As many of you are hopefully aware, the RCU has been conducting meetings at several regionals and the championship event over the years- we were wondering, what day of competition works best for you? The demands are different for everyone, but we’d love to get an idea of generally what time people are free and would like to meet other women in engineering!
And while I’m here, I’ll get it started… I’ve enjoyed the Thursday meetings so far, because it’s the quietest day, although sometimes at regionals the whole team doesn’t come until Friday, so some girls have to miss out… What does everyone else think?
I found a great success with a FRIDAY meeting at last year’s NJ Regional. In fact, I’m hoping for a repeat success this year. My suggestion is
a) wait until Friday, because like Julia said, it’s hard to predict whether entire teams will be around (or just the folks uncrating/setting up).
b) Hang up flyers around the venue (in bathrooms especially!) on Thursday, thus giving girls ample time to decide if this is what they want to do.
c) TALK IT UP. Go around and meet teams. Last year, I literally took a stack of flyers, went into the pits, and asked to talk to at least ONE girl on EVERY team. I handed out a flyer and said “hey, come to this, even if you aren’t sure what you’re interested in.” Turned out, some of the parents egged on the girls to come. Worked out wonderfully.
See if you can find a quiet spot in the venue somewhere. Some venues are done at colleges, find out if there’s a spare room in the building somewhere you and an adult can have access to. Or, ask your Regional Director in advance if you can “borrow” the judges room or the volunteer room for a half hour. Most people in FIRST try to be very accommodating.
Hope this helps!
[edit] I added a copy of the flyer I gave out last year. It’s VERY simple, but I only had a b&w printer at the time.