The Bridge: Geer Week Edition January Issue

Welcome back!

2 0 1 8 January Edition

GEER WEEK

76

The Bridge

January 2018

GEER WEEK BY THE NUMBERS

40+

$1,601.25 raised for the Stollery

volunteers

Children’s Hospital Foundation

34 people donated blood to

240

Canadian Blood Services

Engineering Ball tickets sold

375 + $125

513

items donated to the Campus Food Bank

Battle of the Bands tickets sold

124

564 Individuals competed

spelling bee words spelled correctly

in at least one event

1,000+

22

Students attended

events over

2

8

days

The Bridge

January 2018

CONTENTS FEATURE

Ask Stacey: Engineering Employment

Centre (EEC)

4

AVP Publications Solbee Seo / Marianne Rosal

Jr. Editors Abby Paul

Aishwarya Venkitachalam

Derek Shultz

Krizelle Mendoza

Marianne Rosal

Megan Rowbottom

GEER WEEK NEWS

7

Engineering Spelling Bee

Canstruction

Scavenger Hunt

Geer Week Movie Night

Debate

8

9

10

14

Design Competition

15

17

17

Geer Week Score Sheet

18

Geer Week Quiz

19

CAMPUS NEWS

Career Fair 2018

CFES Congress

DIVERSIONS

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January 2018

Ask Stacey: Engineering Employment Centre

by Megan Rowbottom

The Bridge has paired up with Stacey Sayler from the Engineering Employment Centre to answer your pressing questions about resumes, interviews, and more!

Q: How can I become better at interviews?

(2nd year Electrical/Computer)

you need to get better at in order to perform well in the role? Why are you the best

A: This is a challenging question to answer in a few short paragraphs. However, I would say that 4 keys to getting better at interviews include: Reflection (know yourself), Research (know the company, and what their hiring need is), Practice (get comfortable talking about yourself), and Attitude.

candidate?

Reflection: Why are you interested in working

Research: One key way to set yourself apart from the competition is to research the company, position, industry, and interviewers.

Having a base-level understanding of what the company does, who it serves, how the department you’re interviewing with fits into the company’s larger picture, and what role you’d play if hired can help you ensure you talk about the right things. Understanding key industry trends and how they are, or could, impact the company can also contribute to you being seen as a more qualified candidate.

Having answers to these questions and being able to incorporate them into the responses you give during an interview will help you ensure you’ve done your best.

for the company? Why are you interested in the role? How do your values and work preferences fit the company’s operating structure, values, culture? What strengths do you have (both technical and soft skills) that will enable you to meet or exceed the position’s requirements? What experience has prepared you for the role? How and why have you been successful in the past (education, employment, volunteer, extracurricular activities, etc.)? How does the position fit with your short-term and long-term career goals?

Which areas, technical or soft skills, would 4

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January 2018

Practice: We’ve all heard that practice makes

For more detailed information on the above,

perfect, and the same applies to interviewing.

and additional strategies you can use to

If you’re unable to find someone to conduct a

ensure you do your best at future interviews,

mock interview with you, consider asking

I’d recommend attending one of the EEC’s

yourself the question and recording your

upcoming Acing an Interview workshops later

answer. When listening to your answer, put

this month, reading our Interview Skills & Tips

yourself in the role of a hiring manager – what

and Sample Questions handouts, and

would impress you about what you said? What

checking out some of the Job Search

wouldn’t? When preparing for interviews I’d

Resources identified on our Engineering Your

advise against memorizing answers as delivery

Career: Access Helpful Resources handout.

can come across as robotic and insincere.

Q: What’s the best way to answer the “tell In addition, joining groups like Toastmasters to

me about yourself” question in an

develop your overall communication skills, and

interview? (2nd Year Environmental)

conducting informational interviews (where you’re interviewing someone working in a role

A: By asking you to “tell me about yourself,”

you might be interested in having in 10+ years)

interviewers get a sense of what you see as

can help prepare you to communicate

being most important, and also your ability to

effectively.

handle unstructured questions on the fly. What they’re hoping to learn from your answer is:

Attitude & Personal Attributes: Hiring

Can you do the job? Will you do the job? And,

managers often express that attitude plays a

will you fit in with the team and company

key role in who’s offered the position. Your

culture?

body language and words need to

“4 keys to getting better at

c o m m u n i c a t e c o n fi d e n c e , i n t e r e s t ,

interviews include: Reflection (know yourself), Research (know the company, and what their hiring need is), Practice (get comfortable talking about yourself), and

enthusiasm, and positivity. In addition, you should convey traits you have that align with their hiring need. Examples might include: critical thinking, willingness to learn, ability to listen, dedication, team player, customerfocused, results-oriented, self-motivation, resilience, ability to work independently, hardworking, etc.

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January 2018

For example:

If you answer the questions in the Reflection paragraph in the prior question,you should

“I love all sports, particularly soccer, and am an enthusiastic traveler, who’s always up for the next adventure. I grew up playing soccer where I developed strong teamwork skills and leadership qualities. Being involved at an elite-level of soccer, discipline and the ability to prioritize was critical to achieving success on the field, along with quality time with family and friends and meeting my academic goals. In addition to soccer, I’ve spent time camping, hiking and snowmobiling, and am the type of person that’s most comfortable working outside.”

have a strong answer to this question.

For additional insight to answering this question check-out the “Answering Difficult Questions” section of the EEC’s Interview Skills & Tips handout.

Look for the Google Form in your weekly EnggLink to submit your questions for the EEC. They will be answered in the next editions of The Bridge!

The above communicates key traits that could be important, particularly for a field role, and also could help the interviewer determine whether or not you’d fit in. However, it fails to communicate anything about engineering or convey that you can do the job. Be sure your answer to this question also incorporates: •

your degree program and status, why you’re taking it, and what you’re learning that’s relevant to the role;

•

any key skills and experience related to the role (i.e., equipment, software, project management, etc.) whether from coursework, employment or volunteer activities; and

•

why you’re interested in the role and working for their company.

6

The Bridge

January 2018

Engineering Spelling Bee

by Abby Paul In yet another attempt to try and prove that, yes, engineering students are literate, the Engineering Spelling Bee was held on Thursday, January 18, 2017 at Dewey’s as a part of the Geer Week festivities. This event saw disciplines try to outlast each other in an attempt to win points for their team (and, more importantly, drink tickets).

The rules of the spelling showdown were simple: each discipline started with five spellers, who all took turns attempting a spell word read out by the judges. Spellers were allowed to ask for the word used in a sentence as well as its country of origin. If a word was spelled incorrectly, the speller was eliminated, and the discipline with the last speller standing won the competition. One by one, the spellers were eliminated. Words ranged from challenging, like “pneumatic” to downright simple, like “I.” Some were humbled by homonyms, while some forgot the all-important “‘i’ before ‘e,’ except after

1st: CompE 2nd: ChemE 3rd: MecE

‘c,’” despite the number of times that phase was chanted.

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January 2018

Canstruction

by Marianne Rosal

Newton’s equations of motion and their significance as fundamental engineering equations have been imprinted on engineering students since our first year.

How well this equation is put into practice is demonstrated with CANSTRUCTION, a competition of philanthropy and technical competency. Each discipline club began by collecting preserved canned goods to donate to the Campus Food Bank. However, before they were donated, the items were used to build a self-supporting stable structure (canned jenga, anyone?) in the allotted time. Each structure was judged based on height, creativity, and of course, the ability to uphold Newton’s laws of motion for zero net force (sorry, mechanical engineers, no acceleration here). This competition is an excuse for engineering students to kick the can for the day, and donate to charity in the process. Can anyone think of a better way to procrastinate?

1st: MecE 2nd: PetE 3rd: CivE 8

The Bridge

January 2018

Scavenger Hunt

by Abby Paul

From SUB to Whyte Avenue to flea markets around Edmonton, engineering students were showing their discipline pride at the Scavenger Hunt, taking place on Monday, January, 15. This year, participants were asked to find items ranging from an ordinary rubber duck to a car older than 1960, either by bringing them in, or posing for a picture to show the judges. Teams were also asked to choreograph dances, went caroling, and made a human pyramid, all to gather the most points for their discipline.

Each item, picture, or activity resulted in points awarded to the team. After the 8:30 pm deadline, participants went to the Room at the Top while the judges tallied each team’s score.

1st: CivE 2nd: MecE 3rd: MatE

Some activities teams that were asked to complete:

• • • • • • • • •

were asked Some items that to find:

98

• A penny from 19 s Pizza • Fifteen Domino’ boxes

• A snorkel

completely • A chip that has elf

curved in on its ance

• A Gameboy Adv • A cactus

• An iron ring

• A pair of CrocsDonair • A Tombstone

Getting a free sample.

Dunking a basketball.

Shaking a police officer’s hand.

Starting a flashmob in SUB.

Recreating The Last Supper.

The Mannequin Challenge.

Cartwheeling 10 metres.

Making a life-size snowman.

Mummifying a team member with toilet paper.

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The Bridge

January 2018

Geer Week Movie Night

MecE - Trailer Park Mecs The Trailer Park Mecs (Ricky,

by Derek Shultz Couches lined the crescent of

Julian, and Bubbles) is a satire of the Trailer

ETLC E1-001. An excited murmur hangs in

Park Boys TV Series. The Mec E hoodlums

the air. Somewhere, a popcorn kernel pops.

decide to commit a series of pranks on

Welcome to the GEER Week Movie Night.

unknowing students such as stealing money

ESS representatives try to talk over

off of their OneCard.

the buzz of the crowded theatre. When they

finally get everyone’s attention, they explain

the rules of Movie Night: each discipline produces a short movie that reflects its

First Year - S^IT the Movie

An ominous warning from a student

club’s GEER Week theme. The movies are

warns a first-year engineering about

then ranked based on the audience’s

unspeakable horrors. Later, the student is

reaction, video quality, theme relevance,

alone as he walks down the hallways… Or is

originality, and creativity and entertainment

he? A clown is following him! The First

value.

Years' Engineering Club portrays an accurate description of being a first-year student in this psychological adaptation of the It Movie.

CompE - Bingsmen: The Microservice

Cookie, a Bingsmen secret agent, is covertly monitoring another intelligence 10

The Bridge

January 2018

agent when he receives a mission to acquire

what the viewer’s name is, and “AshEE” is

an intelligence chip carried by the enemy

entered on a keypad on the screen. He then

agent. This chip will unlock a device

tells AshEE to choose one of ten Pokémon,

containing important data. The Comp E club

each of which corresponds to a different

brings in a fast-paced action-packed

engineering discipline, but insists that

feature, with a surprising plot-twist finale.

AshEE take Pikachu, EE’s Pokémon. AshEE

sets off on an adventure, with his chosen

Pokemon, battling other engineering Eng. Phys- Rick and Morty

The film begins as Morty is

Pokemon’s. What starts of as a heroic

dragged out of bed by his grandpa Rick to

and sends the viewer into retrospection.

go on adventure: getting Morty to learn

enough to pass his upcoming 7 exams so

Mat E - Material Girl

adventure, ends up breaking the fourth wall

that he doesn’t get kicked out of Engg Phys.

Rick reveals that Ricks from every dimension have been recording all of Morty’s lectures, which can all be uploaded to Morty’s brain using a device. This comedy brings to life an adaptation of the well-loved animated series, illustrating that Eng Phys students do, in fact, live in their own science-fiction world.

EE - PokEEmon

Alum Inum, Titania, Dia Mond, and Polly Ethyl Ene are all competitors in the Material Girl Beauty Pageant. In this comedy, the Mat E club successfully weaves

A professor is grading papers,

narratives of the most

giving F’s to all of them. The professor asks 11

The Bridge

January 2018

important metals used in engineering, pins

BEERCADE Snaps

them according to their strengths and weaknesses, and tells the story of the hard choice that must be faced in the selection of the best material (girl).


 Min E - Gold

Pat Murphy Jr. inherits a mining company from his father and plans to spread it to every country on earth, even those without rich mining resources.

Unfortunately, he is bad at business. He decides to change his mining company to a bitcoin mining company, but runs this company into the ground as well. Min E tells a tale of the struggles of two business partners fighting for a dream in the (bit)mining industry-a dream bearing gold.

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January 2018

Civ E - The Envengers take CivElization

The hero learns that there is danger

GEER WEEK Snaps

on campus, and goes to DICE, where he runs into a bearded man who passes him a note instructing him to meet in “NERF”. The hero goes to NREF, where he overhears a villain talking to a captive. This tale brought by the Civ E/Env E club brings to life a story about a building in distress, and the redemption that comes once a team of civil and environmental heroes come to save the day.

Chem E - Jeb Sends It Jeb D. Nutter comes from smalltown Alberta who just wants to be a miner, but his mom forces him to study Chemical Engineering instead. Upon arriving at university, Jeb starts a vlog to record his experiences. Hilarity ensues when his vlog captures the struggles of the chemical engineering student life with the catchphrase “Send it!”

1st: CompE 2nd: EE 3rd: MecE 13

The Bridge

January 2018

Debate

Arguments were heated; some

by Krizelle Mendoza

rounds had judges stumped due to

notepads and well-reasoned arguments, if

advanced to the finals:

arguments that were equally good (or bad).

Students traded their calculators for

Ultimately, it was ChemE and MecE who

only for a few hours, to participate in the debate. Each discipline submitted two

ChemE vs. MecE:

debaters for the competition. They were

Motion: The opposition’s discipline/field of study is superior to our own.

presented with a motion and given 10 arguments, then debated their ideas with

ChemE: MecE is better than ChemE because they have pride in their discipline,

another team. The winner of the debate was

as evidenced by their merch and

chosen based on the quality and

participation in Geer Week, while ChemE

presentation of each team’s argument.

has a low turnout for Geer Week events.

Several motions were presented with topics

MecE: But doesn’t that show the deep rooted insecurities of MecE’s? ChemE’s not

minutes to brainstorm and develop their

ranging from sports to engineering.

participating in Geer Week clearly shows that they have more discipline and care

CivE vs. MinE:

more about their classes.

Motion: Performance enhancing drugs should be allowed in sports.

ChemE: MecE’s have better employment prospects.

CivE: Education about these drugs is important.

MecE: ChemE’s have contributed more to society; MecE’s just invented cars which

MinE: Drugs are bad.

have caused a lot of deaths.

Winner: CivE

ChemE: But who put the fuel in cars?

CompE vs. CivE:

The MecE’s struggled to find justifiable reasons why ChemE is a much better discipline (which is admittedly almost impossible), so ChemE won the final round and the competition.

Motion: Mac is better than Windows.

CompE: Better user experience, clean design, more secure than Windows.

CivE: Windows is better for gaming, has m o r e s o f t w a r e c o m p a t i b i l i t y, m o r e

1st: ChemE 2nd: MecE 3rd: CompE

customizable.

Winner: CompE

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The Bridge

January 2018

Design Competition

by Marianne Rosal In any engineering discipline, safety is paramount, and there is no better way to demonstrate this notion than an i n t e rd i s c i p l i n a r y e n g i n e e r i n g d e s i g n competition. In this Geer Week event, each competing discipline attempted to design the most secure packaged system for the h i g h - p ro fi l e c l i e n t ,

“James Bond

Industries.” The objective of the design mission was simple: using materials at hand, construct an apparatus that transports two medium-sized raw eggs safely and securely

elastic support system using rubber bands.

down two storeys.

To increase the drag force during the fall, a parachute was fashioned from newspapers.

The competition became more

On the other hand, the Electrical

involved with the stipulation that each club

Engineering club designed the transport

must purchase their materials individually

system for discreteness; the outer shape

within a given budget to simulate real-world

resembled a cone, while the inner schematic

engineering application. After two hours of

was composed of a tubular structure made

planning and constructing, each club

of popsicle sticks, and newspaper padding

presented a schematic and a working

was added on all sides to cushion the eggs

prototype. This year, CIV E, COMP E/

from the fall. Meanwhile, Comp E designed

ENGPHYS, MEC E, EE, MIN E, CHEM E, PET E, and First Year clubs

their transport system, an assembly of 4-bar

tackled this

challenge as each club set to prove who

1st: MecE 2nd: CivE 3rd: MatE

were the best engineering design team.

The confident MEC E team took inspiration from the Alberta Sat Ex-Alta 1 model, which included a rectangular base reinforced with truss members holding up an

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The Bridge

January 2018

mechanisms and trusses, to be a sacrificial structure to absorb impact. Subsequently, the courageous First Year team utilized their ENGG 130 skills by creating a truss structure which held the padded eggs at the center of the truss using a configuration of elastic bands. CIV E relied on their discipline’s knowledge of structural integrity.

Inspired by the design behind cable state bridges, they strengthened their truss transport system by reinforcing the connections with glue and elastic bands.

F i n a l l y, t h e l a s t a n d m o s t distinguishing part of any design competition is the testing of the working prototype. Each designed mechanism was taken to the 4th floor of ETLC and dropped to the 2nd floor, in classic egg-drop style, to verify if the designed packaged system would suďŹƒciently secure the fragile cargo.

From the 11 teams that competed, the designs that successfully held the 2 eggs without breaking were ENGPHYS, MAT E , MEC E, and, less surprisingly, CIV E.

Regardless of whether the teams brought home two intact eggs or cleaned up a spill after a decisive splat, the real takeaway of the competition was not simply to utilize years of engineering analysis, but rather the forging of relationships to establish a working team, allowing engineering innovation to happen.

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The Bridge

January 2018

Career Fair by Marianne Rosal Nothing takes an engineering student out of holiday mode and back into the grind more than a career fair. On January 10 and 11, 2018, students welcomed the winter semester by flocking to the ETLC Solarium for the annual ESS Career Fair. In a span of two days, students, some with resumes in hand, weaved through employment booths, taking the opportunity to introduce themselves to representatives, professional engineers, and prospective employers from more than 40 companies, including WorleyParsons Canada, Schlumberger, Magna IV Engineering and Syncrude.

CFES Congress

by Marianne Rosal On January 2-8, 2018, University of

of the organization for the upcoming year. At

Alberta Engineering Students’ Society

this meeting, the University of Alberta

representatives travelled to Dalhousie

delegates proposed to hold the nation-wide

University to attend

the Canadian

Congress at the University of Alberta for the

Federation of Engineering Students' (CFES)

year 2020. This bid was presented to 51

Congress. The CFES is the bilingual national

e n g i n e e r i n g s t u d e n t o rg a n i z a t i o n s ,

governing body for engineering students’

representing 81,000 engineering students

societies in Canadian universities. Every

across Canada, and, successfully qualified.

year, presidents and vice-presidents from 46

The CFES Congress in 2020 will bring the

engineering-accredited universities in

opportunity to bring Canadian engineering

Canada engage in the week-long retreat

students with a chance to learn from and

which holds the annual General Assembly,

through each other, right here at the

where representatives discuss the direction

17

University of Alberta.

The Bridge

January 2018

GEER WEEK SCORE SHEET Event

ChemE

CivE

CompE

EE

Eng, Phys.

1st Year

MatE

MecE

MinE

PetE

Tech Display

NA

2

8

5

6

NA

1

3

4

7

Dodgeball

1

5

8

10

6

3

7

2

9

4

Tug of War

6

3

7

9

8

10

4

1

2

5

Scavenger Hunt

7

1

5

9

10

8

3

2

6

4

Barrel Races

9

2

6

NA

7

8

4

5

3

1

Movie

9

4

1

2

5

7

6

3

8

NA

Toboggan Races

2

9

NA

6

3

5

7

8

4

1

AYSTAFY?

10

7

7

3

3

1

3

3

2

9

Beer Brew

3

1

8

6

5

9

2

4

10

7

Debate

1

4

3

NA

5

NA

6

2

7

8

Design Competition

4

2

5

8

7

9

3

1

10

6

Spelling Bee

2

4

1

7

10

8

6

3

5

9

Canstruction

6

3

NA

5

NA

NA

4

1

7

2

Band

NA

2

1

5

4

NA

NA

3

7

6

Dance

NA

1

3

5

4

NA

NA

2

6

7

Small Poster

5

7

2

6

1

9

3

4

8

10

Large Poster

9

8

2

5

1

6

3

4

7

10

Godiva

4

8

2

6

5

9

3

1

10

7

Overall

9

2

6

4

8

10

3

1

5

7

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The Bridge

January 2018

GEER WEEK QUIZ 1. Where was Tech Display held? a. Telus World of Science b. ETLC Solarium c. Butterdome 2. When did the Geer Week tradition start? a. 1919 b. 1986 c. 1942 3. Who won Geer Week 75? a. Chemical b. Mining c. Materials 4. Who won Geer Week 76? a. Mechanical b. Civil c. Mining 5. What rap song did CompE cover in Battle of the Bands? a. Lose Yourself by Eminem b. Rockstar by Post Malone ft.

21 Savage c. Dat $tick by Rich Chigga

6. Which charity did Geer Week 76 support monetarily? a. Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation b. Canadian Blood Services c. YESS 7. What is the Geer Week newspaper called? a. The Bridge b. GEER Week Godiva c. GEER News 8. Which was NOT part of the scavenger hunt? a. Recreating the Last Supper b. Dabbing on the haters c. Shaking a police officer’s hand 9. In which Year was the first Engineering Ball held? a. 1939 b. 1942 c. 2011 10. Where was the Design Competition held this year? a. DICE b. Solarium c. NREF 19

Answers: 1a, 2c, 3b, 4a, 5a, 6a, 7b, 8b, 9a, 10b

The Bridge

January 2018

GEER WEEK 76 WINNER: MECHANICAL

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