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38 PCB007 MAGAZINE I JULY 2022 At Joe O'Neil's Hall of Fame ceremony in January, he talked about his first IPC APEX EXPO. He said he felt he was sitting at a table with the "giants of industry." at analogy per- fectly describes how I felt during my tenure on IPC's Board of Directors. Each time we met, I had the distinct feeling that I was conversing with today's giants. A few years ago, IPC began several initiatives to engage young engineers. One result was the IPC Education Foundation. In its early days, the focus of IPCEF was primarily to develop student chapters at colleges and universities. In 2019, Michigan Tech, where I was attending school, became one of the first 10 universities to start a chapter. As IPCEF grew, so did its ambitions and plans. At the same time, IPC's Board of Directors approached the Founda- tion with a new idea: have a student director join the board for a one-year term. In 2020, IPC made the announcement to each student chapter about its intentions for a student director to join the Board. One of my professors (and an advisor for my IPC Stu- dent Chapter) said he wanted to recommend me for the position. To say I was nervous is an understatement! I had one previous internship under my belt working in electronics assembly and had just accepted an internship at Calumet Electronics. However, I felt there were other students more qualified for the position. My professor insisted I apply, and he wrote my let- ter of recommendation. About a month later, the Board announced its top seven finalists— and my name was on the list. e board then provided a short bio about e a c h c a n d i d a t e a n d invited all student chapters to vote. I didn't have to wait long this time. In fact, it was during the first week of COVID- 19 lockdowns, and I was back in my hometown, when I received the email that changed both my career trajectory and my life. Sh a n e W h i te - s i d e a n d John Mitchell announced that I would be the first student direc- tor on the IPC Board of Directors. I wa s b o th honored and s ur pr i s ed to have Standing on the Shoulders of Giants The New Chapter by Paige Fiet, TTM-LOGAN Paige Fiet (center) at a board meeting in Napa Valley. Paige brought her mom, standing to Paige's left. My Time on the IPC Board of Directors: