coach/mentor, youth form teams, meet regularly to solve a challenge, and participate in friendly sports-like competitions throughout the year. Our programs use robotics as the vehicle for students to learn to experiment, deal with failure, research a problem, and learn valuable career, communication, and teamwork skills. Students as young as six apply this learning to design a robot around an annual challenge that is applicable to the real world.
“I learned how to work more effectively as a team. I’m the team leader, and so trying to keep people on task, yet be patient with them at the same time.” – Carlos, FRC Wapato High School
While “robotics” may not be for everyone, kids are immediately drawn to the robot, which means kids from all abilities, economic circumstances, and ethnicities become engaged. The thrill of competition and playing a competitive sport that is built on science, technology and teamwork has the potential to outpace competitive sports such as soccer, football, basketball and lacrosse. FIRST participants are 50 percent more likely to go to college, and twice as likely to major in a STEM field. Roughly 40 percent of FIRST participants come from Title 1 schools, which have a higher percentage of disadvantaged kids. Forty-four percent of our participants are minority youth. Through our Girl’s FIRST Initiative, we have increased the number of girls participating from 28 to 36 percent across all four of our programs. Our goal is to reach 50 percent. Our vision is for every youth in Washington State to have the opportunity to participate in a FIRST program and to serve 22,000 youth by 2022. Take a few minutes to get to know one of our teams, by watching The Nerdy Girls.
“I can actually build a robot and have it work! I learned how to work better.” – Alison, FLL team member
Companies like Boeing, Microsoft, and Amazon are betting their future on FIRST and FIRST Washington and we invite every member of SHPE to get involved. Together we can cross the chasm of engaging all Washington state schools. Here is how you can help:
Help educate state lawmakers about FIRST programs and the impact we are having in building a local workforce.
Volunteer with FIRST Washington. There are students who need your time and talent and we promise it will be a rewarding and impactful experience for you as well. Visit www.firstwa.org.
All donations to FIRST Washington support teams. Donations may be restricted to a specific team or geographic area while unrestricted donations are allocated to teams with demonstrated need.
In our programs, students have the hardest fun of their lives. Together we can close the workforce development gap and ensure that young people are ready for Washington State’s jobs of tomorrow. To get involved with FIRST Washington please visit: www.firstwa.org.
“I feel like I can go anywhere or do anything because of this program.”
The fiscal year is nearing its end and much has been achieved this year!
The board of directors has been hard at work ensuring our organization is healthy and capable of carrying out the mission of changing lives in our community.
The overarching theme this year has been “sustainable success”. From every vantage point, we have been looking to create success in a repeatable and sustainable way. This means creating programs and developing policy and procedure that enables sustainability and accountability.
Some highlights from the past fiscal year include:
Raised over $2400 for our Student Conference Travel Fund, highlighted by our keynote speaker, Jenette Ramos, Senior VP Supply Chain & Operations, Boeing Commercial Airplanes.
Sr. VP, Supply Chain & Ops BCA, Jenette Ramos
Developed our mentorship program with the University of Washington SHPE Chapter, where 15 of our members devoted their time to helping students with various career and professional development advice.
Mentorship Kick Off Event at UW
Held various general meetings for the UW chapter, including a networking dinner and a resume workshop, among others.
SHPE UW “Dinner with Professionals”
Sponsored the FIRST Robotics team at Mt. Rainier High School, coached by member Nick Estrada.
Sponsored Future Meets Present at the UW, where high school students from around the state were inspired to pursue higher education and explore engineering at UW
Students test their bottle rockets at Future Meets Present
On the financial side, the chapter was successful in reclaiming over $12,000 in escheated funds which were lost due to inactivity many years ago. Thank you to the board for their efforts in complying with regulations as a 501 (c) 3 organization.
As the year is coming to a close in June, I invite you all to support our chapter scholarship fund. On June 1st, 2018, we will be celebrating our inaugural class of scholarship recipients which is possible because of our fundraising efforts from last year. Additionally, we will be celebrating our chapter award recipients. Please congratulate them all:
San Lorenzo de Nutka Award – Van Rex Gallard, Former VP of Sales, Boeing
Community Group Engagement Award –SHPE UW Chapter
President’s Award – Christian Sarmiento, Boeing
Professional Role Model Award – Andreína Vivas Thomas, Lenovo
Community Outreach Award – Leann Martins & Victor Callado, Boeing
Distinguished Corporate Support Award – Boeing Hispanic Employee’s Network, President George Alabí
All proceeds from the event will go to the chapter scholarship fund and will ensure sustained success for college students in the state of Washington. Please see our Eventbrite page for ticket information.
Lastly, I want to present the elected board of directors for 2018-2019:
President – Joe Martinez, Boeing
Secretary – Christian Sarmiento, Boeing
Treasurer – Andreína Vivas Thomas, Lenovo
No nominations were accepted for VP. Additional board members will be appointed at the beginning of the fiscal year in July. We have nominees for Director of University Outreach and Director of Professional Development to be approved by the board of directors.
We are currently seeking individuals who may be interested in leading efforts in the following:
K-12 Educational Programs, to report to the president
Marketing and Communications, to report to the secretary (includes website and social media)
Corporate and Donor Relations, to report to the treasurer
Fundraising, to report to all 3 executive positions
If you are interested in one of these positions, have any questions, or want to get involved in any other capacity, please reach out to eboard@shpepsc.org.
I want to thank the board members from this year for all their hard-work and dedication!
President – Joe Martinez
VP – Carlos Blanco
Treasurer – Ivan Gutierrez
Treasurer, Interim – Andreína Vivas Thomas
Secretary – Christian Sarmiento
Director of University Outreach – Victor Callado
Director of Professional Development – Leann Martins
Director of Governance – Faraón Torres
And finally, I want to thank all of our volunteers, our donors, our members, and our supporters. Without you, we would not be where we are today, and we would not be on a path to greater success for the years to come!
Thank you, Joe Martinez, President, SHPE Puget Sound Chapter
My name is Isabel Carrera and I want to share with you a unique opportunity that the Washington NASA Space Grant Consortium has prepared for this summer. Mission Earth Scout One/Misión Exploración Tierra 1 is a four-week STEM summer camp on the University of Washington campus to inspire bilingual youth through hands-on activities. The program is also seeking to recruit certified teachers to serve as program mentors.
Participants will have fun learning about climate change while gaining valuable STEM skills such as problem-solving, creativity and collaboration. The camps will also give the students an opportunity to innovate, work with actual scientists in a variety of fields, and learn how they can make a change in the world.
During the camp, students will explore STEM careers through experiments, field trips, and visits to area museums and laboratories on the University of Washington campus. Students will interact with scientists while completing guided experiments and activities. These experiences will help students develop high-level research skills and subject matter expertise, and allow them to earn credentials valuable for college admission.
Please consider supporting this campaign, to the benefit of SHPE at University of Washington student members.
This campaign is for the University of Washington Concrete Canoe, a civil & environmental engineering student club that is founded on applying our engineering knowledge outside of the classroom. They have worked incredibly hard all year long to design and build our canoe, and have managed to pull a successful 1st place when we competed in Idaho for the ASCE Regional Competition!
Fermin Bautista, from SHPE UW, has been heavily involved in this club for 2 years now, and has always enjoyed being a part of this team.
He is gaining invaluable experiences working with the team members. The team is on their way to Texas for national competition and is seeking support to cover the cost for transportation, food, and lodging.
SHPE PSC members are cordially invited to attend the annual launch event, which will showcase presentations by article contributors and a special keynote speaker.
Date: Tuesday, May 31, 2016
Time: 5:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Location: University of Washington School of Law 4293 Memorial Way Northeast, Seattle, WA 98195
RSVP HERE
There are a limited number of hard copies that will be issued free to attendees who RSVP and attend. The hard copies of the publication will be distributed during registration in a first come, first serve basis until supplies last. The only hard copies that will be reserved are one copy per author, sponsor, and members of the editorial staff. Registration will begin at 5:15pm.
ARTICLES
EDUCATION NOT INCARCERATION: THE ROLE OF ADMINISTRATORS AND EDUCATORS IN STOPPING THE SCHOOL-TO-PRISON PIPELINE BY RECOGNIZING AND REDUCING HOW IMPLICIT BIASES PLAY INTO DISCIPLINE DECISION-MAKING, Emma Aubrey
RACIAL DISPROPORTIONALITY IN SCHOOL DISCIPLINE: THE PROBLEM IN WASHINGTON SCHOOLS & RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE FUTURE, Manmeet Dhami and Alyssa Fairbanks
WHEN COMPULSORY SCHOOL ATTENDANCE LAWS FURTHER PUSH KIDS OUT OF SCHOOL: AN EQUITABLE REVIEW OF WASHINGTON’S TRUANCY LAWS AND PROPOSED REFORMS, Bruna Estrada and Naazaneen Hodjat
IMPROVING DISPROPORTIONALITY OF STUDENTS OF COLOR IN HIGHLY CAPABLE PROGRAMS (HCP), LaWonda Smith, Ed.D.
COMMENTS
GENDER EQUITY THROUGH COMPREHENSIVE SEX EDUCATION, Lara Hengelbrok
COMMON CORE: AN OBITUARY, Stephen Fink, Ed.D. INEQUITIES AND DISPARITIES IN EDUCATION, Anonymous Teacher
EXPLORING THE INTERSECTION OF EARLY LEARNING AND HEALTH POLICY IN WASHINGTON STATE, K. Jennifer Johal
Ms. Rachael Brown, University Outreach Director from SHPE Puget Sound gave a special workshop on leveraging social media. The workshop also discuss the dos and don’ts of posting on social media.
On behalf of LATINA Style Magazine, we would like to invite SHPE to participate in the Seattle LATINA Style Business Series.
LATINA Style Inc. is proud to present the following partnership opportunity for the 2016 Business Series Tour. This interactive business development program brings together Latina business owners with the key corporations and government agencies that provide the goods and services needed by those outstanding entrepreneurs to create or expand their business. Over 32,000 Latina entrepreneurs have participated in the Series since its inception in 1998.
The program covers a wide range of topics including: access to capital; strategic sales & marketing strategies; professional, technology, and communications services; corporate & federal procurement opportunities; and so much more. The seminar is a one-day event that includes an exhibit area with a networking breakfast, panel sessions, Latina Entrepreneur Award luncheon with a keynote speaker, and a networking reception (held the night before and by invitation only). Each participant is given a commemorative gift bag which will include items from our sponsors and partners. An excellent opportunity to reach the growing Hispanic market! Here is the link to our website with more information on what our Business Series does and how it affects the Latina community. (http://www.bs.latinastyle.com/)
Over 50 students of underrepresented background learned about the concepts of engineering. They also had workshops on how to apply for scholarships and toured the University of Washington student engineering labs and projects. This event was made possible by funds from the SPEEA STEM Outreach Grant and collaboration with SHPE UW.Join us as we Inspire the Next Generation of #STEM Leaders!
Join us as we Inspire the Next Generation of 
