PKFEA Informational Meeting 12.10.24

Maggie Miller Author

02/04/2025 Added

9 Plays

Description

To learn information about the Peter Kiewit Foundation Engineering Academy

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[00:00:00.000]to kick us off, we're going to start with introductions. All right, so students, I'll
[00:00:07.480]let you introduce yourselves first. So share your name, your major, and your year in school,
[00:00:13.820]and then I'll let my fellow member introduce herself, and then I can do a little bit more
[00:00:19.220]of an introduction. So go ahead and kick us off, Allie. Yeah, my name is Allie Tranquilino. I'm
[00:00:26.040]a junior in biological systems engineering. And my name is Audrey Hill. I'm also a junior,
[00:00:34.900]and I'm studying civil engineering. And Jade couldn't be with us tonight,
[00:00:40.180]so we won't do an introduction for her, but Winnie, go ahead.
[00:00:43.140]Hello, my name is Winnie. I'm a success coach and a program coordinator for the program.
[00:00:50.160]Excited to share more about our program tonight.
[00:00:54.900]And again, I'm Maggie Miller, Assistant Director of Recruitment and Retention with our program.
[00:00:59.320]I have been with the program since the start.
[00:01:03.340]We had our first cohort begin in 2022 with Allie and Audrey's cohort, actually.
[00:01:11.200]So it's exciting to see how much we've grown each year and how our program has developed.
[00:01:16.560]So we want to give you a bit of an overview of what our program looks like so you can understand the different opportunities
[00:01:24.120]and expectations.
[00:01:24.880]that we kind of require our students and for the application process.
[00:01:29.380]And then if you have questions throughout the presentation, we're not going to have anyone just kind of interrupt.
[00:01:37.000]So feel free to post your questions in the chat and we will answer any questions in the chat at the end of the presentation.
[00:01:43.480]And you're also free to ask questions as well.
[00:01:46.460]So it'll kind of be like a public forum in that regard.
[00:01:49.680]So just to give you an overview of what we will go over.
[00:01:54.100]So we introduced who we are and a little bit about our mission here shortly.
[00:01:58.920]We'll talk about the benefits and opportunities of the program,
[00:02:03.380]how you can be eligible to apply for the program.
[00:02:07.420]There are essays in our application process.
[00:02:10.760]So we'll kind of do some advice about the essays,
[00:02:12.880]what you can expect for the timeline moving forward.
[00:02:16.100]And then again, we'll have time for questions for you to ask of us.
[00:02:23.320]All right, so who are we?
[00:02:25.240]The Peter Kiewit Foundation Engineering Academy.
[00:02:27.740]We seek to recruit and retain all students in our program.
[00:02:31.140]We want our students to demonstrate an interest and commitment
[00:02:35.820]to the advancement of women in the field of engineering, computing, and construction.
[00:02:40.640]Our academy provides students with financial need,
[00:02:45.860]also with resources to support and pursue careers
[00:02:49.680]in the fields of engineering, computing, and construction.
[00:02:52.540]And shaping the future workforce of Nebraska.
[00:02:56.180]We want our students to be engaged here in Nebraska.
[00:02:59.660]And so that's why we want you to choose us
[00:03:02.160]and work here in the state in the future, hopefully.
[00:03:04.900]All right, so kind of moving on to benefits.
[00:03:08.840]There are a lot of really cool perks for our program.
[00:03:12.220]We offer to 40 students every year to participate in a cohort program.
[00:03:18.700]And with that comes a lot of benefits.
[00:03:21.760]Beyond just the community of sharing with 40 other students,
[00:03:25.680]we offer full tuition and fees for all undergraduate courses.
[00:03:31.280]So that may take some students four years.
[00:03:34.300]It may take them a little longer.
[00:03:35.820]But we do offer and cover support of those tuition and fees.
[00:03:39.860]We offer room and board for on-campus housing.
[00:03:43.520]We do have a two-year live-on requirement for all of our students
[00:03:47.680]participating in the program.
[00:03:49.400]And then for students,
[00:03:51.740]junior or senior year or beyond,
[00:03:55.020]we still offer free housing if you choose to live on campus
[00:03:59.480]in our designated housing spaces.
[00:04:01.380]So if you do choose to move off campus
[00:04:04.280]or into like a sorority or fraternity house, that's okay.
[00:04:07.500]That is just on your dime, part of our grant agreement.
[00:04:10.840]We also offer a free laptop to all of our students.
[00:04:14.440]And then that is issued during the first day of the program.
[00:04:21.060]And then the student can keep it upon graduation as well.
[00:04:25.000]We also offer a lot of really cool opportunities
[00:04:28.780]to grow and develop academically and professionally.
[00:04:32.620]And we'll kind of go into a little bit more details on that.
[00:04:35.020]But some of those opportunities include one-on-one success coaching,
[00:04:38.740]which is the role that Winnie serves in.
[00:04:41.820]And then I also serve in that role for our junior class.
[00:04:45.240]And then Audrey and Allie have all participated
[00:04:49.260]in those opportunities.
[00:04:51.040]And hopefully gained a lot of good feedback
[00:04:55.520]and experience from that coaching as well.
[00:04:58.280]We also offer a seminar course.
[00:05:02.020]Starting in the fall of next year with our fourth cohort,
[00:05:06.420]we will do a year-long Engineering 10 seminar with our students
[00:05:10.260]to kind of really help develop that community
[00:05:13.600]and grow even stronger.
[00:05:15.020]Previously, it had just been a semester long.
[00:05:17.060]So we are going to extend it to a full year.
[00:05:19.120]And then we will do
[00:05:20.800]an engineering 10 seminar with our students
[00:05:21.020]and an engineering 20 course,
[00:05:22.300]which is our career readiness prep class
[00:05:25.140]that's required of all engineering students.
[00:05:26.800]But we just have a specialized version
[00:05:28.300]for our students that is a semester long.
[00:05:30.660]And then we also offer peer mentors.
[00:05:33.880]Both Allie and Audrey had previously served
[00:05:36.520]as peer mentors with our program last year.
[00:05:39.020]Now they're serving on our outreach committee.
[00:05:41.240]So they had good experience with that.
[00:05:44.580]Might have them share some insight later
[00:05:47.400]about that experience as well,
[00:05:48.980]being peer mentors and helping other students
[00:05:51.000]because we want our students to give back.
[00:05:53.460]So that's really important to us.
[00:05:54.720]And then we also have faculty fellows,
[00:05:56.720]which is new to our program this year,
[00:05:58.780]where we actually have six faculty
[00:06:01.320]that engage with our students at meetings
[00:06:03.960]or for research opportunities and things like that,
[00:06:07.400]which has been a really fun addition to the program.
[00:06:11.100]And we're really excited to see that program grow with us.
[00:06:13.960]Another big perk beyond the other financial opportunities,
[00:06:18.600]we do offer stipends,
[00:06:19.940]which means it's like,
[00:06:20.980]money that goes into your pocket to cover some additional costs related to
[00:06:24.900]your professional development or your academic development.
[00:06:29.460]So we do offer $600 for books each semester for our students.
[00:06:33.840]We offer $500 for professional clothing,
[00:06:37.540]and that's broken up into two different years.
[00:06:40.400]So $250 your sophomore year,
[00:06:42.740]$250 during your senior year or last year in the program.
[00:06:47.320]So you can buy like clothes for interviews,
[00:06:50.960]or clothes to go work out in the field, things like that.
[00:06:54.160]And then we do also offer $5,000 for professional development,
[00:06:58.420]which covers a wide range of things.
[00:07:00.860]We'll kind of go into some details about the professional development a little
[00:07:04.560]later on and what some of our students have utilized it for.
[00:07:07.660]All right.
[00:07:09.400]Students are winning anything else to add about perks that we might not talk
[00:07:13.420]about later.
[00:07:13.860]Okay, perfect.
[00:07:17.340]All right.
[00:07:19.180]So to kick off,
[00:07:20.940]our program.
[00:07:21.420]So if you are invited to participate in our program,
[00:07:24.260]we really try to get you off,
[00:07:26.320]get you started on a like strong footing when you come to campus.
[00:07:31.900]So we start our start meeting with our students about a week before classes
[00:07:37.480]start.
[00:07:37.820]We invite you to come in August and you will come to campus and we will do a
[00:07:43.980]three day retreat essentially.
[00:07:45.400]So you will be on your designated campus for the first day because
[00:07:50.920]we do have students on both the Omaha and Lincoln campus.
[00:07:53.580]So you kind of meet the people that you are going to be around the most in
[00:07:57.220]classes and living around.
[00:07:58.740]And then we do a day at Camp Carol Joy Holling,
[00:08:03.640]which is a really fun day where we do a lot of team builders and helping to
[00:08:09.580]get to know each other and just kind of goof off a little bit.
[00:08:12.440]That's kind of the fun part of that.
[00:08:13.840]And we do some interactions with our peer mentors.
[00:08:16.460]We invite them to come to that as well to kind of help put people,
[00:08:20.900]buddies and be able to answer questions as well.
[00:08:23.540]We also try to do fun things like going over programming expectations in the
[00:08:29.920]midst of also doing like a scavenger hunt,
[00:08:31.740]because we want to do the fun with some of the business side of things.
[00:08:34.660]So that way you're just kind of prepared.
[00:08:37.300]So Allie or Audrey, and you can both reply to this too.
[00:08:42.520]So what benefits do you get from the campus readiness retreat when you were a
[00:08:47.280]freshman in the program, or maybe how did you help,
[00:08:50.880]feel like you fostered growth and development when you were a peer mentor?
[00:08:55.380]Yeah, I can answer this one.
[00:08:59.180]So the campus readiness retreat was genuinely like probably my favorite part
[00:09:04.800]of the program. My first year,
[00:09:06.280]it was not only a crash course on the college of engineering,
[00:09:10.460]but college life in general. I am a first gen student.
[00:09:13.680]So I had no idea what I was expecting when I came to campus.
[00:09:17.980]So it was really great to know all the resources and,
[00:09:20.860]and the community that I had around me.
[00:09:23.060]It also allowed me to like be familiar with campus. Like I,
[00:09:27.200]UNL is a big campus. I didn't know where any of my classes were.
[00:09:30.920]And I think I walked my classes like five different times to figure out where
[00:09:35.020]I was. It was also a great chance to like meet everyone in the cohort.
[00:09:38.420]So I knew like day one of classes, if I had anyone in PKF,
[00:09:42.240]like I knew I could go sit by them and like feel comfortable.
[00:09:45.160]And then on the peer mentor side,
[00:09:47.600]like it was great just to see the new cohort coming in and seeing them
[00:09:50.840]make those connections and also offer like invaluable information.
[00:09:54.920]Like what I had just like a year ago,
[00:09:57.360]it was really nice to share that information and also just kind of connect
[00:10:01.800]with my future mentees.
[00:10:02.840]Yeah, I agree with everything you said. I just, yeah,
[00:10:09.320]I really feel like the community that coming into college that the retreat
[00:10:14.840]brings is really invaluable because it can be really intimidating to start
[00:10:19.700]college.
[00:10:20.820]And just knowing people and like spending more than a couple of days with
[00:10:25.740]them for like all day, we really got to know each other well.
[00:10:30.040]And that was a really great way to start off college that I know a lot of my
[00:10:33.400]peers maybe didn't get cause they just started off college and didn't know
[00:10:37.140]anyone. Whereas, you know,
[00:10:39.180]I had my roommates who were part of the program and I had everyone else who
[00:10:43.500]was in my cohort.
[00:10:44.300]So I just feel like the community is a really,
[00:10:46.140]really invaluable part of the campus ready readiness retreat.
[00:10:50.800]Thank you both for sharing.
[00:10:54.320]All right.
[00:10:57.780]The next thing we kind of implement and this occurs for every student and it
[00:11:04.040]happens every month is we hold something called a connection meeting.
[00:11:07.100]And we kind of cover a lot of different topics at this meeting.
[00:11:11.380]We talk about the complete engineering competencies.
[00:11:14.460]So if you've applied to the university,
[00:11:16.980]that's a big program here where we kind of develop a lot of different
[00:11:20.780]skills that will help you excel in your professional career.
[00:11:25.260]So we talk a lot about those.
[00:11:26.760]We talk about internship and research opportunities at these meetings,
[00:11:31.020]promote campus resources,
[00:11:33.920]or we will bring campus partners in to talk about the resources they offer
[00:11:37.880]students. So in addition to the extra support we offer,
[00:11:41.540]there's a lot of other people on campus that want to make sure students
[00:11:44.180]excel.
[00:11:44.520]So we want you all to learn about all the people that can support you.
[00:11:48.080]We also work on just some,
[00:11:50.760]skill development like study skills, time management,
[00:11:53.920]how to communicate better with roommates, things like that.
[00:11:57.920]So you can excel academically and professionally. And then a big,
[00:12:02.040]obviously the big overarching topic,
[00:12:03.760]overarching topic of our program is how to support the growth of women in
[00:12:08.200]the field.
[00:12:08.700]So we do bring in a lot of different female professionals and even male
[00:12:13.240]professionals to,
[00:12:14.240]to kind of talk about how they have supported and diversified their
[00:12:17.780]workforce or how they seek out professionals,
[00:12:20.740]professional growth and development and just kind of hearing about their
[00:12:24.860]story. So that has been really fun and beneficial.
[00:12:27.060]Winnie is one of the staff members that helps plans those events,
[00:12:31.440]which has been really helpful. She just planned a really cool event.
[00:12:35.060]Do you want to maybe talk about your event and why you thought it was
[00:12:37.700]important? Winnie here, I realized I didn't put it in the question section,
[00:12:40.340]but do you want to share about your event you recently hosted?
[00:12:43.060]Yeah, sure.
[00:12:45.960]Definitely our connections meetings are everything that Maggie just said.
[00:12:50.720]So echo that.
[00:12:51.420]But also we understand that we all are students and sometimes, you know,
[00:12:57.520]school can be hard, you know,
[00:12:58.880]so sometimes you just want the time to de-stress and that's the kind of thought
[00:13:03.380]we had going into the December connections meeting.
[00:13:05.920]And even the November one,
[00:13:07.320]because we had like a whole creative track where students can go and, you know,
[00:13:11.140]do some bead making, they can work some clay, stuff like that,
[00:13:14.600]just to take your mind off of the stress.
[00:13:16.380]So in December we had students choose between a variety of like
[00:13:20.700]fitness classes.
[00:13:21.640]So we had people doing like Pilates, total body fitness.
[00:13:26.380]We have people doing yoga, all in the Connections meetings.
[00:13:29.920]So, yeah, we don't just like to stick to one slot.
[00:13:33.560]We just like to mix it up a little bit so that students can have fun too
[00:13:37.140]while they study.
[00:13:38.720]Awesome. Thanks, Bunny.
[00:13:40.860]And then Allie or Audrey,
[00:13:42.140]maybe share about one thing that you have found most like beneficial from the
[00:13:48.100]Connections meetings that you've attended and like,
[00:13:50.680]how have you utilized that in like your academic or professional growth?
[00:13:55.080]Yeah.
[00:13:56.980]So last year we had a speaker come in and talk to us about microaggressions
[00:14:02.580]and it was something that I didn't really, I knew existed,
[00:14:06.140]but I wasn't fully aware of the scope and kind of what they were.
[00:14:09.680]And it just like allowed me to do some self-reflection and realize like some
[00:14:14.380]things that I say, or it's things that anyone does,
[00:14:17.900]like there's biases with everyone and it's,
[00:14:20.660]it's just really interesting to see that perspective and how I can use that in
[00:14:24.140]the future.
[00:14:24.580]I really enjoyed, there was one in particular,
[00:14:30.620]there've been a couple that have like helped us with our careers,
[00:14:35.060]but there was one that just really went in depth and like had brought in people
[00:14:39.300]who were actually doing the hiring at engineering companies.
[00:14:42.420]And they came and talked about like resumes and what they looked for in
[00:14:47.400]resumes. And then also just in people and like in interviews,
[00:14:50.640]and that was really helpful because I know a lot of people like interviews are
[00:14:55.220]really stressful and intimidating because you just don't know what to expect.
[00:14:58.420]So it was really great to like have the chance to hear from people who are
[00:15:03.740]actually doing the hiring in a place like the meeting at PKF.
[00:15:08.100]Cause like that was a place that I feel comfortable. I mean,
[00:15:10.180]I know everyone at PKF, so it was, that was a really great meeting.
[00:15:13.100]Awesome. Thank you all.
[00:15:15.680]All right. And as Audrey had,
[00:15:20.620]kind of alluded to we hope that those meetings also lead to internship
[00:15:24.020]opportunities.
[00:15:24.720]We do offer a lot of extra support because we want all of our students to
[00:15:29.940]have a lot of hands-on experience working in the field,
[00:15:33.380]whether it be through research or internships.
[00:15:35.420]And so like we bring in those panelists to talk about resumes and stuff
[00:15:42.400]like that.
[00:15:43.020]We host that engineering 20 class for our students where we develop your
[00:15:48.420]resume, your cover letter. We do a mock,
[00:15:50.600]interview just so you're kind of feeling more prepared for that internship
[00:15:55.280]process because that is essentially what you want those internships to
[00:16:00.220]hopefully lead to a professional position. So that's the goal.
[00:16:04.700]Audrey has done an internship last this past summer.
[00:16:08.860]So Audrey, do you want to share about your experience with, is it Bullcraft?
[00:16:12.820]That's how you say it. Okay.
[00:16:14.400]And in what ways do you think PKF helped supported you or prepared you for
[00:16:19.600]your internship?
[00:16:20.580]Yeah. So I interned with Bullcraft,
[00:16:23.680]which is a company that manufactures steel joists.
[00:16:27.040]And that would kind of go with civil engineering, the structural side of it.
[00:16:31.180]And it was down in Kansas city.
[00:16:34.600]So that was a really awesome opportunity.
[00:16:37.680]I learned a lot and it was just a really great first internship experience.
[00:16:42.560]But the first thing that comes to mind with like something that PKF helped to
[00:16:48.140]make that easier is, you know, I was in Kansas city, a different,
[00:16:50.560]city than where I live and grew up in.
[00:16:54.340]But one of another PKF member,
[00:16:57.920]Josie was also living in Kansas city.
[00:17:00.740]And so that was just so great that we both had internships there and we could
[00:17:04.880]kind of support each other as we were both away from home for the first time.
[00:17:08.780]But then, yeah, also just knowing that I had the support of PKF,
[00:17:15.040]like I reached out to Janine, who is the Omaha,
[00:17:18.120]I go to university of Nebraska,
[00:17:20.540]at Omaha. So Janine is the coordinator there.
[00:17:22.820]I reached out to her over the summer and stayed in touch.
[00:17:26.500]And so along with the preparation that PKF did through the connection
[00:17:32.700]meetings and the, the class,
[00:17:36.120]it was also just great that they continued to support me throughout while I
[00:17:41.140]wasn't in school and I was, you know, in a different city. But yeah,
[00:17:45.760]it was a really great experience. Internships are great.
[00:17:48.920]It's great getting paid,
[00:17:50.520]the money of internships because it's definitely a step up, but yeah,
[00:17:54.520]it was a great learning experience.
[00:17:56.700]Thanks for sharing. All right.
[00:18:01.740]In addition to the kind of professional and academic focus,
[00:18:07.280]we also tried to do the fun programming that Winnie had kind of alluded to as
[00:18:12.740]well. So we do social programming.
[00:18:15.860]So like the past couple of falls we've gone to Valas which is,
[00:18:20.500]a fun little hotspot between Lincoln and Omaha.
[00:18:23.180]So we take our students there or we do social programming on our own campus on
[00:18:29.340]a smaller scale. So like on Omaha, we've done like a Mario cart night,
[00:18:33.300]or they've gone to hockey or in Lincoln,
[00:18:36.400]we've gone ice skating before they're actually having a social tonight,
[00:18:41.180]which ended up about 20 minutes ago, actually,
[00:18:45.220]where they did some just kind of like,
[00:18:47.140]I think it was like crafting and relaxation, hot cocoa,
[00:18:50.480]things like that.
[00:18:51.240]Or, and we hope that those like social programs will then lead to some
[00:18:58.780]different like community development and friendship growth.
[00:19:02.160]I hope all of our people are nice and kind to each other.
[00:19:05.780]We hope they can get that experience through those different social
[00:19:08.340]programs.
[00:19:09.020]We also offer some swag,
[00:19:11.660]which we kick off at the beginning of each year.
[00:19:14.500]So that's kind of some additional fun stuff.
[00:19:16.520]So you can see both Audrey and Allie are repping their PKF clothing.
[00:19:20.460]We love to see it.
[00:19:21.740]So we do offer that kind of stuff to our students as well.
[00:19:25.020]And then in addition to hosting like the social programs,
[00:19:29.800]we do some kind of big recognition activities.
[00:19:32.060]The picture on the far right of the screen is actually from our friends and
[00:19:36.140]family day,
[00:19:36.700]which we host for our first year students in the program or our freshmen
[00:19:40.280]students,
[00:19:40.900]where we invite their families to come and like learn about their first year
[00:19:45.240]in the program and just kind of get to meet us or get to go do a fun
[00:19:49.500]activity last year.
[00:19:50.440]We went to the Omaha zoo or the Henry Dorley zoo.
[00:19:53.540]So had a couple of folks take pics around there, which was super fun.
[00:19:58.040]We hosted an event with our trustees who are the ones who fund our program.
[00:20:02.720]And we've done that the past couple of years.
[00:20:05.300]And eventually it'll just be our sophomores who will attend that meeting
[00:20:08.960]just to get to know their trustees and thank them for their support.
[00:20:12.840]And so they can kind of meet them and share about their experience being in
[00:20:17.420]the program.
[00:20:18.080]This year will be our first year.
[00:20:20.420]First annual junior trip,
[00:20:22.280]which will happen in May at the conclusion of the spring semester.
[00:20:27.580]So we're excited to kind of go around Nebraska and see what different
[00:20:30.900]industry partners are doing around the state and their potential.
[00:20:35.060]employers for our students. And then during their senior year or last year in the program,
[00:20:40.440]our students will have a graduation celebration that we host and they get to highlight
[00:20:44.080]the different experiences that they had in the program and during their collegiate career
[00:20:49.080]outside of PKF too. So some kind of fun things to look forward to.
[00:20:54.220]And then as I mentioned, we do a lot of professional development opportunities
[00:20:59.060]through that professional development funding actually. So with that funding, we help
[00:21:06.040]our students kind of have that financial benefit or perk that will get them to do some really cool
[00:21:14.020]opportunities or get access to go to like conferences or get some extra tech for classes.
[00:21:20.580]But a big thing that our students want to do is have an education abroad experience.
[00:21:26.720]So we have some students on
[00:21:29.040]the screen who have been all over the world.
[00:21:31.700]Allie went to Spain this past summer.
[00:21:34.760]So Allie, would you like to share about your experience abroad and maybe what was the most
[00:21:40.700]beneficial part of that experience?
[00:21:42.420]And how did you feel knowing PKF was there to support you in that growth?
[00:21:48.200]Yeah, so I was able to go to Valencia, Spain this summer.
[00:21:53.380]I've been wanting to study abroad since as early as I could remember.
[00:21:57.560]And with
[00:21:59.020]PKF, I was able to afford it.
[00:22:01.700]They were able to pay for the majority of my trip.
[00:22:04.640]And without them, I couldn't have done it.
[00:22:07.120]It was something that I will never forget.
[00:22:09.980]Something I talk about with those people in the picture every day.
[00:22:14.040]I don't go a day without being grateful or thinking about it.
[00:22:17.580]PKF has taught me that I can do it.
[00:22:21.700]Like in my success coach meeting with Erin, she tells me about 800 times that I can do it.
[00:22:29.000]I can do hard things.
[00:22:30.100]And I did it.
[00:22:32.040]I never had left the country, let alone traveled by myself.
[00:22:35.260]So like being able to go abroad and prove to myself like, hey, you can do hard things.
[00:22:40.360]And like, just do it.
[00:22:42.680]Like, I don't know how else to explain other than like, I can do it.
[00:22:46.160]And knowing that I had the support back in Lincoln and everywhere, like in PKF, like
[00:22:52.800]I was forever grateful that I was able to go.
[00:22:55.340]And it's just an invaluable experience.
[00:22:57.220]And I recommend anyone.
[00:22:58.980]Who can to study abroad.
[00:23:00.460]Thanks for sharing.
[00:23:02.960]All right.
[00:23:06.620]So obviously a lot of cool things that we have discussed this evening so far.
[00:23:11.520]So we do have an application process and there are some eligibility requirements.
[00:23:16.980]So just to give you kind of a quick overview of what we expect of our applicants to move
[00:23:24.360]forward for consideration for our program.
[00:23:28.960]You need to be admitted to the College of Engineering.
[00:23:31.160]Hopefully you all have been admitted to either the Lincoln or Omaha campus to participate
[00:23:38.340]and be in one of our 14 majors, soon to be 15 majors.
[00:23:43.800]So just you have to be an engineering major.
[00:23:47.460]And if you want to double major in something outside of engineering, that's totally cool
[00:23:51.220]too.
[00:23:51.540]Engineering just has to be one of those majors.
[00:23:53.820]You also need to be a resident of Nebraska and graduating from a Nebraska college.
[00:23:58.940]We also have to have our applicants demonstrate some level of financial need.
[00:24:04.600]So you will have to complete the FAFSA or the FAFSA estimate.
[00:24:09.460]It's now required for all high school students and all college students actually who are
[00:24:15.520]attending a university to complete the FAFSA now.
[00:24:18.460]That's kind of a thing that Nebraska has implemented.
[00:24:21.120]So please complete that to the best of your knowledge.
[00:24:25.800]And if you have questions about the FAFSA, we encourage,
[00:24:28.920]you to reach out to our financial aid offices on either the Omaha or Lincoln
[00:24:32.700]campus. They're really great.
[00:24:35.380]They're a great resource to answer any questions because we know there were a
[00:24:39.700]lot of issues with the FAFSA last year.
[00:24:41.320]They have supposedly worked out those kinks,
[00:24:43.700]but weird things come up all the time.
[00:24:45.600]So don't be afraid to utilize those resources if needed.
[00:24:49.220]You also have to be a traditional incoming freshman.
[00:24:53.920]So graduated from high school immediately and entering college is what
[00:24:58.900]that means.
[00:24:59.480]And then again,
[00:25:00.540]demonstrating an interest and commitment to the advancement of women in the
[00:25:05.120]field of engineering, computing, and construction.
[00:25:06.980]And that will happen via essay submissions and the interview process.
[00:25:11.240]Sometimes this statement kind of catches people up.
[00:25:15.340]You don't have to identify as a woman to participate in our program.
[00:25:18.380]We do have men in our program and we are helping them with allyship and
[00:25:23.560]like learning how to be supportive of our female peers.
[00:25:26.140]And so you just have to be a traditional incoming freshman.
[00:25:28.880]You have to indicate that through your essays and the interview process.
[00:25:32.320]And then the big thing is to complete your PKF application and the FAFSA or
[00:25:37.500]the FAFSA estimate by 1159 PM on February 1st.
[00:25:41.940]That's when our application closes and when the FAFSA is due for all
[00:25:46.200]applicants.
[00:25:46.880]So kind of going into that essay response,
[00:25:51.540]we have about six essay questions.
[00:25:54.480]We ask any applicant to complete.
[00:25:57.280]It is on our website.
[00:25:59.380]So you can check that out where it says apply on the right-hand side of
[00:26:04.220]your screen.
[00:26:04.880]And then on that webpage, each essay,
[00:26:08.600]we ask to be about 150 word response.
[00:26:12.340]What I recommend is kind of copying the essay prompts and putting them
[00:26:17.580]into a word document and then typing it in that word document.
[00:26:21.100]Why it'll save in a word document versus just trying to type it in the
[00:26:25.240]boxes on our application.
[00:26:26.800]We can't guarantee it.
[00:26:28.860]We'll save it.
[00:26:29.520]We've had people lose their essay responses and had to like reapply.
[00:26:33.220]So just do it in a word document and then copy and paste it over.
[00:26:36.400]And then it'll also help you with the word count as well.
[00:26:40.020]And when you're looking at those essay responses, I think the big thing is
[00:26:44.900]like truly personalizing it to yourself and being true to yourself in those
[00:26:48.720]responses.
[00:26:49.240]That's what we're really looking for in our students is to kind of be your
[00:26:53.640]whole self.
[00:26:55.180]And I encourage anyone who is,
[00:26:58.820]applying for our program to look at our mission and vision and values.
[00:27:01.800]We recently updated those Winnie and our fellow team members and myself,
[00:27:07.360]we spent a lot of time working on developing those.
[00:27:10.760]We got student feedback.
[00:27:11.860]So we really feel like those are really essential to what our program is
[00:27:17.820]supporting and wanting to grow in.
[00:27:21.360]So we encourage all applicants to look at that and think about what those
[00:27:24.720]mean to them.
[00:27:25.460]And then what we also encourage,
[00:27:28.800]share about your interest with engineering and computing and construction.
[00:27:32.780]We want you to be passionate about this field because if you're not
[00:27:37.480]passionate, you might not want to stick with it.
[00:27:39.640]And then I don't want someone to lose out on a really big scholarship.
[00:27:42.640]So truly share your passion, really think and process that.
[00:27:48.280]And then also talk about why you support and want to advance women in the
[00:27:53.280]engineering workforce,
[00:27:54.260]whether it be like currently what you want to do in college or even take
[00:27:58.780]10, 20 plus years down the road.
[00:28:00.700]Think about that and what you would envision for yourself and others.
[00:28:05.620]And then also share about your own future goals and ambitions.
[00:28:09.240]Talk about your community involvement. We want to know who you are.
[00:28:12.980]Something we added to the application this year was the opportunity to share
[00:28:17.700]about like different clubs and stuff you are participating in by submitting
[00:28:21.880]like a resume or a list of activities.
[00:28:24.740]So feel free to share those with us because we really want to know what you
[00:28:28.760]are participating in because we have students with a wide variety of
[00:28:33.620]interests and stuff.
[00:28:34.440]So we just want to be really understanding of that as well.
[00:28:37.640]So kind of give you an idea of what the timeline looks like moving on from
[00:28:44.780]here.
[00:28:45.180]So our application is open now until February 1st and we close at 1159 PM
[00:28:52.360]on the 1st.
[00:28:53.520]So make sure you're paying attention to that deadline and then starting
[00:28:58.360]February 1st,
[00:28:58.740]February 3rd,
[00:28:59.400]that Monday through the 19th.
[00:29:01.740]That is when we do a blind review process is what it's called.
[00:29:06.840]So essentially we take the applications and we hide any identifying
[00:29:11.520]factors of like the name of the students.
[00:29:15.620]So we had their first name and last name.
[00:29:17.560]So we don't know who they are and we review their essays and give them
[00:29:22.660]scores from one to six.
[00:29:24.520]And that is done by our staff team.
[00:29:26.940]So it'll have about,
[00:29:28.720]six members looking over that and assigning scores to those essays.
[00:29:33.460]And then from there,
[00:29:34.580]we do a cut essentially based on the score a student receives.
[00:29:38.860]And then from there,
[00:29:41.500]we will offer about 75 students to interview with us at that time.
[00:29:46.500]And that will be issued out on February 20th.
[00:29:49.660]Students who move forward in the process will be invited to interview.
[00:29:53.000]Anyone else will receive a thank you for applying.
[00:29:56.680]But we are not moving forward with,
[00:29:58.700]with your application at this time email.
[00:30:00.380]And then once you are offered an interview,
[00:30:03.480]you will have the opportunity opportunity to sign up for an in-person
[00:30:07.360]interview March 6th in Omaha or 7th and 8th here in Lincoln on campus.
[00:30:12.700]If you are far away,
[00:30:16.660]or if there happens to be a wild March snow storm,
[00:30:19.300]because I know snow is wild in Nebraska,
[00:30:21.960]then you can do a zoom interview if necessary.
[00:30:27.220]So you won't get the full,
[00:30:28.680]your experience because we do an individual interview where you will
[00:30:32.780]interview with one of the PKF staff members.
[00:30:35.580]In addition to one of our faculty fellows or a member of our engineering
[00:30:40.740]student services team.
[00:30:42.120]So there'll be two people in the individual interview,
[00:30:44.220]and then you'll can meet with a student panel.
[00:30:46.880]So that's where like Audrey and Allie will lead some of those
[00:30:50.100]conversations with our applicants.
[00:30:51.980]So you can ask questions of our students.
[00:30:53.840]And then there's an optional tour part of that.
[00:30:57.960]So,
[00:30:58.660]but it does not count against you if you cannot make it to campus due to
[00:31:02.160]weather or sickness and that kind of stuff.
[00:31:04.200]We always do a zoom interview almost every year due to the,
[00:31:07.180]those kinds of reasons.
[00:31:08.480]Following the interviews, we do the candidate file review.
[00:31:14.200]So our staff will review each candidate that interviewed with us and then
[00:31:18.220]kind of make the selection of 40 to move forward.
[00:31:22.000]And then they will be notified by April 1st of their status with the
[00:31:26.900]program.
[00:31:27.380]And then,
[00:31:28.640]if you receive an offer you have to accept your commitment or
[00:31:33.940]agreement to the program by May 1st.
[00:31:36.940]So that's just something to make note of.
[00:31:39.200]So like while we extend an offer,
[00:31:40.800]you also have to accept that offer.
[00:31:42.220]You do not accept that offer.
[00:31:43.640]You cannot participate in the program.
[00:31:45.600]So some students kind of forget that they have to actually commit to it.
[00:31:49.740]So I'll send you a lot of emails and reminders in case you forget.
[00:31:53.480]So obviously a lot of information was shared.
[00:31:58.620]So this is time for questions for about the next 10, 15 minutes.
[00:32:04.540]So feel free to go ahead with any questions that you may have at this time.
[00:32:09.640]And you can ask myself or Winnie or Allie and Audrey as well.
[00:32:13.880]Hi, I had a question for Audrey about her internship in Kansas City.
[00:32:26.040]I was wondering like how you found out about that internship
[00:32:28.600]and then like for obviously since it was in Kansas City,
[00:32:32.480]like what did you do for housing then?
[00:32:34.360]And like, did you find that on your own or did your company help with that?
[00:32:37.360]Yeah, so UNO and UNL, they host a career fair every year.
[00:32:45.560]And that's where I've gotten, I've had another internship as well.
[00:32:50.420]That's where I've gotten both of my internships.
[00:32:52.360]And it's a really, engineering is really great because the company
[00:32:58.580]really want you, like they really want interns.
[00:33:01.960]And so the bigger companies like Volcraft,
[00:33:06.740]they are able to pay for your housing.
[00:33:08.800]And so my housing was paid for and they ended up finding it completely on
[00:33:13.940]their own, but I have some friends who like, they just get a stipend.
[00:33:17.880]And so maybe it covers all of their housing.
[00:33:20.480]Maybe they're paying a little bit out of pocket,
[00:33:22.340]but like just a little bit for living in a different city.
[00:33:25.220]That's not bad. Or maybe honestly they get more than,
[00:33:28.560]they need for their apartment. So they get a pocket a little bit.
[00:33:31.340]So it really depends. But this next coming summer,
[00:33:35.060]I have an internship with a smaller company locally because I'm more so
[00:33:40.240]looking to my future now, my future career.
[00:33:42.280]And since they are a smaller company, they're not able to pay for housing.
[00:33:46.800]But I, my friend Josie, who also lived in Kansas city,
[00:33:51.180]she ended up using her PKFEA professional development fund.
[00:33:56.420]And so she also,
[00:33:58.660]she didn't have to pay for housing.
[00:33:59.940]It was covered through the scholarship.
[00:34:01.780]So that was really cool.
[00:34:03.100]But yeah, internships, companies really want you.
[00:34:07.480]So, and if you're, you know, in this program,
[00:34:11.040]there'll be plenty of opportunities to connect with companies,
[00:34:13.640]even outside of the career fair.
[00:34:15.660]So yeah, hopefully that answered your question.
[00:34:28.520]I had a question.
[00:34:30.880]I was wondering if somebody could explain a little bit more in detail
[00:34:35.460]about the financial need aspect of the scholarship.
[00:34:39.920]Yeah, absolutely.
[00:34:41.840]So essentially what we ask for all applicants,
[00:34:47.800]as I mentioned, is to complete the FAFSA.
[00:34:49.980]If you are a qualified non-citizen or a U.S. citizen,
[00:34:55.160]or if you are not qualified to complete the FAFSA,
[00:34:58.500]to do the FAFSA estimate.
[00:34:59.960]And essentially what happens is once you have submitted those
[00:35:04.160]to your respective university,
[00:35:07.820]you are given an SAI score
[00:35:11.820]and only our financial aid office knows that information.
[00:35:15.320]We actually don't know that information.
[00:35:17.840]We do have a general cutoff point,
[00:35:20.480]which is an SAI score of 30,000.
[00:35:24.120]And so essentially the financial aid office
[00:35:28.480]will look at all of our applicants
[00:35:30.300]and tell us which students meet those needs.
[00:35:34.040]We do also encourage any student
[00:35:36.500]who might have free or reduced lunch
[00:35:39.060]or they qualify for the Pell Grant
[00:35:44.000]to apply for the scholarship as well
[00:35:46.860]because they can fall into consideration for the program.
[00:35:50.120]But generally that SAI score of 30,000
[00:35:54.560]because we have something,
[00:35:57.480]the cost of attendance,
[00:35:58.460]is essentially what every student gets a score of.
[00:36:01.800]And for the University of Nebraska-Lincoln
[00:36:04.800]and for College of Engineering,
[00:36:06.140]it is a little higher.
[00:36:08.260]So we do elevate it up to 30,000.
[00:36:11.600]So a lot of students do still fall under that range
[00:36:15.040]so they can be considered for our scholarship.
[00:36:17.740]If you do fall over the 30,000,
[00:36:21.500]you still can apply,
[00:36:23.180]but we can't prioritize those students first.
[00:36:27.020]So if we don't have enough applicants
[00:36:28.440]under that 30,000,
[00:36:29.880]then we can consider students
[00:36:33.180]above that 30,000 SAI band,
[00:36:35.260]but the financial aid office
[00:36:37.420]will notify us of that status
[00:36:39.940]if we do need to consider that.
[00:36:42.080]Thank you.
[00:36:43.880]Yep.
[00:36:44.420]That was helpful.
[00:36:45.440]Yes, you're welcome.
[00:36:46.620]Any other questions?
[00:36:58.420]So for the blind review,
[00:37:01.100]is it just the essay questions
[00:37:03.700]and then the resume submission?
[00:37:07.120]So like you don't consider financial aid
[00:37:09.080]till like later on?
[00:37:10.220]Correct.
[00:37:11.240]Yeah.
[00:37:11.580]So we first do that blind review.
[00:37:13.800]And then from there,
[00:37:16.980]once we've done scores,
[00:37:18.340]then the financial aid office
[00:37:20.100]will like notify us to say like,
[00:37:22.440]these candidates can move forward
[00:37:24.460]in the process.
[00:37:25.100]These candidates cannot.
[00:37:26.480]So,
[00:37:28.400]while we do have some students
[00:37:29.940]who might have like scored
[00:37:30.900]really well in the essays,
[00:37:32.000]we do understand
[00:37:33.780]like because of that
[00:37:35.220]financial need part
[00:37:36.120]that does kind of take precedence
[00:37:37.600]over essay responses.
[00:37:38.780]But we still want to consider that.
[00:37:40.800]And just because
[00:37:42.620]we might not be able
[00:37:44.360]to offer a scholarship to someone,
[00:37:45.860]what I do as kind of like
[00:37:48.000]our scholarship,
[00:37:48.620]I kind of coordinate the scholarship
[00:37:51.260]and do the estimates
[00:37:52.080]for all of our students.
[00:37:53.060]Anyone who doesn't qualify
[00:37:55.280]for our program,
[00:37:56.260]I actually send it to our
[00:37:58.120]director,
[00:37:58.380]our director of recruitment
[00:37:59.160]because he works with
[00:38:00.180]our scholarship coordinator.
[00:38:01.320]So they might be able to offer
[00:38:03.120]some additional smaller
[00:38:04.720]scholarships to students
[00:38:06.360]that we can't consider
[00:38:07.600]for our program
[00:38:08.700]because we want to ensure
[00:38:10.500]like all students get something
[00:38:12.920]and try and spread that wealth
[00:38:14.380]as much as possible.
[00:38:15.420]So that's what I do in my role.
[00:38:18.640]And so he will review
[00:38:20.900]then review those students
[00:38:22.100]and try and see
[00:38:24.160]what kind of scholarships
[00:38:25.080]we can give them.
[00:38:26.100]So the most recent
[00:38:28.360]stat I know from this past year
[00:38:30.100]is about 93% of engineering students
[00:38:32.960]get some form of scholarship.
[00:38:34.440]So the likelihood
[00:38:36.600]of getting a scholarship
[00:38:37.720]in some capacity,
[00:38:39.300]whether it's us
[00:38:40.240]or someone else's scholarship
[00:38:42.940]is pretty high
[00:38:44.340]for most of our students.
[00:38:58.340]Okay, well,
[00:39:04.740]oh, go ahead.
[00:39:07.220]Okay.
[00:39:16.940]If you don't have
[00:39:19.760]any other questions moving forward,
[00:39:21.220]you're free to leave the Zoom.
[00:39:23.420]If you do have
[00:39:25.140]any individualized questions,
[00:39:26.980]you can feel free
[00:39:28.320]to shoot them over in the Zoom.
[00:39:31.400]I can do a breakout room
[00:39:33.100]with you separately
[00:39:34.000]for any of those questions.
[00:39:36.340]But otherwise,
[00:39:37.480]my team and I will hang out
[00:39:38.900]for a couple more minutes.
[00:39:40.200]And if you weren't here
[00:39:41.560]for the whole event
[00:39:44.140]or meeting, that's okay.
[00:39:46.300]I can send,
[00:39:47.380]I will send out the recording
[00:39:49.260]to everyone just to be safe.
[00:39:51.020]Just in case you're like,
[00:39:52.760]oh, I forgot to ask this.
[00:39:54.040]Maybe I can go back
[00:39:55.040]and find it in the information.
[00:39:56.380]But otherwise,
[00:39:58.300]just thank you all
[00:39:59.080]for participating tonight
[00:40:01.920]and coming to our Zoom session.
[00:40:03.560]If you have any questions
[00:40:05.560]outside of this,
[00:40:06.680]you can also feel free to email me.
[00:40:08.680]I do have,
[00:40:10.900]if it'll let me move forward.
[00:40:12.680]I do have our QR codes.
[00:40:16.260]If you want to scan it
[00:40:17.120]on your phone real quick,
[00:40:17.940]you're welcome to.
[00:40:18.640]That'll take you directly
[00:40:19.540]to our website.
[00:40:20.360]My contact information
[00:40:22.760]is there in the bottom
[00:40:23.660]left-hand corner.
[00:40:24.380]If you do have any other questions,
[00:40:26.800]just about general college
[00:40:28.280]of engineering admissions
[00:40:29.680]process or requirements,
[00:40:31.300]I do have kind of our main contacts
[00:40:33.680]there on the right side of the screen.
[00:40:35.420]So Stephanie is our assistant
[00:40:38.480]director of recruitment
[00:40:39.240]here on the Lincoln campus.
[00:40:41.120]And then Jana Burns
[00:40:43.080]is our recruitment coordinator
[00:40:44.220]on the Scott campus
[00:40:46.160]or the Omaha campus.
[00:40:47.520]So both great resources.
[00:40:49.580]They both know a lot about our program.
[00:40:51.300]And if you want me to direct
[00:40:54.520]any questions to them,
[00:40:55.420]I'm more than welcome
[00:40:56.260]to do that as well.
[00:40:58.260]But otherwise, thank you all
[00:41:00.140]for coming tonight.
[00:41:01.840]Appreciate your time.
[00:41:03.760]Hope to see all your applications
[00:41:06.120]come through here in the near future.
[00:41:07.760]So thank you again.

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PKFEA Informational Meeting 12.10.24

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