Frank Barmes
Drexel University
Philadelphia, Pa.

ASME Affiliation:
Secretary, ASME Drexel Student Section

After attending the Leadership Training Conference (LTC) 2007 in Houston, the gears started turning. Looking back, our student section seemed to just be going through the motions. The seminars at the LTC provided a broad base for discussion and answered questions I would not have known to ask. They aimed at strengthening the delegates' knowledge of the overall organization as well as developing ways to be more successful in their leadership role. I feel as individuals in the organization we need to be more proactive about the changes needed and not expect someone to carry us.  Also, networking is a vital part to ASME's survival as a professional organization, and this event allows the delegates to make contacts across the United States and all over the world with people who are in their same position, encountering the same challenges.

I enjoy the seminars and examples, but I believe having a chance to put your lessons into work is the best way to retain your new knowledge. My favorite part of the LTC is the chance to exchange ideas with others in a workshop setting, where anything goes. I would like to thank Burt Dicht who made it possible for the student delegates to attend the LTC.

I receive great enjoyment volunteering for ASME and hope to continue to provide tools for engineers to succeed in our profession.

Aside: I would like to state that the question brought before the student delegates of how to retain graduating students as members of the organization and how to recruit early career engineers, is the same question that was posed at the student stakeholders meeting at IMECE. I have now been a part of the same brainstorming exercise twice, and am wondering if there are any feasible ideas coming from this exercise. If not, I suggest District leaders asking student sections to brainstorm on their own about this same subject. I think this could be a way to get some better feedback. The people attending these events are interested in ASME, so why do we ask them how to get people interested? I started my membership because my student section was running a ski trip. This and the fact that "Mechanical Engineers" is in the organization title were the connection I made to ASME.

Also, smaller student sections should look into joining together for events with other ASME sections or have joint events with other professional organizations. If each side plans an event and attends the other, you can have two successful events, while only requiring time and funding for one. Again, I would like to stress the importance of being proactive and diligent in your programming and you will have success as a section.

On another note: Drexel will be hosting an Early Career Forum April 28th, that will entail speakers from Sunoco and Northrop Grumman, covering professional development and entrepreneurial subjects. There is also a design competition that has been modeled like the apprentice competition.