Through the Eyes of a Student: Evening with Industry 2016

My name is Gabriella Kobany and I am currently a junior at the University of Nevada, Reno studying Electrical Engineering.  I found out about SWE’s Evening with Industry through mutual friends I have in the club and was fortunate enough to get my ticket free through the department chair of electrical engineering. I attended Evening with Industry in order to gain networking experience and practice as well as to learn more about companies in my town. I currently intern with a company that relates closely with my field and was able to talk with some of my coworkers at the event during the “mocktail” hour. I was also able to walk around and meet with various companies that related to all fields of engineering. I decided to sit with a company I was unfamiliar with because I felt I would get the most out of the event this way. I ended up sitting with a company that designed and installed vents within several buildings in town. We were able to break the ice with a building challenge that we unfortunately lost. We found out electrical engineers aren’t the best at creating stable fixtures! Once dinner was served, I had a lot of time to talk with the people at my table.  It was very interesting not only learning about the company but hearing the stories of the higher up management of the company.  We discussed how exciting it was that electrical engineering was such a diverse field and that my life could turn in so many directions after graduation.  It was refreshing to be able to hear people’s stories rather than to push my qualifications and experience on them as other professional settings typically go.  As a Junior in engineering, I admire engineers in the field and love hearing the stories of how they got to the position they are in now. With graduation approaching relatively soon, I turn to these stories to help me decide the path I want to follow. Once the event was over, I exchanged information with the CEO of the company which will be really beneficial in the long run. Evening with Industry showed everyone the importance of networking in order to gain a large pool of acquaintances in the engineering field. Overall, Evening with Industry was very well organized and a great opportunity for engineering students to network with the various companies in town.