[GWAMIT] GWAMIT Newsletter: Wrapping up the school year; fun summer events planned!

[GWAMIT]

Hello GW at MIT!
Good luck with finals and the end-of-term rush! We hope the last semester has been enjoyable for everyone and that you're looking forward to the summer!

This past year we've been working hard to accomplish our mission of promoting the personal and professional development of MIT's graduate women so we'd like to highlight a few things we've been up to this year. We'll also introduce our newest executive board members. At the bottom of this email, we have our upcoming events so check those out!

  *   New this year!
     *   First Fridays: Monthly programming ranging from Boba+RBG documentary to a panel on sexual harassment.
     *   New England Graduate Women in Science & Engineering (NE GWiSE): GW at MIT is part of a new alliance of GW at MIT-equivalent groups at 8 schools in the New England area. Their main events are an annual summer retreat focused on discussing the progress of the group and professional development and an advocacy event, "Spring to Action," focused on a specific topic (2018: sexual harassment). They also plan to help schools without umbrella women's groups form them. Contact mbird at mit.edu if you're interested! We're recruiting for the next board now! www.negwise.wordpress.com<http://www.negwise.wordpress.com>
     *   We received the prestigious Change Maker Award from Title IX which honors individuals and groups who actively seek to make the community a better place by combating sexual misconduct.
     *   We worked closely with the administration and the GSC over the past ~2years to pass an updated parental leave policy which includes gender neutral leave!
  *   Annual programming:
     *   Orientation Women's Welcome Lunch (OWWL): Around 150+ incoming graduate students attended along with representatives from different MIT offices. We're looking for chairs to plan OWWL 2018 soon so email us if you're interested!
     *   Leadership Conference: The theme this year was "Connecting women, creating leaders." We had panels on different career paths, workshops on negotiating and presenting your work, professional headshots, Zumba, and our keynote speaker Dr. Susan Hockfield!
     *   Mentoring program (year round): More than 100 grad students were paired up with Boston-area professionals/professors this year! Email gwamit-mentor at mit.edu if you're interested.
     *   General Board Meetings (1/semester): Department reps and other members of GW at MIT attended dinners to discuss issues in their departments and brainstorm ideas for events and speakers that GW at MIT (or their department) could host in the future. If you're interested in finding out how to become a department rep and what it entails, email me at mbird at mit.edu.
  *   New board members!
     *   Vrindaa Somjit- Events co-chair: Vrindaa is a third year PhD candidate in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering. She is excited about contributing to the well-being of the community at MIT!
     *   Juncal Arbelaiz Mugica- Secretary: Juncal is a second year PhD candidate in Applied Mathematics. She is looking forward to contributing to bringing together and developing the community of graduate women at MIT. Beyond that, she is particularly motivated to help and encourage women to break the barriers they might find to get involved with STEM fields.
     *   Sarah Goodman- Advocacy Chair: Sarah is a fourth year PhD student in Materials Science and Engineering. She's been involved in the GSC for the past couple of years and is excited to be working with GWAMIT on advocacy for women-identifying and non-binary/non-gender conforming grad students.
     *   Annie Hudson- Treasurer: Annie is a dual-degree masters student in MIT’s Urban Studies & Planning and Science in Transportation departments. Annie is currently a fellow with the MIT Automated Mobility Policy Project.
     *   Elizabeth Harwoord- Events co-chair: Elizabeth joined us in December 2017. She is a first year PhD student in Social and Engineering Systems. She is glad to have joined the board of GW at MIT to help plan events and build a strong community for graduate women. It is already one of the highlights of her time so far.

There are lots of opportunities to get involved with GW at MIT throughout the summer, so be sure to check them out! As always, if you have some suggestions or you're interested in planning an event with GW at MIT (or your department), reach out to us at gwamit-exec at mit.edu. You should also check out our website (www.gwamit.org<http://www.gwamit.org>) to see upcoming events and to check who your department rep is (under the Executive Board tab of the website). Have a fantastic summer! We hope to see you around!

The GW at MIT Board

1. GW at MIT Saturday Run + Coffee
When: Saturday, June 2nd, 9:30am
Where: Meet up at Flour on Mass Ave
FB event: https://www.facebook.com/events/2056931227966056/

Please join GW at MIT for a lovely Saturday morning run along the Charles! We will run approximately 3 miles and will make sure to run in groups or pairs to accommodate all levels. Meet outside of Flour on Mass Ave for a quick stretch beforehand. Please don't be more than 5 minutes late! Coffee courtesy of GW at MIT after we finish.

2. Learn to Lead and Follow: Salsa Dancing
When: Tuesday, June 19th, 7-9pm
Where: W20-491
RSVP: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/learn-to-lead-and-follow-salsa-dancing-tickets-45537096682

Join GWAMIT for a salsa dancing lesson at the Stratton Student Center, Tuesday, June 19th at 7 pm. Monika Avello and Yasmin Chau will teach us how to lead and follow to the rhythm of salsa! Come with or without a partner. Everyone is welcome!

External Event:
3. Stand Up Boston
When: June 15 and 16th
Where: Boston
Contact: standupboston18 at gmail.com

"We are excited to invite you to Stand Up Boston<http://standupboston.org/>, a free conference dedicated to working with our local community in combating sexual harassment through bystander intervention. It is hosted by the MIT Alumni Association, MIT Critical Data, the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory and Harvard University’s Office of Sexual Assault Prevention and Response."

"On June 15th and 16th, we will be hosting a series of technical and non-technical workshops centered on the theme Inspiring Bystanders to Act. We challenge participants to produce technical and non-technical work that enables greater conversations around bystander intervention and sexual harassment, and lay the foundation for future work. For our complete schedule, check back here<https://standupboston.org/our-events>. We will also be featuring speakers including Pierre Berastain (Director of the Office of Sexual Assault Prevention and Response at Harvard University) as well as bystander intervention training by the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center<https://barcc.org/>. Through generous support from our partners and sponsors, the conference will be free for all participants and we are offering stipends for eligible interested participants. To register or find out more, check us out at Stand Up Boston<http://standupboston.org/> or email us at standupboston18 at gmail.com<mailto:standupboston18 at gmail.com>. We look forward to seeing you in June!"
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