The joy of fashion

Hello World!

I come with a treat for this All Hallows' eve, I wanted to share with you one of my favorite blogs. While STEM is a passion, I also love diversity and fashion and art and so many other things... I like this blog in particular because it is also in Spanish. It is cheerful fun and shows the joy in playing around with style and fashion.

http://www.thejoyoffashionblog.com/?m=1

I hope you will check it out. And For the science of scary check out these old posts! 

Have a hauntingly good day! 

:)

Hartnell College HerScript and more

Hello World!

Yesterday I was So excited to have been a guest speaker at Hartnell College http://www.hartnell.edu for two of their STEM programs, MESA and HerScript. It was so fun to share my life lessons in STEM, talk about problems to be solved and learn about the amazing things these students are doing. I was truly in awe! 

One example of the student efforts is HerScript, a computer science organization they founded.

http://www.herscript.org

https://m.facebook.com/herScriptCS

I also learned about a LinkedIn equivalent for women in tech, which was neat. Check out  https://tenxlist.com

And while my reward comes from giving back and the inspiration I get from students, I was gifted all this cool swag as a thank you, I just love STEM swag :)

I also encourage you to check out a MESA program near you, I know I would not be a STEM professional today if it were not for programs like these! 

It was interesting to hear the diverse student stories and know that whether you love art or math, the path may wander but it will take you to the place you are meant to be. I am grateful to share my journey with you and hope to be part of yours!

:)

Back to the future day!

Hello World!

Today the White House is sponsoring a super cool collection of activities related to going back to the future! Check it out!

The White House is marking "Back to the Future Day" with a series of conversations with innovators across the country. Follow along here.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2015/10/20/back-future-day-test

You can also be stylishly STEM with this shirt :)

Going back to the future reminds me of a quote I saw once that "some say movies should be more like real life, I say real life should be more like the movies". As we progress from science fiction to science fact, what movie like elements would you want incorporated in your life? It is an exciting future and I am glad to be part of it! Which reminds me that "The best way to predict the future is to create it" more quotes for consideration can be found here http://barnraisersllc.com/2013/12/12-reasons-predict-future-create/

Time to create my future now! 

:)

(Takes me back to my time at the White House earlier this year, you never know where STEM will take you! But more on that later) 

Conflict & Cooperation

Hello World!

Today I went to a lecture given by a really cool woman, Dr. Casey Lucias. 

She spoke about conflict and cooperation in the maritime environment and different approaches for obtaining peace in the world. What I found most inspiring was that she had a diverse background personally and professionally, and she is currently moving into the realm of politics to make a difference and put her academic theories in practice!  International relations is one of my areas of study and it is exciting to see other women leading the way in it. If you like the science of politics, enjoy thinking internationally, or think this may be an area for you- check out these links! 

https://www.ipsa.org

A free course

https://www.udemy.com/draft/22991/ 

Even if political science or international relations is not your thing, it provides valuable skills and tools that everyone can use no matter their field, such as can be found here 

http://www.usip.org

To learn more about the speaker I saw, check out http://faculty.nps.edu/vitae/cgi-bin/vita.cgi?p=display_vita&id=1224793519

Well, back to my systems engineering studies (more on that later). 

:)

I'm back!

Hello World!

I know I have been awful at blog keeping but I've fixed a few technical difficulties, received some new inspiration, and have tons of fun STEM, diversity, fashion and other materials to share :) stay tuned!

In the mean time here is a fun pic showing that science and style do go together :)

The most important thing

Hello World!

I have been in acquisitions training this week and of all the things I learned, I found this lesson to be the most valuable and applicable to every part of life, not just obtaining parts or programs. For a funny take on acquisitions check out http://sto-forum.perfectworld.com/showthread.php?t=269766

The 4 most important factors in successful acquisition 

1. Have a common goal

This is a shared purpose, vision, objective and need. What do you wish to obtain, do, or accomplish with your team? From the big picture to the small part, knowing what and why will help you with the how.

2. Know your role, and that of others.

It is crucial to understand your part in contributing to the common goal. What are you responsible for? What are your team members responsible for? Knowing who engages in what actions is necessary for success.

3. Have a common code of conduct.

While it may seem obvious it is important to discuss the shared norms and ways of being as you and your team engage in your defined roles to accomplish your shared goals. For example you may assume a person would share issues while another assumes issues are not shared. Not having the common framework for how to address these and other issues will hinder progress. Conversely, the sky is just the beginning when you have an explicitly shared understanding.

4. Share the reward of your efforts.

This one is fun, shared celebration! As the program manager responsible for the next Mars mission, You might want to reward an engineer for her clever design that gets you to the far reaches of the galaxy for example but the project manager, budget analyst, and all other team members are critical to the implementation of the clever design. When everyone is tied to success and celebrates together, more is accomplished and acquired. 

If you are interested in learning more about project management check out http://www.pmi.org no matter your field, STEM or otherwise this is a path and set of skills to be aware of. Where do your dreams take you? Do you have the tools to get there? I am grateful to have added to my tool box and to see what else I need to work on. Happy STEM projects to you! 

:)

STEM style!

Hello World!

Here are some great shirts from the Intel science fair :) Yes, I did have fun shopping & showing my science funny side :)

Do you have a favorite? Please feel free to share!