WiCS Elections

Posted April 27th, 2012 by Cassie Schwendiman

We will be having our elections on Monday, April 30th at 5pm on the Welch Patio.

Please read this document for more details on the elections process and to see the candidates for each position. Here, you will find everything you need to know about what to do if you miss the meeting, about when the results will be announced, etc.

See you on Monday!

Microsoft - Info session & "Surviving the Technical Interview" workshop

Posted January 30th, 2012 by Mariana Sada-Coeto

Hi WiCS!

As all of you should know, career fair is happening this week. Which means it's time to get your resume pretty, dress well, and go to the career fair to meet recruiters from hundreds of companies (although you might have to speed walk to actually talk to all of them) to get a job/internship.

Microsoft will be in town and participating in the career fair, but they want to meet specifically with you! They have prepared a couple of slides to tell you more about Microsoft and their job opportunities, and then they will dive in into a "Surviving the Technical Interview" workshop. If you are looking for a job, this is a great resource to learn how to prepare yourself before the interviews, and how to succeed at them! There will be a couple of Microsoft engineers there, as well as the UT recruiter, so this is also a great opportunity to network and show them how smart you are.

As usual there will be free food! Here are the details, What: Lunch with Microsoft When: THIS Thursday, 02/02 Time: 11:30-12:30pm (you can come in and leave as needed) Where: WRW 113 What else: Bring your resume!

Note: This event is right before the career fair. Take advantage of talking to the recruiter here, there'll be a much smaller line than at the career fair!

Please RSVP by Tuesday @5pm through here.

Good luck!

WiCS General Meeting Information

Posted January 30th, 2012 by Joanna Smith

Heads up-- I am going to include a LOT of information in this message. This is a great way for those of you who missed last night's meeting to catch up, and for anyone who came, this is your chance to follow up on anything that might have sounded interesting.

I began with an appeal to you to please please please volunteer to help out with the UIL competition that UT is hosting. This is incredibly important, as it is a way for UT to encourage future CS students. Think back to when you were in high school, as many of you competed in these competitions. Now it is a chance to be on the other side. Volunteers Needed - High School UIL Contest - Feb. 11

The Department of Computer Science is hosting a University Interscholastic League (UIL) Computer Science Contest on Saturday, February 11. More than 250 high school students and teachers are expected to attend. Volunteers are needed throughout the day. Please sign up to help! Below are the times volunteers are needed, and you can sign up for more than one time/activity (as long as the times don't overlap). Please note you'll need to arrive at least 15 minutes prior to your volunteer time. Email Lori McNabb at lmcnabb@cs.utexas.edu to sign up. She can also answer any questions you have, or check the website for details at http://www.cs.utexas.edu/outreach/uil-contest. What will you get for helping? Our thanks, a fun time, goodwill, and a t-shirt.

Volunteer time/duty A: 8:30 - 11 a.m. - participant check in, set up written test Volunteer time/duty B: 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. - grade written test Volunteer time/duty C: 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. - set up computers for programming contest Volunteer time/duty D: 12:30 - 4 p.m. - judge programming contest (judges will meet with Mike Scott the week prior to the contest to review the software)

I also mentioned the new Science for Change lecture series. This should be a great series, and I strongly encourage you to check it out. This semester, the College has created a new lecture series, in which government leaders in public policy, education, and economic policy all tell us how they, as citizen scientists, are contributing to that future and how you can too. The first few lectures are below. I hope to see you there. Sincerely, -- Dr. Sacha Kopp

Science for Change ****Lecture Series****: ** **How Scientists can Advance our Social and Economic Future

  • Jan 31: Dr. Joshua Mandell, Science, Technology and Innovation Program Officer at The World Bank, (5pm in the Avaya Auditorium, ACES 2.302, reception to follow)
  • Feb 28: Dr. Michael Holland, Staff Director for Undersecretary for Science (Department of Energy) and former Staff Director for House Committee on Science and Technology (US Congress) and Program Director, Office of Management and Budget (Executive Office of the President)
  • April 16: Dr. Neal Lane, Rice University, and former Science Advisor to the President of the United States and former Director of the National Science Foundation.
  • April 24th: Dr. Joye Purser, Analyst in Department of Defense and former Legislative Director for Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson.

We discussed ExploreUT, which will be on March 3rd, and decided that WiCS would be hosting a face painting booth again. If you have other ideas for ExploreUT, whether for WiCS or the department in general, or you just want to get involved, please email me directly.

The Natural Science Career Fair is NEXT WEEK on February 2nd, from 1-6pm in the Frank Erwin Center. To help prepare you, the College of Natural Sciences Career Design Center is hosting several workshops and Resumanias (resume reviews) this week and next. Please refer to http://www.cns.utexas.edu/careers for more information on those events. Also, remember that to enter the Career Fair, you must have your student ID and meet the mandatory business casual dress code. --Resumania in Welch Main Hall, from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm, January 30 and January 31st). As you know, these are quick resume reviews. Free t-shirts to those who stop by. --Walk-in Resume Reviews in Painter 5.03 (Main office) from 10:00 am to 4:00pm, January 27, and February 1. --Workshop: How to Work a Career Fair, 5:00 pm – 6:00 pm, in ACES 2.402 --Volunteering: this is an excellent way to network with employers, and see the career fair up close. If your members are interested, please have them go to this link to sign up for a shift https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dC1BSkVzLVFRU1JDbW1lTHJlZm40amc6MA Sign up will close Thursday evening, so act quickly!

We have several corporate events planned, including a Meet & Greet with Barclays Capital and a lunch with Microsoft. Mariana will be sending out emails requesting RSVPs, so be sure to keep an eye peeled for those. If you RSVP, though, please attend. When we take an RSVP tally, we plan for that many people to be present, and it does reflect negatively on WiCS if the turnout for an event is less than we claimed it would be.

Project 2012 is coming up soon, and Di is trying to organize a WiCS cohort to participate in that. Feel free to email her with ideas or questions. Otherwise, keep an eye out for her email with participation instructions!

If you have any requests for particular professors to invite to our Professor Lunches, please email Simin. She is interested in gathering member feedback on which professors are the best choice to invite to these lunches.

Those are our announcements for now. As always, if you have any comments or questions, feel free to email me! And good luck this semester!

General Meeting

Posted January 23rd, 2012 by Joanna Smith

Our first general meeting will be this coming Monday, January 23rd at 6pm in RLM 6.104. We will be discussing upcoming volunteer opportunities, the Spring career fair and corporate events, a new lecture series, and we will be taking event suggestions from you guys for the semester.

I hope that you will be able to make it. This is our first meeting of the semester, and we have a lot of information for you guys that we would like to share before the email slew begins. Please let me know an estimated headcount by RSVPing.

Dinner will be served thanks to Convio!

See you Monday!

UTCS Roadshow

Posted October 20th, 2011 by Joanna Smith

If you are interested in participating in the UTCS Roadshow (description below), I will be hosting a training session on Tuesday of next week at 5:30 in ACES 2.404B. Please let me know if you intend to join us.

-Joanna

The UTCS Roadshow is an organization that aims to break CS stereotypes and increase interest in the tech world. We travel to middle and high schools in the Austin area, and make a presentation to the students. Occasionally, we host student groups here on campus, as well. The presentation covers broad subjects, such as "What is CS?" and "Who is a Computer Scientist?" as well as presenting some of the more interesting fields and goals within CS. Most of the time, the second half of the presentation will consist of a demonstration of our soccer-playing robot dogs. It's a great way for kids to see how much CS has to offer.

Bowling with Qualcomm: Wednesday @ 6:30pm

Posted October 18th, 2011 by Mariana Sada-Coeto

Hi all!

Qualcomm is coming to Austin, and they want to take you bowling! As some of you know, this bowling event with Qualcomm has become a tradition by now, so I hope many of you can come on out! Please RSVP by Tuesday at 10pm, since the event is this Wednesday! And, as usual, there will be free food (so let me know if you want the vegetarian option)!

Here are the details,

  • What: Bowling with Qualcomm
  • When: Wednesday October 19th
  • Time: 6:30pm
  • Where: The Union Underground
  • What else: Bring socks! And of course, bowling is free :)

Look forward to seeing you soon!

Mariana

Volunteer with Light the Night!

Posted October 18th, 2011 by Di Huynh

I know you need something to put on that Community Involvement portion of your resume, or you're just a kind-hearted person and want to give back to the community. Or both. This is an awesome opportunity for that. We're gonna be working from 4-8 at the tshirt station. So.......let's meet at:

  • Where: Littlefield Fountain (south of the main lawn)
  • When: 3:30 PM, SATURDAY 10/22/2011

SIGN UP HERE

More info: http://www.lightthenight.org/

A little background about Light the Night - "The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Light The Night Walk funds lifesaving research and support for people battling cancer. Friends, families and co-workers form fundraising teams and millions of consumers help by donating at retail outlets. These efforts culminate in inspirational, memorable evening walks in over two hundred communities each fall across North America."

See you there! Di

SPIRIT Scholars $5K Scholarship Application - Due Oct. 31

Posted October 12th, 2011 by Tiffany Grady

Hi all,

ConocoPhillips offers a wonderful scholarship program called the SPIRIT Scholars. It offers a $5K scholarship each year. The info is below (in a PDF), and the application is due October 31.

I encourage you to apply!

Thanks,

Tiffany

Google Engineering Practicum Internship Opportunity!

Posted October 5th, 2011 by Tiffany Grady

If you're a sophomore and interested in an internship with Google next summer - check out this link:

Google Engineering Practicum Internship

We've had a few students participate in this program and they had an awesome experience.

Thanks,

Tiffany

WiCSnic on October 12th!

Posted October 5th, 2011 by Liz Lass

Hi WiCS Chicks,

It’s time to celebrate Austin’s beautiful fall weather at our annual WiCSnic! The event will be Wednesday the 12th from 5:00 to 7:00 at Eastwood Park. This fabulous picnic will include Potbelly catering, pumpkin decorating (with prizes!), and other great outdoor activities. For those of you who have been eagerly awaiting this year’s WiCS shirts, we’ll be handing those out as well. Raytheon is sponsoring this WiCSnic, so it will also be a great chance to meet recruiters and learn more about the company.

If you would like to attend, please RSVP via the RSVP form by Sunday the 9th.

For those of you unfamiliar with Eastwoods Park, it’s a pleasant area just up the street from campus. You can find it here, on Google maps.

I look forward to seeing you there!

~Liz

RSVP Period Extended! IBM Panel and Info Session

Posted September 28th, 2011 by Mariana Sada-Coeto

Hi!

I have extended the RSVP deadline! Please let met know if you're interested in participating in the panel. As I mentioned before, I really believe this is one of those opportunities that few students ever have- five panelists will be flying into Austin for this event, including the lead IBM recruiter, and the Director of IBM's Information Development. See the attached flyer for more information!

Of course, there will be free food. And don't forget to bring your resume!

Here are the details,

  • What: Panel with 5 IBM female leaders
  • When: TOMORROW, September 29th from 6-7:30
  • Where: PAI 2.48

Let me know if you have any questions!

How Not to be Creepy

Posted September 28th, 2011 by Cassie Schwendiman

Tonight is one of the best talks of the year ... "How Not to Be Creepy" is presented by Graham Mitchell, a former UTCS student turned high school teacher.

Talk Abstract: Do you ever feel like other people just don't get you? Have a hard time understanding why others act the way they do? Learn tips to get inside the head of the socially "typical" and improve your ability to navigate relationships, job interviews, and life in general.

It's funny and informative and I promise you'll enjoy it. Stop by if you're free.

Where: WEL 2.246

Time: 6 p.m.

This talk is sponsored by Yelp and they're serving Ruby's barbecue.

Great Leadership/Volunteer Opportunity

Posted September 27th, 2011 by Di Huynh

Hola!

Hope your weekend is going well. I'm Di, your volunteer chair. I'm excited to tell you about an awesome leadership/volunteer opportunity. You're ready for this?

Be a team lead for PROJECT 2012!!

In case you're not familiar with Project, it is the largest day of service here at UT. It's where all the volunteering organizations come together for beautification projects at an Austin community. I'm not kidding, you'll see everyone and their mamas at Project. I was a team lead last year and I loved it so much, I joined the planning committee. We're gonna volunteer as an organization this year, but it'll be nice to see WiCS members as team leads.

Info sessions: 6pm - 7pm 09/28 - JGB 2.32 10/4, 11/9, 11/17 - UTC 4.110

More info : http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=252312228137366 Even more info: http://theprojectut.wordpress.com/ If that's not enough: you're more than welcome to email me =)

Gracias, Di Huynh

IBM Panel and Info Session with WiCS

Posted September 27th, 2011 by Cassie Schwendiman

Hi all! IBM is coming to Austin, and they want to meet with you!

They will be hosting a panel, with five panelists, including the Director of IBM's Information Development! This is a unique opportunity, take advantage of it!

See below for IBM's recruiter invitation to the event, and for all the details! The deadline to RSVP by 11:59pm TOMORROW. (RSVP by sending me an email, as usual)

Let me know if you have any questions.

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