Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1493016
102 I-CONNECT007 I REAL TIME WITH... IPC APEX EXPO 2023 SHOW & TELL MAGAZINE inspired the students with an empowering message. The career panel came next and was packed with various industry professionals. The line-up of panelists included: • Tracey Hogan, vice president of human resources at Heller Industries • Jason Fullerton, principal manufacturing engineer at CAES • Louis Clement, senior advisor, IR4, MagicRay • Mitch Ridgeway, content developer and trainer at Altium • Hannah Nelson, intern at Caterpillar, former IPC Student Board member, and student at Valparaiso University • Christopher Bonsell, chemical process engineer at Chemcut • Paige Fiet, process engineer at TTM Technologies • Nomaan Hussain, regional engineering director at TTM Technologies • Balaji Venkatesh, platform development intern at Altium • Henry Crandall, IPC student board member and PhD student at the University of Utah • Julie Silk, program manager at Keysight Technologies • Bryan Kathol, CAES technical fellow engineer, Mechanical Hogan said of the importance of events like the STEM Outreach: "Many senior engineers at Heller were fortunate to have been given co-op jobs while studying. Those experi- ences, along with strong mentoring early in their careers, were powerful career acceler- ants. We feel that the IPC STEM event allows us to connect with and provide early work experiences for elite students who will go on to showcase their intellect and creativity. By providing opportunities to current students, we are paying for- ward the opportunities we ourselves were given a generation ago." Another panelist, Jason Fullerton, shared, "It is important to expose young adults considering their future careers to the variety of opportunities available in the highly technical and scientific field of electronics manu- facturing. As a speaker in one Career Panel session, I hope my experience in a co-op undergraduate program and my career in manufacturing engi- neering provides a good example of one of the possible paths into a STEM career." Following the Career Panel, students connected with industry experts in a more informal setting at the Round- table Career Discussion. This track was sponsored by CAES last year and