Chinese Food or Therapy?

Ahhh I remember my first taste of Penn State Engineering like it was yesterday. It was mostly sweet, but it came with a major kick.

I arrived at Penn State early. Five days early to be exact. You may wonder, "Why would you do that? Didn't you want to spend your last days at home with your family before making the big move to college? Didn't you want to soak up the last moments with your best friends?" Yes, yes I did. BUT, Penn State was calling me, and I was ready to go.

I had registered to come to Penn State five days early months in advance. Who would want to come to school early? Probably some crazy nerd. Correct.

I came to Penn State to participate in the Women in Engineering Program Orientation, or as we sweetly called it, WEPO. These women were going to be my mentors, friends, and support group for the next four years, and I was ready to kick butt... but then it finally hit me that I had to leave my parents and the dam broke loose. I was a mess of tears and snot, and to be honest, I was a little nervous of everyone's first judgement of me.

Ooo look at her. She's such a baby. She's crying. I'm not even going to miss my parents. Blah, blah, blah.

Well guess what? I'm the baby of the family, and yes I was sad, and yes I was going to miss them. A lot. I still do. But I went to the bathroom, gave myself a pep talk, and walked into that conference room with the best look of confidence I could offer through the redness and puffiness of my eyes.

Oh, but that's when my Penn State experience started to taste so sweet. My mentors immediately treated me like I was their very best friend, and to this day, we're still best friends. I got the awh me too, girl, me too look. I was no longer alone and no longer judged. On that very first day, my mentors took me in under their wings and made me feel like I belonged to a new family. A family of women engineers.

Throughout the conference, I worked on my design skills and my teamwork abilities, but that's not the exciting part. The best part of my three-day-pre-classes-women-engineers-nerdy conference was the friends I made. Upon arrival, I met a group of girls who had interests. Interests that were the same as mine.

Weird. There are actually people that like the same things I do. 

I came from a graduating class of 47 students, so I had not found many students that matched my drive and compassion. On that first day of WEPO, though, I found my people. That was the sweet part. I made some of my best friends on those few days before classes started, and I have sweet nostalgia for that not-so-nerdy conference.

Then, came the kick. Cheryl Knobloch, director, mother, teacher, friend, SUPERWOMAN, brought us all together and was in charge of leading the conference. Well, the kick of the conference at least. (My sweet mentors led all of the fun.) Cheryl, who I so fondly look up to today was the one who told all of us to get out there and chase our dreams. She made me and all the other girls at WEPO feel so welcomed and so confident in our decision to become engineers. Cheryl also prepared for all of us to meet with about 30 employers at a networking reception and career dinner. Now let me clarify: I had just graduated high school. I felt like a child. I hadn't even taken a college class at Penn State yet. I barely knew what engineering was. AND I WAS MEETING WITH EMPLOYERS. EMPLOYERS FROM BIG COMPANIES. EMPLOYERS WHO WOULD DECIDE MY FUTURE.

To say the least, I was pretty nervous. Well guess who had that under control? Cheryl. Cheryl had us sit through workshops, resume sessions, fashion shows, and dinner etiquette packets, so that we felt ready when it was time to meet with the bigwigs. Boy, did her work pay off. I felt so confident and so ready to make it big when the employers showed up and it was finally time for me to put myself out there for the future. Cheryl provided the kick. She gave me the kick to be a better student, better engineer, and better person in order to shape my professional life. Cheryl gave me the kick I needed to chase my dreams.

Today, Cheryl is still providing that kick for me and women engineers of all sorts. She hosts a session called WEP Wednesdays about twice a month. Every other week I get to meet up with my mentors and all the friends I made from WEPO and we learn about how to take advantage of all the opportunities Penn State has to offer. WEP Wednesdays are a HUGE act of kindness in general. However, this week was special.

Cheryl, with her all-knowing intuition and highly-developed sense of knowing exactly what we need and when we need it, had Chinese at WEP Wednesday. I repeat Chinese. FREE CHINESE FOOD. I'm honestly not sure who wouldn't have been excited.

I looked to one of my best friends beside me and she said, "Well today just went from a zero to a ten." She also told me she was coming down with the plague and had to leave for her four-hour chemistry lab in about a half an hour. I think it's understandable for me to say that I think she needed the Chinese food.

To be honest, we all needed the Chinese. But this isn't about just Chinese food or just a free meal (although most college kids love Chinese and I know all college kids love a free meal). But this act of kindness meant so much more.

For all of us women engineers who attend WEP Wednesdays, Cheryl is a beacon of hope for all of us. College is hard. Engineering is especially hard. Becoming an engineer as a woman... I don't know why we even attempt. (Just kidding, it's because we're good at it). In all honestly though, Cheryl goes above and beyond to make us feel like our loads are just a little less heavy.

WEP Wednesdays are not only about our professional lives, but they're about friendship, hope, love, encouragement, mentorship, and so much more. Cheryl just follows it all up with a little kick.