Smithtown High School 'Female Power Brunch" including two ConnectToTech professional role models

The day went smoothly, the students enjoyed the opportunity to learn about various careers from interesting and inspiring speakers, they connected with their table mentors and had nothing but positive things to say about the event... the Female Power Brunch keeps getting better every year!

Sayville School District Teacher after ConnectToTech Volunteer Speaks about Long Island's Role in the Moon Landings

The presentation yesterday was awesome! The students loved our speaker...what a treat to have him so willing to work with students and share his experience, insight and stories!

Nassau BOCES Barry Tech Center teacher following tour of CA Technologies

We had a terrific visit and our students were very excited about the field of software after hearing from many employees and touring the facility. Thank you very much for assisting in the connection of Nassau BOCES and CA Technologies!

Merrick Middle School teacher thanking participants in the annual Engineering Career Day for Middle and High School students:

I just wanted to extend our deepest thanks from the faculty, staff and especially the students of Merrick Avenue Middle School. Your participation in our Engineering Career Day made it a smashing success! The overall student response was overwhelmingly positive and several students have approached me and the other Technology and Science department faculty to tell us how excited they were to witness your company's products and processes. I look forward to next year in the sincere hope that you will be able to join us again and continue to imbue our students with the excitement that only engineering and technology can provide! Again, my deepest thanks!

Sewanhaka High School students following participation in Stony Brook University's "Fun in Engineering Day" for high school students:

I wanted to personally thank you for making our day at Stony Brook possible. It was a great experience for me and I loved the fact that we were able to fully get an idea of a college campus and walk around on one. I really appreciate the funds that were put into this trip and I had a great time with all the activities. Visiting labs in different areas of science and engineering was a fun experience that was benficial to my decision for picking a career in the future and I learned a lot!

Thank you for organizing the WISE program at Stony Brook, the events were fascinating and really cool. The mini-projects in the beginning were really interesting, as were the tours and the student/adult panel.

Thank you so much for spending the time and money to provide us with an awesome trip around your campus! It was really nice to see real engineers at work and to walk around the campus seeing real college work! You guys really encouraged me to pursue engineering as a woman!

Sewanhaka High School teacher following participation in Stony Brook University's "Fun in Engineering Day" for high school students:

THANK YOU!!!! The students that I brought to Stony Brook yesterday came from 4 different classes here at Sewanhaka. I just had one of the teachers come in and tell me that the students had such a good time they cannot stop talking about it. They are taking automotive technology and were so impressed to learn that shock absorbers vibration is being harnessed as energy. The young ladies got so much out of the day!!!! Thank you for including my students!!

Sewanhaka High School teacher and students following class field trip to CA Technologies:

The students were very excited about CA and about the IT field after their visit. The facility is really state-of-the-art!! I really appreciate all the time and effort ou put into coordinate this opportunity! And also a big thank you to all of you for sharing your experiences and career tips with us!

"...the tour of your facility has truly opened not only my eyes, but it is safe to say all who participated to the endless possibilities available throughout the IT field... the data center was pretty cool! It was almost futuristic and amazed me at how much was automated ... it was extremely inspiring and makes me want to work harder toward my goal ... being able to hear from people about their experiences is something I will reflect on constantly in the future ... I had a great time and was influenced not to give up due to your colleagues' speeches ... what I liked best is learning about mainframe workers which opened a career choice for me that I never knew existed.

Smithtown High School teacher following STEM Career Day in the high school:

"I would like to express my gratitude to all of you for participation in the Lunch & Learn about STEM Careers today at Smithtown High School. Students were touched in many ways by your words. You have made a difference in someone's life today and for that you should be very proud of yourselves!"

For example, (student name) just stopped by my office. You spoke with her yesterday and made quite the impression on her. She had been torn between her love for Science and her love for Business. You put some things in perspective for her! :) You made a difference in her life in just the few minutes you spent talking with her!"

Sewanhaka High School teacher following job shadow / mentor day at CA Technologies:

"... they came back raving about the company and how well they were treated... the students told me all about the data center, which they found very impressive, as well as the mainframes which they have never seen before. The students summed it up with "It was awesome"!

An Information Systems career path can seem vague to them and having the opportunity to actually see a real workplace and talk with people in the field is so valuable!"

ConnectToTech volunteer following participation in William Floyd career day:

Thanks so much for the opportunity to participate. I think we got just as much out of it if not more than the students did!! Keep me in mind for future events.

William Floyd High School Business Education teacher / event coordinator following ConnectToTech participation at annual career day:

Thank you for organizing such a great group of speakers to represent technology. The feedback from the kids was amazing! Without the help of our business partners, we would never be able to run such a successful event!

Three Village / Ward Melville High School business teacher following class tour of Motorola facilities:

Thank you for hosting students from Ward Melville High School CISCO class, they had a wonderful time. The students were impressed with all the technology. The career education that they received was extremely valuable and hopefully will help them make better career decisions.

Thank you for all the planning and taking the time to help educate our students.

Our Lady of Mercy Academy Business Technology Department following in-school presentations by ConnectToTech volunteers:

I would like to thank Barbara Porter, Sushama Viswathmula, Lauren Holmes and Cynthia Hoskey who came to our school yesterday, March 24. Their presentations were excellent. They informed the students of the opportunities available to women in the technology field and the students showed interest in the presentation. I have gotten nothing but positive feedback from the students.

It was good of the speakers to take time out from their busy schedules to come to the school. I would definitely like to have speakers come again next year.

Sewanhaka High School School-to-Career Counselor following annual high school career day at Stony Brook University:

Student reviews of the 2011 High School STEM Career Day at Stony Brook University sponsored by Women in Science and Engineering, TechPREP and ConnectToTech attended by 60 girls from 6 schools and organizations:

"...Visiting Stonybrook and learning about the WISE program was a great experience. It is really important that young women in college are helping girls in high school get involved in technology, science, math and engineering careers. ..."

"...I enjoyed coming to Stonybrook so much. Doing those fun labs were fun, the beaker one, the clay boat one and the sound-waves one. My favorite was the clay boat one because it was fun getting to use our hands, create something and see how well it would do ... Overall I loved this trip, i was able to learn and have fun at the same time, outside closed walls in a classroom. I also see that Stonybrook lays as an option for me in the near future (my cousin also goes here) and they showed me that Women are indeed striving in these engineering and Science fields today. ..."

Massapequa High School School-to-Career Counselor following annual career fair:

We would like to take the opportunity to Thank You for your participation in our 3rd Annual Technology & Health Care Career Fair. We really appreciate you taking the time to meet with our students and share your career advice with them. We have received extremely positive feedback from the over 600 students that participated in this event. They really enjoyed meeting and speaking to you about your career field and experiences. You have definitely helped them to consider their future career options and left them with the message that they can find a career that they will love!

Stony Brook University professor following engineering senior-project review:

"Just want to say thank you for coming to mentor our students. Your inputs and advice are very valuable to our students. Most importantly, your encouragement and interests are very inspiring to them. We can't say thank you enough...."

Technology company executive located outside of Long Island upon the launch of the new web site:

"...The newsletter and the web site look great! I'm also going to forward to my 3 High School kids. Keep up the great work!..."

Sewanhaka High School Students after company tour:

“ … I learned so much about things I’ve never known. I was introduced to new career fields that I actually might consider. Out of all the careers that I’ve learned from that day, Industrial Design was what sparked my interest…. You can take classes and work hard until you become good at it…you will eventually achieve your goals; you should never doubt yourself ….”

“ … I’ve learned through you that it takes persistence and teamwork to create the perfect product. You’ve opened up my eyes to new possibilities, to new career opportunities …”

East Islip High School teacher after company tour:

“There have been many times since our visit that I have referenced the technology at Motorola in order to help students better understand our curriculum content. The trip has greatly enhanced our program and provides for a greater level of understanding and application by our students.”

East Islip High School students after company tour:

“I liked seeing how a real Datacenter actually works”… “The Industrial Design center was very interesting. It opened my mind to a career that I had never heard of.”

Center Moriches High School student after job shadow experience:

“As a result of this experience, I learned that Graphic Design is used in so many different areas. I enjoyed my time with all the different specialists. … I am looking forward to becoming a Graphic Designer and having so many choices as to what I want to do with my skills.”