FRIDAY, May 21, 2010 MEETING NOTES Volume 44, Issue 34
We had 19 Optimists & guests today. The only guest was our speaker. The Mystery Greeter was Milt Rewey who greeted Charlie Clark. John Urness, John Dutcher, Charlie Clark, Ken Kamps, Tom Nall, Maxine Lane, Beth Frieders, Ron Weier and Milt Rewey wore their Optimist shirts today.
Today’s Speaker – Brittany DuCharme – Co-op Experience
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Brittany DuCharme was here to discuss her experience with the Co-Op program at UW-P. She was here 2 years ago talking to us about her search and now she is back to tell us how it worked for her. She is a new graduate of UW-P in Industrial Engineering with emphasis in production & management. The Alumni Association gave her an award for her work - a 3 year membership to the Alumni Association. She reminded us of how she got here. She is from Prairie du Chien from a large family. She hung out with her brothers and learned early to be in a male dominated field. She attended the Women in Engineering program in 10th and 12th grades and decided she wanted to try it. |
Brittany has 2 uncles who are alumni in Industrial Engineering and wanted to be like them. She says she is organized and a "people" person. She found Chemistry and General Engineering courses very hard. She found the Women in Engineering mentoring room and joined the Society of Women Engineers (SWE). She knew she was not fighting alone and developed skills as a leader. From the Fall of 2008 to Summer 2009 she worked as a Co-op at Sunstrand Aerospace in Rockford. She said she was another engineer on the floor. She was able to apply the knowledge in class and save money to study in Ireland. She travelled when she could and saw 5 countries, but missed her family. |
After an intense job search that took her as far as New Jersey, she will begin work on June 1 in a Frito-Lay plant in Beloit with 10 workers. She says her greatest accomplishment is to succeed in a male-dominated field. She credits the STEM (Science Technology Engineering & Mathematics) program for their encouragement and experience which reduced her fear. She often thinks of a quote by Babe Ruth, "Never let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game." Thanks for the wonderful speech! |
This Friday - Kathy Kopp - Chamber of Commerce and the Great Wisconsin Fireball
UPCOMING EVENTSJuly 29 – Party in the Park |
UPCOMING SPEAKERSJune 4 - Adam Weigmann - Entrepreneur in Platteville June 11 - Make A Wish Foundation |
CONGRATULATIONSJohn Dutcher is a Grandpa! His daughter gave birth to McGuire Annette on May 17. JOKER DRAWDiane Van Natta was selected. She drew the 3 of Hearts and won $2. Good Luck to next week’s winner. We need a volunteer to sign up to get programs for the month of December. |
FREIKERThere was discussion about the Freiker (Free Biker) program at the Middle School. There was a State grant to pay for id tags to go in kids’ bike helmets and a reader set up at the Middle School near the bike racks. They had 81 kids in the program since last fall. The idea is to get more kids to ride bikes to reduce obesity, help the environment, etc. The company needs $2,100 for a 2 year renewal. The School has raised $1,300. One thought is to work with the other service clubs to split the remaining $800. The club voted to get additional info to Board members and ask them to decide via e-mail. |
BOARD MEETINGThe next Board Meeting will be on Thursday, June 10th at 7 AM at Badger Brothers. |
Optimist International | SWIS District | Platteville, Wisconsin--Information
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Last Modified: May 31, 2010