On Wednesday, November 20, 2019 I was invited to participate in IEEE UH-Clear Lake SPAC Student Conference. I must admit I didn’t know much about SPAC was and it was a luncheon, so I decided to attend. IEEE Student Professional Awareness Conference (SPAC) is an annual event which serves respected professionals to get engaged with engineering and computer science students within their fields. SPAC provides students, academics, and industry professionals, a chance to network and bridge the gap between classrooms and boardrooms, empowering its attendees to build professional connections. SPAC Program exists as a result of mavericks who persevered in a mission on behalf of student career needs. It was developed for students who aspired to make engineering a life-long career in a period when engineering was changing drastically and employment environments deviated from professionalism.

The idea for SPACs was initiated at a Student Activities Committee Meeting in 1976. Student member S. J. Malysko asked a simple question, “What is IEEE doing for students in its new Professional Activities Program — PAP?” The answer was, “Not very much.”

Which brings us to today, SPAC has manifested itself as an event where future professionals get exposure to the world of professionalism which complements their vocational education. It was an honor to participate and learn more about UH-Clear Lake SPAC Student Conference which had had more than 40 attendees. This is an event that should be shared across all Student Branch and partnering opportunities with local Sections to help support with Industry contacts and expertise.

Article Submitted by Christopher Sanderson, R5 South Area Chair, Houston Section Chair

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