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*This Editor’s Note will appear in the June Edition of ECN.
As Nita Patel peered around The Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose after the first full day of sessions, she said exactly what I was thinking in that moment, “You can just feel that people actually want to be here.”
As I sit here writing this, I can’t help but think about how amazing my week has been thus far, and it’s only Monday. I am finishing up day one of the IEEE Women in Engineering International Leadership Conference (WIE ILC) (@WIEILC) in San Jose, California, which I was so privileged to attend. Before the event, I filmed a quick “Why I Became An Engineer” video interview with Nita, the IEEE WIE ILC founder. (You can watch the video interview here.)
Nita was intelligent, kind, and maybe most importantly, extremely humble. I had no idea what a huge (~1300 attendees), successful, inspiring conference this would be, even for an “outsider” like me (I’m no engineer). This conference was built for women engineers to “connect, recruit, and support change makers and leaders,” however, I quickly found that the content was not only relevant for women in engineering—it was relevant to all women who are or want to be leaders. It’s for women who want to be inspired, for women who want to lead and do great things.
Sure, this is a conference meant to bring together women in engineering from all different backgrounds and all different cultures, from all over the world, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t all take something away from the lessons. Below are a couple of worthy takeaways that I found thought-provoking, and I hope you will, too.
- Be a person of tomorrow. It’s so easy to get caught up in the day-to-day, that seemingly never-ending to-do list, and the nuances of life. Step back. Take a moment to remember what you’re working for, towards. Are you building a life for today or for tomorrow? Sure, you want to live in the moment, and by all means, you should, but don’t forget to plan/design/create/innovate for tomorrow.
- Tell stories. One woman I met actually pointed this out to me—almost every speaker at the conference started the session off with a good story. One that mattered, one with a good ending, a funny occurrence, or a lesson learned. It makes a difference, it captures the audience, and most importantly, people remember you because of them. Stories have been around for centuries, and they’re certainly not going anywhere, so keep ‘em coming!
So, before all of these good, warm feelings vanish due to the stresses of daily life, I want to challenge you to be better, be fabulous, lead by example, be your unnerving, uncanny, unique self—whatever that may be, because there’s only one of you!
Best,
Janine
P.S. Go green!