To keep track of our upcoming events (which include many more awesome Inspiring Women Series lectures, coffee socials, and even a pub night) and get in touch with this year’s exec team, find us at our new little corner of the internet: http://uottawawise.ca/

Hope to see everyone there!

We hope to see you there! As usual, free food and refreshments will be provided. Bring your friends!

C’est le temps pour un dernier événement “Inspiring Women Series” avant les examens! Veuillez nous rejoindre ce lundi le 11 avril de 17:30-19:30 h à STE5084 pour entendre Cate Huston, Ingénieur a Google, donner un discours inspirant!

Espérons vous y voir! Comme d’habitude, il y aura des rafraichissements et des desserts gratuits. Amenez vos amis!

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Cate has a BSc in Computer Science from the University of Edinburgh but escaped from graduate school to be a Software Engineer at Google. She used to be an international hobo, teaching programming in the US and in Shanghai, training in martial arts in China, qualifying as a ski instructor in Canada, and aimlessly wandering around Europe. For now, she lives in Kitchener/Waterloo, Canada. She was the Instigator of Awesome at Awesome Ottawa, and is aco-conspirator for Awesome Foundation KW. You can find her on Twitter (@catehstn) and on her blog, Accidentally in Code http://accidentallyincode.com

We hope to see you there! As usual, free food and refreshments will be provided. Bring your friends!

Déposez vos manuels: c’est le temps pour un autre “Inspiring Women Series” événement! Ce mardi le 29 mars, veuillez nous rejoindre de 18:30-20:30 h à STE5084. Prenant la parole ce mois-ci sera Julie Laurin, entrepreneuse et propriétaire de Silly Robot.

Espérons vous y voir! Comme d’habitude, il y aura des rafraichissements et des desserts gratuits. Amenez vos amis!

Stay connected!

Facebook Group: Women in Science and Engineering (uOttawa)
http://www.facebook.com/inbox/?ref=mb#!/group.php?gid=88075033117&ref=ts
Twitter: @uOttawaWISE
wise@uottawa.ca

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Zombies, robots and beetles, oh my!

There are zombies everywhere. They share the bus with you in the morning. They serve you coffee. They write parking tickets. They teach your kids. They file papers. They attend meetings. Lots of them. Lots and lots and lots of meetings. They want you to be like them. They’ll make it hard for you to not be like them. Resist. Refuse. Reject!

There was a time when robots were just science fiction. When we were kids, we’d laugh at the old sci-fi movies where actors dressed up in tin costumes. And then, one day, I saw a robot on TV. This time, it was real. My uncle said that I’d have to save one hundred loonies to buy it. I was determined to have it.

Did you know that water beetles can see above and below the water at the same time???

What do all of these things have in common? Find out on Tuesday, March 29th.

Julie Laurin is the owner of Silly Robot, a quirkly little web development and publicity company in Ottawa, Ontario. She also runs Ottawafilm.ca and will be launching Her Voice, a community for women in the arts, sometime in 2011. She’s hoping that by sharing her thoughts on business, learning and creativity, she’ll inspire women to explore new avenues for growth, ideas and success.

Runner-up is Candace (Civil Engineering) with 26.1% of the votes — she’ll be receiving a Hot Rocks Pedicure (valued at ~$90).

We’ll be getting in touch ASAP. Congrats girls! Thanks to all who submitted, kept their eyes on our blog, and voted!

Thanks again for all the submissions! Stay tuned, because uOttawaWiSE has some awesome events planned for the end of the semester!

We’ve come a long way, you and I, from a weaker bond to the strongest covalent.   As we near our 4^th year anniversary, it felt fitting to properly order my feelings for you.

In the beginning, after cutting my old flame, Environmental Science, loose, you found me at my most vulnerable.  I suppose what really attracted me was that your degree held a certain factor of safety, a better promise for a long and successful future together.  Or maybe it was that bad-boy, pushing the boundaries of research appeal that really set my heart a flutter.  One might say you were a ‘rebound’, or that you were taking advantage of my need for change, but after a critical analysis I think we fared out okay.

During the early days, as we moved into our honeymoon phase, things couldn’t have been better.  We were in such equilibrium, our future looking so promising; you really couldn’t have seen the coming forces that would test our, then-weak, structural resistance.  I suppose the first standardized test that came our way was when you started becoming so needy, requiring more and more of my time and attention, and forcing, at threat of breakup, the near-abandonment of my former social avenues.  I admit it was tough, and I had a difficult time adjusting to your true inelastic nature, but the harder I worked to keep us static, the more attached I became.

Over the years I laughed and then cried, as your seemingly impossible requests became more frequent.  You tested my limit states like no other relationship ever has.   There was so many times where I wished we could separate, but I knew deep down that, like a well-designed concrete mixture, our union had only increased its strength over time.  And as we find ourselves in our strain-hardened years, it seems I have finally solved the equation of how to deal with your crazy antics.  You were no more than a complicated calculation that drew a tangent to my heart.

But alas, my dear, the time has come for us to bid adieu.  We both knew this was coming, and after everything we have been through I know I will miss you exponentially when I am gone.  But such was the terms of our engagement, our potential had an expiry date, and our kinetic momentum is now reaching the bounds of its energy.  It is time for you to turn your attention over to a new, younger woman, and I to your attractive older brother, Civil Engineering Career.

Farewell my love, it’s been a Fellenius slice.

Candace

If someone had told me two years ago that we would be together, I don’t know if I would have believed them. If they had told me about the special bond we would grow to share, I would have laughed in their face. I was young and naive and I would never have thought that you were my type. Even when I decided to take a risk on you, I wasn’t sure if we would work out. You were so experienced and I didn’t even know what programming was! You were gentle with me the first time, and I can never express enough how much I appreciate that. Over time, we threw caution to the wind and let our passion take us to wonderful places. Surrounded by zeros, it felt as if we were the only ones in the world. Being the only girl that you’re with makes me feel so special.

I look back at all the times we’ve shared and I can’t believe that it’s been a mere seven months. So much has happened so soon. In the beginning, I wasn’t sure if we would last. You put me through the ringer; you’re just so different from anyone or anything I’ve ever encountered before. I had many sleepless nights, worrying about you and preparing for the vicious arguments we would have over chemistry and physics. I am now sure that it was all worth it to be with you. It’s like we’re stuck in an infinite loop of love, but this is one infinite loop I’m happy to be stuck in.

I’m sorry if at times it seems as though I don’t care, I just get frustrated because you demand more of me than I think I can give. I should know you better though; an interface would demand a concrete method before you would do such a thing. Please know that no matter how I may rant and rave about you, I do care. I care about you much more than I ever expected to – I don’t know what I’m going to do without you for four months. We’ll make it through, I know we’ll be okay because we go together like if and else, try and catch, or do and while. We’ll be okay because you have methods to get the insecurities I keep private and set them straight. Take comfort knowing that we’ll be together again come September.

I look forward to that seemingly distant day in our future when we can forever seal our bond with an iron ring. Then the whole world will know at a glance that we belong to each other. I can’t wait! Until then, thank you for always being there for me and for never giving up on me, I promise to always do the same.

Forever yours,

Justine

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

It has been four years since we first met. I remember the first day when I saw around 70 people that liked you. I knew it was going to be hard if I wanted to gain your heart with so many competitors but I never gave up. Some of them gave up after a year or two, but not me. What did I not do for you?

They say university is your second home but because of you, university became my first home. I was so confused that I started calling my competitors, brothers and sisters. I thought SITE is my room, the café is my kitchen and CBY is my basement. Ok the last one is reasonable since let’s be honest, CBY is pretty depressing. I mean have you SEEN how small the windows are? Anyways, they say love will make you blind, I’ve learned that love makes you crazy.

I just want to let you know that I have done everything for you. Look at all the people that were in love. Romeo and Juliet, Aladdin and Jasmine, Batman and Robin. It is true I don’t have a magic carpet to show you “a whole new world” or a genie to make your wishes come true or an awesome looking batmobile. I don’t even have a car because I spent all my money on you! But I stayed up many nights just to be with you didn’t I? I dedicated four years of my life to you didn’t I? I just haven’t drunk poison for you and to be honest I don’t think that will happen. I mean Romeo took CRAZY to a WHOLE NEW LEVEL. Other than that, all I have to say is that I love you Chemical Engineering.

Mahmoud

Here’s how this will work:

This week, the Powers That Be at uOttawaWiSE will start posting the submissions (one per day). Keep an eye on our blog and make sure to glance over every one, because this weekend you can participate in a poll and help us select the two winners! In the mean time, you can put in a good word for some of the entries via wise@uottawa.ca. Good luck to everyone who participated. Winners will be announced next Monday, March 21st.

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It Must Be Love

It must be love. I spent most of the Christmas break finishing up a class project, while my husband and children enjoyed the holidays around me. Only popping my head up for the occasional family celebration.

It must be love. When I received some negative feedback from a professor, the first person I emailed was my supervisor. We even had a late Sunday evening phone call talking about how to fix the problem.

It must be love. For the first time in over 20 years, my husband wanted to take me out for Valentine’s Day (I think he was prompted our daughter). I told him I couldn’t because I had homework to do.

It must be love. I spent Family Day on campus working on homework with my class partner. When one of my daughters finally woke up, she texted me wanting to know why I was working on Family Day.

It must be love. While my oldest daughter, who is in first year at Ottawa U, is enjoying study break, my other daughter wants to know why I’m not available to drive her around this week. I’ve spent most of the week working on assignments.

It must be love. The highlight of my week was an early morning email telling me that the paper I submitted to a conference was selected.

It must be love. My mother is having knee surgery, and I’m writing a love letter to my program as I wait to hear from the doctor.

It has taken me 20 years, but I have finally found a way to combine my passion for technology and psychology. With degrees in both computer science and psychology, and 20 years of high tech experience, raising a family and volunteering, I am back at school and doing research on a project that involves both the Computer Science and Psycho-Linguistics departments. I am a master’s student in Computer Science and I love my program.

Colette Joubarne

Happy writing!

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Dear Biomedical Sciences,

I remember that day… I remember that day when we first met. And let me tell you, I will never forget it. I remember being that lost high school student who was looking into the big, scary world of university. What program was I supposed to apply to? What minors should I take? How did I know this was for me?

And then I heard about you. You had everything- all of the sciences but a strong focus on anatomy and the human body. And I knew then- we had to be together. It was so hard waiting to hear the news. But finally, it was decided. You wanted me just as much as I wanted you. It was love at first acceptance!

These last three years have been indescribable. Hard? Yes. But amazing? Yes. Were there times when I wanted to give up? Of course. But we’re still together.. and stronger than ever. Our relationship has made me a better person- stronger, more determined, a fighter.

Whatever happens in the future, know that you have shaped my life. Because of you, my love, I will live the life that I’ve always dreamed of. I’m so lucky to be able to spend Valentine’s Day with you once again!

Biomedical Sciences, you’re still the one.

Love for always and forever,

Jennifer xox