The ETS Conference is the first industry-oriented conference that Xinyue ever attended. It is very different from those academic conferences like EMI. Xinyue is very thankful for this experience and feels lucky about the discovery of this new world built by civil engineers.
It is through the SEI Futures Fund that Xinyue had the great opportunity to attend the ETS conference. Really appreciate it!
What is resilience?
That’s the question Xinyue got from Mr. Don Scott after Xinyue told him that her studies are about resilience. Resilience is a buzzword but do we really understand it? Luckily Xinyue was able to give a decent answer (and didn’t smear her advisor’s reputation).
Whoever came up with this mentor-mentee idea must be a genius. As icing on the cake, each selected scholarship receipient was assigned a confrence committee member (a working professional in the industry) as an informal mentor to shadow and assist at the confrence. Based on Xinyue’s personal experience, this mentor-mentee setup is extremely helpful for someone who is first exposed to the new electric world.
Mr. David Todd was Xinyue’s fantastic mentor (translator, teacher, introducer…) at the conference. Thanks to Mr. David Todd’s help, Xinyue had immersive experience in learning about the industry and networking to expand opportunities. It was challenging for Xinyue to hide her social anxiety and the one-tracked mind about towers. However, Mr. David Todd and the entire committee made the journey much easier.
Attending this conference also gave Xinyue the opportunity for the first time to see things in real life instead of from literature. Most importantly, there was a huge exhibition hall for it! It feels different to have a real conductor in your hand than looking at it from the textbook. An insulator string does have weight when you hold it. Xinyue enjoyed having conversations with passionate exhibitors and learning from their kind explanations.
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