First Semester Recap
First semester we accomplished a lot, developed a strong sense of community, and had a lot of fun along the way. The organization began the year by attracting dedicated and enthusiastic members at O-fest. We had a huge turn out and kicked off the semester with a strong showing at our first meeting. Meetings continued over the semester to share updates, gain feedback, and make members’ visions become a reality. One of our main focuses this semester was our Outreach events. After weeks of planning, we travelled to St. Agnes of Bohemia in Chicago over Fall break to work with elementary school students. We taught them the basics of heart physiology, electrical circuits, and some coding fundamentals for an EKG Arduino and hoped to inspire them to continue working towards their goals, no matter how large or small. We continued the outreach events by going to the Milwaukee Academy of Science and focused more on the coding and heart physiology with high school students interested in STEM. Their enthusiasm and desire to learn was inspiring, and we are proud of the connections our members made with these students. Our members also brainstormed ideas for an organization-wide project to work on throughout the year, which we hope to submit to an innovation competition in May. We also highlighted the work of a member and former organization president, Martin Rodriguez, who did research at Wake Forest Medical College this past summer. He presented his research on stem cell development to our members at a general body meeting and encouraged those interested in research to pursue undergraduate opportunities. Finally, and most importantly, the club developed a strong partnership with Rockwell Automation, which has helped us continue to grow and increase our impact. We are very excited for what lies ahead!
