It is my pleasure to provide this letter for Kim Seager, P.E. She is a supporter of excellence in engineering education. She has been an absolute angel for the success of the Seminole Ridge SECME (Science, Engineering, Communications, and Mathematics) club.
As my school’s SECME coordinator, I keep alert to helping my students make contacts which will bring them from the classroom to college to a career. Kim is definitely one such contact! Certainly as the president of the southeast Florida chapter of the Society of Women Engineers (SWE), I have made an effort to steer students with high academic ability her way. But she is such a positive person I would introduce young people to her even if she had no leadership position. She has helps them, with advice and applications for scholarships.
(Kim Seager, left, gives some pointers to senior Caitlin Miller, right, during Engineering Family Fun Day 2011)
Kim has also helped me, to grow the SECME program out of the classroom and into the community. This past November, she organized the “Engineering Family Fun Day (EF2D),” a free annual event in Dreher Park that the SWE hosts for Palm Beach County residents. The event’s goal is to offering eight to ten activities that provide project based learning. This educates the attendees on engineers, and sparks their interest in math, science and engineering (especially for students from 4th to 12th grade). I’ve attended the event in previous years with my elementary school aged daughter. But at Kim’s invitation, Seminole Ridge SECME stepped up and sponsored a booth. Our engineering challenges are designed as classroom competitions; for example, a hands-on activity to make and fire a mini-catapult made from paint stirrers, a PVC pipe coupler and a ping pong ball. The SECME National office was very impressed that our SECME style was taken out of the school setting and shared with so many by the SWE. And by collaborating with SWE and the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE), the EF2D event also emphasizes SECME's commitment to promote diversity and inclusiveness.
(Kris Cousins, left, and Raychell Harris, right, of the BBB Team, with "The Seager")
Kim has also recognized that the success of the SECME program depends on contributions. Her gifts and good will allowed us to purchase the parts we need, for a higher flying rocket and to build an unbreakable bridge. So it was with pride we named our entry into the school district’s engineering Olympiad entry for her. “The Seager” model bridge was built from balsa wood by an all-female team. And I am pleased to report Seminole Ridge SECME was the winner of six trophies and ribbons at the 2012 SECME Olympiad engineering competition, including third place overall for Palm Beach County! Without Kim’s support, this would not have been possible. She has made a difference (although in honesty, I should report her bridge was not nearly as “unbreakable” as we hoped. It held only 12 pounds before failure, where the winner held 120 pounds. But we’re confident we’ll do better next year, and remind her that naming rights are again available).
I hope this brief review illustrates how Kim truly lives the SWE mission: Stimulate women to achieve full potential in careers as engineers and leaders, expand the image of the engineering profession as a positive force in improving the quality of life, demonstrate the value of diversity. It is gratifying to see her work with and work for the girls and boys I teach science to, and so I confidently recommend her for your consideration. I hope you can encourage her.
