Engineering Career Pathways

On the inaugural FIRST in Texas Talks Susan Ashmore, Development Director for FIRST in Texas, speaks with engineers from three of our statewide parters about their educational and workforce experience: Shelley Rueff is a Chemical Engineer with Bechtel,  Elissa Lindquist-Sher is an Automotive Hardware Applications Engineer with Texas Instruments, and April Riddett is a Product Manager with NI.

Cyber Security

We will hear from two cyber security experts from our statewide partners: Jarrett Cravey of Accenture Federal and Alexander Klepal of Booz Allen Hamilton who are uniquely qualified to discuss the path students can take from graduation to a career in cyber security.

BEYOND GRADUATION

Tech talk: FRC Driver Station

Powering Texas

When it comes to powering large cities and rural areas, CPS Energy, Xcel Energy, and Oncor know a thing or two about STEM topics that are of great interest to our FIRST program participants. CPS Energy,  Xcel Energy, and Oncor are more than just providers of electricity to residents and businesses in their respective service areas.

Which is why we are especially thrilled to speak with representatives from our statewide partners: Cristina Duarte is the Manager of Education & Mentoring programs with CPS Energy, Keaton Irons is the Operations Recruiter for Field Services in Texas and New Mexico with Xcel Energy, and Justin Loth is the Rotational Manager III with Oncor.

Join Susan Ashmore as she discovers the “more than electricity” aspect of CPS Energy, Xcel Energy, and Oncor in this informative powering Texas interview session.

ENERGY DISTRIBUTION

When it comes to the electricity that powers homes and businesses, many of us are unaware of exactly how that electricity is produced or the process and systems which make it available at the flip of switch.

To show customers exactly how power goes from the source to direct distribution in homes and business, CPS Energy and Zpryme developed an augmented reality (AR) app, Electrify San Antonio. The purpose of this app is to educate and inform the public about the multiple ways power is produced and managed to make and keep electricity available for homes and businesses.

Join Susan Ashmore for this special FIRST in Texas Talks to learn more about the soon to be released app as well as the education and workforce opportunities in AR/VR for students.

Essential Career Skills

In this FIRST in Texas Talks you’ll hear from workforce professionals from our statewide partners and supporters: BAE Systems, Flowserve, and Lockheed Martin. They will share the types of essential skills which are in high demand and tips for education and career success.

Join Susan Ashmore for a FIRST in Texas Talks that will be highly informative for FIRST program participants as well as the FIRST in Texas statewide community.

Women Are FIRST in Texas

STEM CAREER PANEL DISCUSSION: Professional Women in STEM share their education and career experiences followed by a Q&A session moderated by Susan Ashmore – Development Director, FIRST in Texas.

PANELISTS:
Christi Marrufo – Applied Materials
Jo Torkington – Bechtel
Duvelza Saenz – Booz Allen Hamilton
Jennifer Lange – Accenture Federal
Karen Rolirad – Alamo AFCEA

These Women in STEM professionals represent several of our statewide partners and area sponsors, Applied Materials, Bechtel, Booz Allen Hamilton, Accenture Federal, and Alamo AFCEA. During the Virtual 8th Annual Women Are FIRST in Texas event they shared advice and insight from their educational decisions to their career pathways and much more.

MENTORSHIP

Mentoring students has an impact on both mentors and mentees. In this FIRST in Texas Talks session we hear about the mentorship experience from our statewide partner, Texas Instruments who support FIRST LEGO League, FIRST Tech Challenge, and FIRST Robotics Competition robotics teams in North Texas.

TIME CODES:

2:49 How would you describe your mentorship style?

5:28 What are the skillsets required to be a mentor?

9:15 What do you do to bring out the best in students?

12:46 How do you encourage innovative ideas and solutions?

15:30 & 22:30 How do ensure girls have equal access to learn technical skills?

17:09 How do you guide a student without completing a task for them?

26:18 How do you assess what a student needs from you? 28:50 How do you deliver feedback to a student?

32:30 What do you do when you cannot answer a student’s question?

35:14 What is the best advice you can give to a student who wants to further their education after high school or to get a job?

38:37 What is your best method to inspire students?

43:37 Is there any other advice you would want to give students or adults who want to become mentors?

Audience Question

49:27 How do you deal with a toxic or disruptive student who derail conversations or tasks?

Special thanks to the panelists from our statewide partner Texas Instruments for sharing their knowledge and expertise on the topic of mentorship. To learn more about how your organization can mentor the next generation of leaders and innovators in Texas visit: https://firstintexas.org/mentors

The Future of Work

Panelist Bio and Session Time Codes listed below

When it comes to the topic of the future of work we asked our FIRST in Texas program participants to send in questions for this special FIRST in Texas Talks with our statewide partner Dell Technologies. Here are a few of the questions they sent in:

What does the future of work look like?

What are some of the career options FIRST in Texas alumni will have available to them?

What about AI & robots?

Hear the answers to these questions and more about how FIRST program participants (and alumni) can best prepare for the 21st Century workforce.

Time Codes:

5:27 What are the current jobs that no longer exist or have been outsourced to machines based on the advancements in technology?

6:41 Will the robots and machine take away all of our jobs?

11:03 What will be the jobs in the next 10 years?

17:11 Artificial Intelligence (AI), algorithms, and efficiency

23:27 Working together: the potential human + AI job opportunities

30:04 AI Fluency what it is and why it is important

31:40 Top Skills needed in 2030

34:58 How will new jobs change the way schools teach education?

36:22 How will I learn new technology?

38:46 Will the road to the future be a humane one?

A special thanks to Janine Wegner and Francisco Garcia for their highly informative talk on the Future of Work.