BSCES Younger Member Group Report

The mission of the BSCES Younger Member Group (YMG) is to foster the professional growth, ethical awareness, and technical competence of the Section’s younger members. The group organizes and encourages community outreach, supports engineering students at local colleges and universities, and encourages membership and participation in ASCE and BSCES committees, institute chapters, technical groups, and other activities.

The YMG typically hosts a minimum of one event each month. These events vary from social events and sports competitions to technical learning opportunities and presentations. The events serve as an opportunity for young engineers and undergraduate students to meet peers, expand their professional networks, and learn about other companies and services within the industry. The events allow for people to have fun while developing technical and soft skills to support their careers while also meeting people that may help them along the way.

Events are organized by the YMG through monthly meetings, which are attended by the YMG committee comprised of over 20 volunteers, and open to all who are interested in joining or learning more. The group uses the meetings as an opportunity to recap past events, plan future events, review the annual budget, and discuss volunteer opportunities. The YMG has also teamed up with other professional organizations in ASCE recently, like the Structural Engineers Association of Massachusetts YMG (SEAMASS) and the Transportation and Development Institute (T&DI), to help foster relationships between professional engineering societies and grow attendance for events. Below is a list of the technical and social events that YMG has hosted this year:

• SEAMASS and YMG - Virtual Game Night
• Virtual Junior Technical Talk
• Navigating the Virtual World - Career Panel
• 2020 ASCE Annual Fall Leadership Student Caucus
• SEAMASS and YMG - Holiday Party
• GLX Virtual Project Tour
• YMG and T&DI – Night Shift Virtual Tasting and Trivia Night

Photo 1 - SEAMASS Game Night 2020

The YMG maintains a strong focus on outreach and community involvement, but has switched gears in how the group gives back due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Although the YMG has not been able to volunteer as an in-person group to the various charitable organizations that the group supports, such as the Greater Boston Food Bank (GBFB), the Friday Night Supper Program (FNSP), and Cradles to Crayons, the YMG is hopeful to continue to find new ways to support them. The YMG is partnering with the Charles River Watershed Association (CRWA) to help pick up trash along the banks of the Charles River for Earth Day 2021. In addition, the YMG is helping to raise funds for the clean-up, by signing up as a large group and raising over $1,500 to help the clean-up effort. The virtual game nights will continue by teaming up with SEAMASS to co-host a virtual Settlers of Catan Night slated to give back its proceeds to the Friday Night Supper Program, which helps provide meals to those in need, and is hopeful to collect donations of $500. YMG is so thankful for all of the time and donations that the group members have volunteered thus far!

 Photo 2 - SEAMASS and YMG Holiday Party December 2020

Additionally, the YMG includes the Student Chapter Committee, which supports 10 Massachusetts ASCE student chapters in the region. The student chapter committee chair and the designated liaisons for each school provide the schools with information about upcoming events, scholarship opportunities, grants, and provide volunteer support for the school’s events. This year, the YMG presented a virtual career panel for students across a wide range of schools, engaged students to submit for scholarships and awards, and hosted the annual fall ASCE Student Chapter Officers' Caucus, virtually. The Student Caucus included a networking event using breakout rooms, a presidential address, a note from the ASCE region I governor, and an interactive activity focusing on challenges and solutions for student leaders for the upcoming year. The YMG also helps Simpson Gumpertz and Hager (SGH) organize a Student Night each year, which brings together students from the ASCE student chapters that YMG liaisons with throughout the year. After a short hiatus last year, the YMG will present a virtual version of the annual event. This event will include a keynote presentation by Brian Brenner on his book “Bridginess” and an award ceremony in which selected student chapter members are awarded scholarships by BSCES and SGH.

 Photo 3 - Student Caucus 2021

The YMG is excited and hopeful for our upcoming events that we have planned, including the 2021 Earth Day – Charles River Clean-up, the Virtual Catan Night and an end of the year party.

We hope to see you at future events! Please email bscesymg@gmail.com if you would like to get involved or have any questions.

Follow the YMG on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/bsces-ymg-50a096137/), Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/BSCESYMG/about/?ref=page_internal), and Twitter (https://twitter.com/BSCES_YMG) to stay up to date on upcoming events.