Samaira is the inventor of Coderbunnyz, a game that simplifies complex coding concepts and teaches them through an explorative adventure narrative. It has garnered a spot on the Amazon best seller’s list. She has likewise invented Coderminez, the world’s first ever artificial intelligence board game that simplifies the intricacies of AI for young learners. She has been featured on platforms like CNBC, Business Insider, The Today Show, and the Washington Post for both her creations and the many workshops that she has developed and organized.
When she was just 6 years old, Samaira’s dad introduced her to coding. Coding became something exciting to her. It was a mechanism for her to develop projects and games and bring anything that she dreamed of to life. But, over time, she saw that her friends did not share the same experience of coding that she had. They thought that coding was boring, hard, and never something that they would do for fun. That was the first time that she thought, “Hey, this is a problem. My friends don’t like coding as much as I do. But I think they could.” And that’s where her mindset about sharing her hobby emerged.
She got to work creating games that would teach her friends coding in a fun way. She quickly found that she very much enjoyed teaching her friends with these games. That’s when she started booking conference rooms on Saturday afternoons. Anybody who wanted to could come in, and she would teach them how to play and explain how what they learned connected to the real world and computer science. These events built up over time to create the board game that she has today.
At first, parents started coming up to her and asking where they could buy her games. Of course, she was just 7 years old and had no intention of selling a product. This was just a project she was doing for fun. But when more and more parents started telling her that this was something people would be willing to buy, she got excited and started thinking about how she could help more young people get into coding.
Her work became a way not only for parents to introduce coding to their children but for teachers to implement computer education in their classrooms. Samaira says that she sometimes cannot fully comprehend how vastly her project has evolved, but that it is humbling to see the support from her community and people around her. That’s why she thinks organizations like ASEI are important. ASEI helps create a community of like-minded people who truly want to lift each other up. Together, ASEI and Samaira want to help spread knowledge and information.
Samaira’s biggest advice for finding your passion is to continue doing new things, continue to experiment, and never say no to a new opportunity because you never know where it could lead you. Don’t force yourself to stick to activities you aren’t interested in. When she was younger there were so many activities that she was introduced to and there were a lot that she didn’t enjoy. She says she is very grateful to have parents that didn’t force those hobbies upon her and who instead let her explore her passions and blaze her own trail.
 
 
** This Article is contributed by Aditya Guthey - ASEI youth coordinator. He is available via linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/adityaguthey/  **
 
 

The latest edition of the newsletter has been sent to all members in the first week of April  but the online edition is available here. Happy reading and catching up on all that happened in the last few months and what lies ahead with your society.
Highlights:
2023 has started with a bang for the ASEI community as we celebrate our 40th year since inception with a lot of new initiatives and programs (virtual as well as in person)
 
✅ Highlighted in this Q2 2023 Newsletter are some of our recent initiatives and accomplishments but there's a lot more to share so do visit our website (aseiusa.org )
✅ Do engage with our local and national board members and raise a hand if you would like to help building the next generation of scientists and engineers.
✅ We are looking to expand...There's been a great interest for our chapters in Seattle, San Diego, Atlanta, New York /New Jersey, Austin and other areas however we need committed group of volunteers
✅ Youth STEM Awards, Engineering Entrepreneurship, Scholarships and much more in store
✅ There's huge lot more coming in each chapter more so as ASEI turns 40 this year + Stay tuned for our 35th National Convention ASEIcon2023 in Michigan in September!
 
✅ Please comment, engage, share this post with your network, subscribe to our socials and click notify 🔔 so not to miss a beat !
 
PS: If you are missing our emails or newsletters, either your are not on our mailing list or please check your spam/junk folders and if you still cant find it , please let us know via   linkedin comments

This blogpost summarizes Syna Sharma’s perspective as she attended and wrote up about the leadership panel with Piyush Malik, Surbhi Paul, Rebecca Caleb and Surbhi Kaul.
 
March is International Women’s Month and should be spent celebrating women and their allies. Previously this month ASEI celebrated Women’s Day  with this social media post recognizing all women board members of ASEI on March 8th and organized a partnership event in Michigan on March 11th and a partner event in Silicon Valley on 24th March
 

On March 18th, ASEI hosted its  Leadership Panel to recognize International Women’s Day, which occurred on March 8th. Opening up the session, ASEI National and Silicon Valley President Piyush Malik outlined how ASEI  is a large advocate for women in leadership positions, with 35% of their chapter board being women. However it was not always so. Through conscious choices and nurturing of chapter boards, women are now increasingly getting involved with ASEI. Ally’s & advocates such as these are strongly needed during these times, as society is becoming increasingly regressive regarding women’s rights, especially in countries in the Middle East where women’s freedom has been reduced to less than it was in the 1950s. The theme for this year’s International Women’s Day is “Embracing  equity” (not to be confused with equality).  Equality is the belief that everyone should have the same opportunities from the beginning for a happy life. Equity, on the other hand, recognizes people’s different circumstances and works to create resources catering to those needs in order to reach equal opportunities. Gender equality is a very important and essential aspect that needs to be achieved in our society. The speakers in this panel provided insightful and helpful stories and advice to women regarding education, careers, and lifestyle. 
 
Our moderator  for this panel, Surbhi Paul is a board member at ASEI Silicon Valley and started her career in engineering and technology at Cisco. The next speaker, Surbhi Kaul, is also a fellow board member at ASEI National and worked at various companies: Cisco, Google, Netflix, Youtube and her current company, Juniper. Becky Caleb, our next speaker, served on the ASEI Dallas board and studied programming and engineering during her college years and worked at Bank of America for 15 years, where she is still working currently. Becky puts a strong emphasis on learning different skills and lessons through jobs and experiences over the years and is constantly trying to evolve and test out different things.
 
When asked about past experiences or struggles with being a woman in a male-dominated field, Surbhi Kaul spoke about her struggles being a minority during her undergrad at IIT, displaying a staggering statistic of 350 boys and a mere 8 girls. Women were not as encouraged to pursue tech and as a result the few that did felt like they didn’t belong. Becky Caleb also had a unique story to share. Her parents were very supportive of her and her choices and held her to the same pedestal as her brothers, although her relatives were not as supportive. She came to a minimally diverse school to become more independent and focus on her career and worked to be a trusted advocate for people.
 
After hearing the backgrounds of these panel speakers, Surbhi Paul brought attention to the struggle that women face having to be the primary caregiver of the household which increases the burden of having to juggle their career and home life. Women need support systems to climb the ladder in their careers and organizations need to provide those resources. As well as organizations, women themselves can also have certain mindsets to help them achieve their goals. Surbhi Kaul emphasized the importance of acknowledging that you can’t be perfect. Taking help and learning from others is encouraged and setting boundaries and limits in the workplace can also help decrease burdens and stress for women. Although women are held to higher standards, there is no need to have a perfectionist mindset, which will only prove harmful in the long run. Expanding on Surbhi’s ideas, Becky explains how it is important to aim for excellence but also recognize when to “drop the ball” if it becomes too stressful. Her personal method to be her best self in the workplace and life, in general, are the 5 P’s: make a Plan, be Proactive, Prioritize, be Persistent, and be Punctual. She believes it is important to instill these values in children as that is the crucial time when they are influenced most. 
 
Although women can take many steps to insure the most productive and safe environment for them, companies need to take action as well. Surbhi Kaul proposes that companies create groups or cohorts where women can take about their challenges in the workplace and some ideas to overcome them. She also talks about implementing programs where company leaders can become more aware and supportive of women. 
 
Wrapping up the panel, the final speaker, Lily Mei, the mayor of Fremont, brings up the importance of reaching out to younger generations and building an interest in STEM in middle and elementary schools, as any time after that is too late. Her final message to not only women, but every one is that failure is not bad, but a way to learn. 
 
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Syna Sharma is a San Jose, CA  based high schooler who spent her last summer break productively by interning and getting involved with ASEI activities. She continues to be part of our content team as and when time permits during the school year earning volunteer services hours that will count towards her college admission. She also participates in volleyball, tennis, and different forms of dances.
 

Hello  everyone, and happy Engineers Week!
On behalf of the American Society of Engineers of Indian Origin, I am thrilled to be here today to celebrate this special occasion with all of you. My name  is Piyush Malik, serving as the founding President of ASEI Silicon Valley and also the National Chair. It’s a milestone year for ASEI being the 40th year of our formation.
As we begin Engineers Week, we take time to celebrate the outstanding contributions of engineers to our society. This week is an opportunity for us to highlight the importance of engineering in our daily lives and to recognize the remarkable achievements of engineers across the United States.
Engineering is the backbone of our modern society. Engineers have played an integral role in designing, building, and maintaining the infrastructure that we all rely on every day. From the roads we drive on, to the buildings we work in, to the water we drink, engineers have helped to create the world we know and love.
This year's Engineers Week theme, "Imagining Tomorrow," encourages us to look to the future and the exciting possibilities that lie ahead. As we celebrate the achievements of engineers from the past, we must also look forward to the innovations that will shape our future.
ASEI  is committed to advancing the engineering profession and promoting the value of engineering to society. We believe that engineers are critical to solving the world's biggest challenges, from climate change to infrastructure modernization to public health and safety.
As we celebrate Engineers Week, we encourage everyone to consider the many opportunities that a career in engineering can provide. Whether you're a student just starting out or a seasoned professional looking for new challenges, engineering offers an incredible range of opportunities to make a positive impact on the world.
At the American Society of Engineers of Indian Origin, we are proud to support the engineering community through advocacy, education, and networking opportunities. We believe that by working together, we can continue to advance the profession and create a better future for all.

In closing, I would like to thank all of the engineers across the country  for their dedication and hard work. You are truly the unsung heroes of our society, and we are grateful for your contributions. Happy Engineers Week, and here's to imagining a brighter tomorrow!
 
-Piyush Malik

Dear ASEI Community
 
Hope you are as excited about the new year as I am. ASEI turns 40 this year and that's a big deal!
 
As we say goodbye to the old and welcome the new, reflecting on the past, I'm filled with gratitude for all that we have achieved. Despite the challenges, we have also experienced many joys and moments of growth. While plenty of details have been shared via our monthly newsletters and mailings in the past 12 months, let me share a few highlights today.
 
2022 started with a bang for us with a well-attended and successful ASEI 34th National Convention with Aerospace Symposium, YTE, and CXO Summit and the National Awards event in Q1'22. In Q2'2022, in addition to high powered meeting with India's Finance Minister Nirmala Seetharaman, we hosted a Cybersecurity Summit with 20+ speakers that were covered widely by media outlets
 
We continued with our flagship MentorConnect program this year and paired up 25+ senior ASEI Life members who are engineering executives with early career engineers and aspiring engineering leaders. Here's a fireside chat from one of the MentorConnect events.
 
In the second half of this year, we started holding in-person events again including successful University career programs in Washington DC, Silicon Valley, and Dallas as well as the New Mobility Summit in Michigan. Of course, we continued to partner with other organizations such as TiE & PanIIT in Silicon Valley, Orange county food bank in SoCal, NCWIT, STEM startups like Igebra in India, FalconX accelerator & Moonpreneur in silicon valley for internships and Asian American groups like GOPIO, Indiaspora, ISSIP and NAAAP to further our mission through partnerships.
 
Our Indo-US collaboration objectives were met with several opportunities to interact and collaborate with Consul General Dr TV Nagendra Prasad, Consul General Amit Kumar and Ambassador Taranjit Singh Sandhu as well as Indian Cabinet Minister Hon. Piyush Goyal
 
Our expansion this year led to the formation of the Dallas Chapter and several UniversityConnect Career events across chapters in addition to Engineering Tales, Webinars, Youth Technology Exposition events and Virtual YouthCorner showcasing promising Indo-American Youth Ambassadors.
 
Finally, our social media presence and growth with Youtube, Twitter, Facebook and Linkedin expanded into Clubhouse social audio in addition to monthly newsletters with a reach of over 6,000. One of our posts even went viral with over 211,000 views!
 
As we enter this new year with the recent good news of formation of ASEI Foundation (a 501 c(3) non profit -which means your donations and contributions to ASEI are now deemed tax deductible) lets set intentions and goals that will bring us closer to our dreams and aspirations.
 
Let's focus on the positive and embrace all that the future  holds. I look forward to your ideas and active engagement. We have a lot of exciting things to look forward to as we start celebrating our 40th year of ASEI's formation.
 
Thank You!
Piyush Malik
 
President ASEI