Career questions posed to Dr. LINDA FRENCH, IWU Astronomer:

HILARY:   Where are the best undergrad and grad programs for astronomy (including any abroad), and what is the best way (or where is the best place) to get a job in astronomy after college?

KATIE:   I was wondering what you researched?   Do you research all the asteroids, or try to find new planets?   Do you mainly study the probes & equipment going into outer space, or the thins in outer space itself?   What exactly is photometry of asteroids?   Do you get pictures of asteroids?

 Bio of Dr. French:

Dr. Linda French, Associate Professor of Physics and Astronomy at Illinois Wesleyan University, earned her A.B. at Indiana University and her Ph.D. in astronomy at Cornell University. There she began her teaching career as a teaching assistant for Carl Sagan. Prior to coming to IWU in 2002, Dr. French taught and did research at Bates College, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Wheelock College. Her primary research area is planetary astronomy and the photometry of asteroids, with a particular interest in objects of primitive composition. In 1988 the asteroid 3506 French was named for her in honor of her “research and educational accomplishments.”

Dr. Linda French, IWU Astronomer

Link to her letter to Hilary and Katie

Career questions posed to Ms. ARLENE HOSEA, ISU Director of Campus Dining Services:

NICOLE:   Is it possible to have a good career with only a minor in nutritional sciences?   What schools other than ISU do you recommend for nutrition?   What type of sciences and math classes were required for your major?

Bio of Ms. Hosea:

Ms. Arlene Hosea, serves as Director Campus Dining Services at Illinois State University. As Director, Arlene is responsible for managing a $16 million budget through residential dining, retail and catering services for the campus of 21,000 students and 3000 faculty and staff. With a staff of 130 full time and 1,000 part time student employees, Ms. Hosea leads a large, complex operation. Ms. Hosea received her B.S. and M.S. degrees in Family and Consumer Sciences, with a concentration in Nutrition and Dietetics from Illinois State University.

Ms. Arlene Hosea, Director of Campus Dining Services for ISU

Link to her letter to Nicole

Career questions posed to Ms. JENNIFER PARRY, Registered Pharmacist for Osco:

Bio of Ms Parry:

Ms. Jennifer Parry is a Registered Pharmacist for Osco Drug on Veteran's Parkway in Bloomington. She received her B.S. in Pharmacy from Drake University and has been practicing pharmacy for 8 years. Ms. Parry lives in Bloomington with her husband and two young children. She is a Creative Memories Consultant and is a member of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church. Ms. Parry enjoys being a pharmacist because she has a chance to improve the outcome of her patients' medications through effective communication.

Ms. Jennifer Parry, Registered Pharmacist for Osco Drug on Veteran's

Link to her letter to Karin

Career question posed to Ms. LISA PEACOCK, Mechanical engineer for Shive-Hattery Architects and Engineers:

ELIZABETH:   How did a degree from the University of Illinois benefit you in finding your first job after graduating?

Bio of Ms. Peacock:

Ms. Lisa Peacock is a Mechanical Engineer for Shive-Hattery Architects and Engineers. She is responsible for designing heating and cooling systems for commercial buildings. This includes coordinating the engineering design with the applicable codes, the program requirements of the project and the architectural concept. Her work includes preparing plans and specifications for use in building construction, shop drawing review, field observation, and working closely with the owner,architect and contractor through all phases of the project. Ms. Peacock received her B.S. degree in General Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1992.

Ms. Lisa Peacock, Mechanical Engineer for Shive-Hattery Architects and Engineers

Link to her letter to Elizabeth

Career questions posed to Dr. MARIA REGINA ROSA, Pediarician at Carle Clinci:

JESSICA:   What's the most difficult part of your job?

MEGHAN:   What was your undergraduate field of study?   what types of activities outside of your course work helped prepare you for your medical profession?   Were you able to shadow a physician as a student?

SARAH:   Your profession is male-dominated.   Has this created any problems for you?   If so, how have you dealt with it.

Bio of Dr. Rosa:

Dr. Maria Regina Rosa works as a Pediatrician at Carle Clinic in Bloomington-Normal. She was recertified by the American Board of Pediatrics in 2005 and is a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Born in Brazil, Dr. Rosa earned her MD from the Evangelical School of Medicine in Brazil and later earned an additional MPH (Masters in Public Health) from the University of Minnesota school of Public Health. She served her residency at the Sinai Hosptial of Baltimore in Maryland from 1996 - 1998. She then practiced at the Stanley C. Myers Clinic in Miami, Florida before moving to Illinois and joining Carle Clinic Association in 2002. Dr. Rosa’s medical and research interests are the treatment of asthma and adolescent medicine.

Dr. Maria Regina Rosa, Pediatrician at Carle clinic in Bloomington-Normal

Link to her letter to Jessica

Link to her letter to Meghan

Link to her letter to Sarah

Career questions posed to Dr. JEAN SAWYER, ISU Assistant Professor of Speech Pathology and Audiology

AMANDA:   What kind of degree do you need to get to do this job?   Do you need a doctorate, or is a masters okay?   How long would you need to go to school?

KAT:   What kind of training/schooling is in speech pathology?   What duties does your career involve?   Are there any schools/programs you would recommend?   what is the difference between clinical and research speech pathology?   Which do you personally prefer?

Bio of Dr. Sawyer:

Dr. Jean Sawyer is an Assistant Professor of Speech Pathology and Audiology at Illinois State University. Her research interests are in fluency disorders, with a focus on early childhood stuttering, and on the neurophysiological bases of speech and language. Dr. Sawyer received her M.A. and Ph.D. in Speech and Hearing Science at the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana. Her B.S. is in English from Iowa State University, and she has an M.A. in linguistics from the University of Colorado at Boulder. She worked clinically with preschool-aged children who stutter for six years at the Illinois Stuttering Research Project in Champaign-Urbana, and was a speech pathologist in the school setting in Champaign.

Dr. Jean Sawyer, Assistant Professor of Speech Pathology and Audiology at ISU

Link to her letter to Amanda and Kat

Career questions posed to Ms. ARCHANA SHEKARA, Graphic Designer/Art Director at ISU's Institutional Web Support Services:

MANDIE: What kind of degree do you need to get to do this job?   Do you need a doctorate, or is a masters okay?   How long would you need to go to school?

Bio of Ms. Shekara:

Ms. Archana Shekara has been working as a Graphic Designer/Art Director for 8 years. She has worked as CS&A Marketing and communications and Osborn & DeLong (design studios) mainly doin design for print. She has experience designing aanual reports, corporate identity (logos, stationary materials, brochurs, marketing and collateral pieces, etc.) while working in a fast paced environment. Currently, she is working for Illinois State university’s Institutional Web Support Services as a graphic designer for the web. Her designs are conceptual, artistic, professional and meet client’s needs. Ms. Shekara loves to challenge herself in her designs to create a balance in both print and web media.

Ms. Archana Shekara, Graphic Designer/Art Director at ISU's Institutional Web Support Services

Link to her letter to Mandie

The Women in Science, Math, & Technology Career Pen Pals Project was created and designed three years ago in 2004 by Grace Foote Johns, Assistant to the Chairperson at the Illinois State University Department of Physics.   2006 is the third Annual Career Pen Pals Project.   Great thanks go the Illinois State University Physics Department (www.phy.ilstu.edu) for their support of this project.   Additional thanks go to the Association for Women in Science (Heart of Illinois Chapter) -- for which Ms. Johns is the Communication Coordinator.  

  Ms. Johns earned her

  B. S. in Speech 

  Education   

  and her M. S. in 

  Communication Theory.    Ms. Johns is working

  on  her Ph.D. in 

  Educational

Administration & Foundations at Illinois State University.   Her dissertation's hoped for research focus will be in the area of career mentoring equity and diversity in the sciences and ways to enhance student recruitment and retention initiatives.   For more information about women's contributions in science, math and technology as well as some career planning resources, visit Ms. Johns' website ( www.phy.ilstu.edu/~johns ).  

For the Women in Science, Math, & Technology Career Pen Pals Project each year, different women professionals are paired up with students in high school or junior high who pose career questions to them via this Pen Pals Project.   The women professionals respond and Ms. Johns creates both a poster exhibit as you see here as well as a website (see the link on www.phy.ilstu.edu/AWIS-HOI). So far, 22 women professionals and 23 students have participated directly in this Career Pen Pals Project.   Past school participants were from Delavan High School (2004) and Parkside Junior High School (2005).   Beginning last year, Ms. Johns and a few of the women professionals also visited the students' school classroom to answer more career questions from the students' classmates.   We plan to do so again this year.

As you can tell from Mr. Thompson's U-High students' Career Pen Pal choices and questions, they have a wide range of career interests.   Women professionals from the careers of astronomy, pediatric medicine, and pharmacy were specifically requested by the students in addition to the career fields of food service management, engineering, speech pathology and audiology, and computer web design.  

Kevin Thompson served as the contact teacher for making his pre-calculus students aware of the Third Annual Women in Science, Math, & Technology Career Pen Pals Project .   Mr. Thompson is the Mathematics Department Chair at University High School where he

has taught the past 5 years.   He holds B.S. and M.S. degrees in mathematics.   Currently he is finishing work on a Ph.D. in mathematics education at Illinois State University.   His research involves the use of realistic and rich problem scenarios as the motivation for the introduction of mathematical concepts—specifically trigonometry