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December 17, 2002
A: FROM MENTOR JACQUELYN JURGA
IN MA
You will want speakers who will motivate and inspire your
Science Honor
Society.
I would like to suggest you and your team make a list of local
people who
have made a difference, a good living, and are connected to
your subject
matter. If they are local they will not need travel expenses,
and as a
community leader will probabaly enjoy the challenge of speaking
to a group
of scientific students.
The list will be the first step. Maybe the hardest. If your
town or city
has a whos'/who list it may help. Do you have a science museum
near by?
Then create a letter introducing your group, what you do and/or
stand
for,and how you would appreciate their time in coming to speak
to you. It
is good if you explain if their visit will be during the school
day or
after school, how large an audience they will be speaking
to, and how long
you would like them to speak. You may even ask them to share
some personal
information such as: Where they went to school, why they chose
the field
they are in, what are the challenges they face daily, what
are the rewards?
That type of information helps a speaker understand what you
are looking
for. Good luck.
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December 16, 2002
A: FROM MENTOR MINI VARUGHESE
IN MD
I would be happy to post your request to the Association for
Women in Science, Bethesda and DC chapters. Would you like
me to?
A: FROM MENTOR MAYLING WONG IN
IL
Professional science and engineering organizations are a good
source for
volunteer speakers. For instance, the Society of Women Engineers
has a
commitee called Career Guidance. They usually can find volunteers
in SWE
who would like to speak to students about engineering. In
the DC area,
the SWE chapter's career guidnace head is Debbie Johnson.
More
information can be found at http://www.swe-bws.org/cg/cg.html
A: FROM MENTOR KELLY BROWN
IN MO
Hi Erin, I don't think you will have any problem finding some
speakers for
your Science Honor Society. You live in a great area for science,
there is
a lot going on in the DC area. I would recommend that you
first contact
professors at local universities. You can do this by phone,
but an even
better way is to contact them by e-mail. You should be able
to get this
info from the Universities web site.
Ask them if they would like to give a presentation to your
group, or
alternatively, do they know someone else they could recommend
to you. Most
places have people who love to do this sort of thing.
In addition to inviting bench research scientists/professors
as speakers,
you might be able to locate scientists who are working in
agencies such as
the USDA, who can give you insights regarding other types
of scientific
careers.
Just don't be afraid to ask people to speak for your group.
You are likely
to be surprised at the positive responses you will get. Good
luck.
A: FROM MENTOR SHEILA ENGLAND
IN PA
Here are a few ideas:
1. Place an ad for volunteers in your local paper(s) or in
the school
newsletter distributed to those in living in your school district.
2. Contact your local school board members and ask them for
help.
3. Call the science center, the zoo, the aquarium, the aviary,
the library,
local community college and the museum.
4. Search the internet for businesses with science-oriented
products and
technological products. Send them email or call them.
5. Perhaps, a mentor or mentors from GEM-SET from Washington,
DC area is
willing to come.
6. If your school has the facilities, perhaps your group might
be able to
organize a video-conference or a web-conference. It would
be a great
learning experience organizing it and pulling it off together.
A: FROM MENTOR SUZANNE FRANKS
IN KS
A: Erin, there are two easy ways to get speakers.
One is to contact someone at your local branch of the Society
of
Women Engineers. They often do things like send speakers to
schools. The Baltimore-Washington section has a web site
http://www.swe-bws.org/
The officers and their email addresses
are listed on http://www.swe-bws.org/org/officers.htm
You could send them an email and ask how you would go
about getting someone from their group to come speak at your
school.
Another possibility is to contact a student section of the
Society
of Women Engineers, or a Women in Engineering Program office,
at a university in your area, and ask for help in getting
speakers.
For example, the University of Maryland has such a program
http://www.eng.umd.edu/wie/.
You could also go directly to a science
or engineering department at a local university and ask if
they would
like to send someone to your school. Many times universities
have
formal programs where they send out their students to talk
with
high school kids. Kansas State University has a group called
Engineering Ambassadors that does just that - they go out
and talk
to high school kids and do some hands on activities as well.
I hope this helps!
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