SNAME Student News
Special Feature
of the
July 1, 2006 Issue of the
SNAMeNewsLetter
Student Leadership Training Program a Success!
The very first Student Chair-Elect Seminar was held June 2nd and 3rd at the Saddlebrook Resort, alongside the long-running and successful Chair-Elect Seminar. All in all, the new student program can be considered a success! A total of 22 students attended the seminar. They represented 18 (of SNAME’s 24) Student Sections and 4 Student Steering Committee officers. The goals of the program were to educate these up and coming leaders about SNAME, the value contained in a SNAME membership, and offer pointers about how to run a successful Student Section. A by-product of the event was the networking and newly formed friendships between and amongst students and professionals (including Sectional, Regional, and National leaders of SNAME).
Student leaders participated in a variety of events geared towards training them to be the next generation of SNAME and industry leaders. More specifically, the program provided insights to our young leaders on how to run an effective Student Section. SNAME gains most of its student members from Student Sections, and it is from this “pool” that SNAME draws its Associate and Full Members. By helping our Student Sections, we are helping attract young members who will stay for the lifetime of their careers, if not longer. The Student Chair-Elect Seminar helped educate the newly elected Student Section chairs, so that they could better represent SNAME to their fellow students.
First annual student photo on the bridge!
While at Saddlebrook, the students split their time between joint events with Local Section leaders and events specifically held for students. Students sat in and voiced their opinions on several topics related to general membership, scholarship programs, and SNAME’s new knowledge management plan. A portion of their time was also spent learning about Student Section operations, and discussing ways in which they can improve how and what their Student Section does over the course of the school year. Above all else, the student leaders were able to learn more about SNAME in general, why SNAME is important to them and their careers, and why that information should be taken back to their respective schools and shared with their classmates.
The Student Steering Committee would like to thank the numerous SNAME Sections, as well as individual members and businesses, whose donations made the Student Chair-Elect Seminar possible. Finding and keeping the younger generation of naval architects and marine engineers is a top priority of SNAME. We believe that the Student Chair-Elect Seminar will prove to be a very successful tool in combating student member loss. Based on the positive feedback from students and SNAME leadership alike, we hope that this new student program becomes a permanent addition of the annual Saddlebrook program.
Report submitted by Matt Unger, Chair, Student Steering Committee
Click here for more photos of classes, cocktails, and the annual pool volley ball game!