Visiting North Piedmont
In October I had the privilege of visiting the North Piedmont ASHRAE Chapter. I had so much fun and I am very thankful to Miguel and Rob for having me!
I was so happy to be able to catch up with some old ASHRAE friends. I lived in Atlanta for quite some time, and met several volunteers in the North Piedmont Chapter of the Region IV Chapter Regional Conferences. Attending ASHRAE events like CRC is how I have met so many engineers across the world. Now that I live in Region VIII, I don’t get to see some folks in this area of the country as often. It was wonderful to catch up!
I was also very excited to see a huge contingency of students at North Carolina A&T! Over 40 students were in attendance at the chapter’s meeting. Most of the students in attendance were studying mechanical engineering and had never heard of HVAC as a career choice. After the meeting, I was thrilled to hear I inspired several students to attend more local ASHRAE events and apply for scholarships. I even received some notes from students that attended the event.
This time, I had the opportunity to share how we can all make a difference in how our industry is perceived. HVAC has a pretty distinct spot in the average person’s brain. Nowhere, to be exact. It’s high time we change that! It’s critical we speak to students about the career possibilities in our industry. Here’s one small step you can take today: start telling students about your why (see: Simon Sinek’s explanation). The more we share, the more people will understand: HVAC engineers make a difference!
Pam Duffy is a consultant based in Dallas, TX. She is a licensed professional engineer and has 10+ years of experience in the HVAC industry. Pam helps people through business consulting, one-on-one coaching, and speaking.
