#plenary3

[drcknowledgeandpower]

Plenary 3

I loved this plenary because the speaker is someone who is relatable and honest. She talked about something that I’m pretty sure most of the people in that room at the time were suffering with, which is a lack of motivation and lack of trust in themselves. She mentions that while she was pursuing engineering, at one point after her first failures, she thought she could no longer do it, and was going to drop it and move onto something less time-consuming. Then based on good advice from a loved one, she decided to give it another go. And she’s been on that path ever since.  She pursed her dream to be an engineer and then eventually chose to leave her job for a while and raise her child. Everyone has different priorities in their lives, and being judged for preferring to take a hiatus and raise or not raise one’s kids (as their mother) should be one’s choice. And it does not make you any less empowered for doing so. So yes, I am terrified about the future. So is everyone else. And everyone feels that way at some point before they go on to do amazing things. I enjoyed this plenary very much because it was really a feel-good conversation I think we all needed to hear. 

[drcknowledgeandpower]

Plenary 3

 Yesterday’s plenary was a pleasant surprise.  I expected speaker Bobbie Ridgely to discuss many complex issues regarding the STEM field and discuss her career in a way that would not be relatable or understood by a lot of the people attending the plenary, but she did not.

My favorite part of talk was a discussion she shared with us about a conversation with her father.  She said that when you was younger and using her father’s pickup truck to do chores, she crashed his truck.  She went to go tell him the bad news, and he asked her two questions. 1) “Are you hurt?” She said no.  2) “Can you keep working?”  She said yes.  He responded ”Okay, then finish what you were supposed to do.”

Now in college as a mechanical engineer major, she failed her first exam.  She was distressed and called her dad and he asked her two question.  1) “Are you hurt?” She said no.  2) “Can you keep working?”  She said yes.  He responded “Okay, then finish what you were supposed to do.”

I thought this what a very empowering story & good advice.  Sometimes it seems like you reach a point where something bad has happened and you don’t know what to do, when in reality it is not as bad as you may think.  You have the power to keep going and accomplish whatever you want.

[drcknowledgeandpower]

Plenary #3

I loved this Plenary!!!! I was so excited about it when I heard the speaker was an engineer but it was even better than I thought it would be! Bobbie Ridgely first started telling us how she has her bachelors and masters degree in mechanical engineering. She explained how she worked in the Telecom industry for about 25 years and that she got her first management job when she was about 30 years old. I was really happy to hear that she got a management job as an engineer because women especially in the STEM fields have difficulty getting leadership. 

Then she went on to tell us all about the Future of Hope organization which she is the executive director for. I thought it was really cool that the organization goes and helps rebuild homes and helps families that are low income or disabled people that were affected by hurricane Sandy.

 My favorite part of her speech was when she was telling us about the 2 key non-technical skills she learned that she needed for everyday life. The first one was to engage in the community around you. She was explaining how everyone should really get out and experience different things and get to know people around them. 

 The second key non-technical skill really inspired me which was the idea of grit. She explained how when something brings you down you got to find something that will help you get back up. It really touched my heart when she said this because I could totally relate to this. She explained how when she was in school and she would get a bad grade she would call up her dad and her dad would ask her the two questions: Is anyone hurt? Can you keep going? She would respond no to being hurt and yes to keep going. This shows how in life many people face big obstacles that bring them down but the most important thing is to have the confidence in yourself to get back up.  

[drcknowledgeandpower]

Plenary #3: Bobbie Ridgely

Today’s plenary was not what I expected it to be at all. I am not a STEM major, so I automatically assumed I would not be interested in it at all. I expected a whole bunch of science talk, but it was not like that at all. 

My absolute favorite part of the plenary was when Bobbie mentioned the two questions that her father always asked her, “Is anyone hurt?” and “Can you keep doing it?” Those two questions stuck with me throughout the day, and I asked myself those questions and tried to answer them. 

Today, I had a criminology exam, and I don’t think I did as well as I had hoped, so I asked myself, “Is anyone hurt?” No, no one was hurt, and neither was I. I also asked myself, “Can I keep doing it?” and the answer was, “yes” because not doing well on one exam should not stop me from going after what I want to do with my life.

Sometimes, not having to plan everything out, and go by the book is not always a bad thing, I learned I should go after what I want to do, no matter what obstacles get in my way.

“Are you hurt?”

“Can you keep doing it?”

I will be asking myself those questions in almost every situation I come across.

[drcknowledgeandpower]

Plenary 3

I was lucky to get the chance to meet Pam Fessler during the luncheon the day before the plenary. I found her to be really interesting because she has had such cool experiences as a journalist. The media is a really important force in defining society and culture, for better or worse, and it is good to meet someone in the industry who is thoughtful about the subjects she writes about. The news industry ranges from pretentious to outrageous to sensationalist. It is difficult for them to find a good compromise with being appealing to the general reader and still have good, unbiased, important news. I liked hearing her thoughts of the news industry.

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Plenary 3/ Pam Fessler

 Pam Fessler was a great speaker and a genuine person. Her speech was about the poverty. She talks about how homelessness and hunger can make people feel so weak in the society. She pointed out a great point that hard work does not prevent you from being poor because many times bad luck can make you poor it does not matter how much you work hard. I totally agree with her because I see many people who work hard even for years and getting low wages and poor life styles. On the other hand, people with good fortune are not doing hard work but getting a good job or succeeding in life. After all life’s circumstances affect people a lot. It is not always true that if you study hard or work hard you will be rich or successful. I like Pam Fessler addressing it to the world by her news reporting profession. She also claims that in today's’ society poverty can identify differently. If someone has i-phone or television in their home it does not mean that they are not poor. We should help people who is homeless and going from a terrible time in their life. We should help them even if they do not want our help. Pam is an women and I am really proud of her incredible work on poverty and leading others’ to help needy people and diminish the poverty; which are obstacles for poor people to not enjoying the life how the middle class people do or specifically who has a home to live and three times to eat and have some laughter in a day. I always had a thought of helping needy people and I did to distribute clothes, foods, or any help they needed but I want to help them by socially making a strong support network for them like Fessler.

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Pam Fessler Plenary #3

This week’s plenary was very informative to you and quite enjoyable. I never realized how much poverty is around us, and it doesn't allow show from the outside as we think it would. I never grew up poor so it was a little bit of a culture shock to me. At the same time, I know have the knowledge that you should never assume anything. The stories she talked about really enlightened me and grabbed my attention. Honestly, the entire plenary was that engaged but the stories that she told was a wake up call. 

When she talked about NPR, it was so cool. I had never heard about it but I am so happy I know what it is now. Women should be telling stories from their point of view. Even though I am not going into journalism, I will use her story-telling techniques  to speak in front of my students so they want to learn more about the topic as she did. NPR is where it is at and young people should continue to listen to it because it is great

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Plenary #3- Pam Fessler

This week’s plenary encourages me to look at poverty and inequality in a set of new eyes. Coming from a developing country, I have never been aware of this issue as I should have been. So now that I am thinking about it, I realize that most of the people from my hometown_Ho Chi Minh City_ were poor. They have to struggle everyday to make ends meet, the circumstances are worse when they have a big family to provide for. The kids would have to get off school early to walk around the city selling lottery tickets or help out at their mothers’ vendors. Most of these families do not own a house, so they live on a boat (a very compact Vietnamese fishing boat, to be exact, since most of them came from the countryside looking for a ‘better life’ in the city), which floats around in the deserted area of the Saigon river. This image of poverty of my own country appeared in my mind when Pam Fessler played the recording of her interview with a man whom daughter was murdered by the local gang. It was an eye-opening experience to listen to her and acknowledging that no one should ever suffer from poverty, especially when it is preventable. I greatly respect Pam Fessler’s profession and I think that journalism should be encouraged for younger generation to make a difference in this world where honest human interaction is hindered by technology.