Attracting, inspiring, and training the next generation of ceramic and glass professionals starts with getting students engaged. At ACerS, that means getting students involved with the Society on the local, national, and international levels early and often.
ACerS President’s Council of Student Advisors (PCSA) is one of the more visible channels for student engagement. (ACerS new Global Graduate Researcher Network, or GGRN, is another. Read more about this new career and leadership skills development opportunity for graduate-level and Ph.D. students here.)
Representing student interests to ACerS and its subsidiary committees, divisions, sections, and classes, PCSA delegates help to coordinate student-focused ceramic programming at technical meetings and ceramics-focused outreach activities (like the Materials Science Kits they developed last year), facilitate industry-student relations, and promote ceramic science and engineering at their respective universities. Most importantly, PCSA is a way to develop the next generation of Society leadership. (Check out former PCSA delegate Val Wiesner, who was featured in a recent NASA profile for Women’s History Month).
To grow the best leaders, however, you need to recruit the best leaders—and recruiting the best leaders, at least in this case, starts with a really compelling recruitment video.
PCSA filmed the video during the January EMA and ICACC meetings in Florida and the result is a polished and punchy clip that provides an overview of the ways PCSA has changed each participant’s current and future ceramic and glass experience.
“This video was made to highlight all the great work PCSA does to promote ceramic science and engineering and engage students in the ceramic community,” says PCSA’s Communications chair Lisa Rueschhoff, Purdue University. “Not only has ACerS PCSA has given me the opportunity to meet and network with ceramic students and professionals from around the world, it has also allowed me to help plan and implement various outreach and programming activities for students.”
The application process for the 2015-2016 class of PCSA delegates is currently underway. If you are interested in being a part of this dynamic group of student leaders, or know someone who is, please share the video below and encourage them to download the application at ceramics.org.
Applications are due April 15 (as are your taxes, U.S. residents), so be sure to get yours in soon!
Credit: The American Ceramic Society; YouTube