Frequently Asked Questions About WICS Committees
General Questions
Are we able to apply to multiple committees?
Yes. On our application form, we have first preference, second preference, third preference. Your deliverable will just be for the first preference. No need to make deliverables for second/third preference. When spring rolls around, you have the opportunity to switch committees for the next school year, so you have the chance to experience other committees.
What are coffee chats like?
They are 15-minute casual “interviews”. Some questions include what your hobbies, why are you interested in WICS Committee and other questions based on your application. Coffee chats help us understand who you are. Chair(s) of the committee that you’ve been selected to interview for will chat with you. Just be yourself!
How big are committees?
Internal Affairs, External Affairs and Community Outreach will each have around 14-15 people. Marketing will have around 7-8 people. We do not have a specific number of how many people will be accepted to each community. Don’t apply to a committee because it has more spots available! Just apply for the committee you like! Since we have preferences, if you have have a strong application/interview you will be able to join a committee outside of your first choice.
Internal Affairs
*Answered by Gaby Palar
How much time do you spend for your committee?
About 2 – 4 hours each week
What do you like about your committee?
I love being able to help plan internal and mentorship events like socials, workshops, and more! It’s super rewarding to see successful events after spending time planning and executing an event. Being a part of internal has also allowed me to get to know a lot of WICS members even better, and I love being able to make an impact at WICS alongside an amazing group of people 🙂
What’s one good memory you have from being in WICS committee?
One of my favorite memories from being a part of WICS committee has definitely been our committee retreat back in January! I had such a fun time getting to know other committee members better over the weekend, whether we were making crepes together or writing each other notes of encouragement.
What skills have you learned from being in your committee?
I’ve learned and improved upon a lot of skills like time management, event planning, and collaboration!
What are interactions like with people in your committee and outside of your committee?
I always love running into people from committee whether it be at general WICS meetings, during committee meetings, in classes, or at random places on campus. It’s always nice being able to see a familiar face and catch up with my fellow committee members!
What was the most surprising thing that you learned about yourself or about WICS after joining committee?
As someone who switched into Computer Science after previously being undeclared, I often had feelings of imposter syndrome, but joining WICS and especially being involved in committee has given me a community of people who I can relate to when it comes to dealing with classes and navigating the field as a woman. It was nice to learn that I wasn’t alone in my experiences with CS :’)
External Affairs
*Answered by Jay Sotelo
How much time do you spend for your committee?
About 1 – 3 hours. Besides attending WICS committee meetings, the workload varies depending on if a big event planned by external committee is coming up. For example, I will spend more time leading up to Mock Technical Interviews.
What do you like about your committee?
I like how external committee allows me to learn more about the industry professionals whom we invite to our events. This encourages me to network with them more outside of WICS meetings.
What’s one good memory you have from being in WICS committee?
One good memory I have with WICS is our committee retreat! Soon after I was accepted into committee last year, they hosted the retreat to help new and returning committee members bond. It was a great experience that gave me the opportunity to meet members outside of our meetings. We all watched Singles Inferno, played games, and made food together. It was a really fun memory I’ll have of WICS and college in general!
What skills have you learned from being in your committee?
I’ve learned how to network with corporate representatives and organize company event logistics. The great part about WICS committee is that you can see all the work and dedication that leads up to our events. Before I joined, I had some experience with industry outreach, but learned so much more from our committee. I shadowed last year’s External Vice President (Jaedyn) during one of our industry collaborations, and experienced all of the logistics and planning that going into it. I value how comfortable I’ve gotten with initiating conversations with corporate reps, because it benefits my professional growth as well.
What are interactions like with people in your committee and outside of your committee?
Seeing WICS committee members in my everyday life is really comforting. When I’m at a different campus event and I spot someone from WICS, it’s such a relief to see someone I can lean on if I’m feeling shy or hesitant to talk to new people. WICS is such an encouraging, sweet environment that celebrates my growth and achievements.
What was the most surprising thing that you learned about yourself or about WICS after joining committee?
Since I’m a Psychology major who’s going into UX Design/Research, I thought that it would limit my abilities in committee, because I don’t know much about computer science. I was surprised how welcoming WICS is to me learning new things on the job. Looking towards the future, I will be working with software engineers and having cross-functional teams regardless, so being able to work alongside a different field than my own is amazing. I’m always learning in WICS and using my skills to benefit the club as well!
Marketing
*Answered by Heather Nguyen Phuoc
How much time do you spend for your committee?
For WICS, I typically dedicate around 2 to 3 hours, engaging in various activities such as booth setups, committee meetings, general meetings, and promoting the club. Marketing Committee is relatively smaller than the others, so our tasks are less time-consuming.
What do you like about your committee?
For marketing, I would deem our committee as the “Face of WICS,” meaning we get to promote our events and let everyone know what we are up to! The platform we are given allows me to share my love for the club with others who see it. Our tasks are generally easy to manage and allow us to come up with fun ideas to share and produce. Being involved in the creative process of producing promotional videos allows me to be a more creative person.
What’s one good memory you have from being in WICS committee?
There are many to choose from, but one that does stick out to me was the first time I made crepes for a boothing event. It gave me a good opportunity to bond with my committee and get to know them better. The bonding experience also allowed me to voice my ideas for our committee. We got to make some videos during that time, which were really fun to make and come up with. A bonus from the memory was the fact that I also got to learn how to make the crepe batter and crepes! Very delicious!
What skills have you learned from being in your committee?
During my time with the committee, I’ve learned how to manage my time effectively, making sure we promote our events quickly to get more people involved. It’s taught me how important it is to be responsible and get things done efficiently. I’ve also gotten better at marketing, especially on social media. The skill of effective time management helps our committee market our events promptly to reach a broader audience. Plus, being part of the committee has made me more confident. Now I can speak up about our club’s ideas and encourage others to join in with more certainty.
What are interactions like with people in your committee and outside of your committee?
Interacting with everyone on the committee is really enjoyable and easy-going. We get plenty of opportunities to connect beyond our general meetings, like when we’re setting up or cleaning up after events, and even during lunch dates. We also have some casual socials that we go to just to hang out and have a good time. The whole atmosphere is super supportive and encouraging, which is really great.
What was the most surprising thing that you learned about yourself or about WICS after joining committee?
I was honestly surprised by how much more outgoing I’ve become. Initially, I just intended to attend the meetings and be a part of a club related to my major. But now, I find myself actively participating in the committee. While I’m still somewhat reserved, connecting with so many people and building meaningful relationships has truly boosted my confidence and encouraged me to step out of my comfort zone.
Community Outreach
*Answered by Teresa Hempen
How much time do you spend for your committee?
Outside of Committee and General Meetings, which take about two and a half hours per week, I typically spend between 30 minutes to an hour of my own time working on outreach-specific tasks. Outreach also hosts events on the weekends for middle and high school students each quarter, which can take around 4 or 5 hours. That’s usually not more than one weekend per quarter, though, and they’re super fun!
What do you like about your committee?
I love seeing the positive impact we have on girls who are interested in learning more about computer science, particularly those in high school. I remember being in their position just a few years ago – stressed about college applications and wondering if a STEM major would be a good fit for me – and I would have really liked the opportunity to learn more about life as a CS major from people who are experiencing it first hand. I also love seeing how excited students get about their projects during workshops because it’s a little reminder for me that CS is actually a lot of fun.
What’s one good memory you have from being in WICS committee?
After workshops, those who volunteered to help out typically go get food or boba afterwards, and they’re always great bonding sessions. Everybody’s worn out from the day, but we can all just sit and talk and take a breather together before getting on with whatever other work we have for the weekend.
What skills have you learned from being in your committee?
Being on outreach committee has really helped me improve my organizational and planning skills. I had quite a bit of experience with lesson planning, curriculum development, and classroom teaching from high school, but I hadn’t done much event planning or coordination before. I actually had the opportunity to plan and coordinate substantial portions of a new event for high school students called NetWiCS last year, which was a really fun and rewarding experience. One thing that I like about outreach committee is that you feel like you really play a role in how the events come together.
What are interactions like with people in your committee and outside of your committee?
I always have a lot of fun working and hanging out with the people on outreach committee. This is my third year on outreach committee, but I felt practically just as comfortable with everyone my first year as I do now since it’s such a welcoming group. Having the opportunity to get to know each other outside of Committee and General meetings through outreach socials and weekend events also makes the group feel that much closer. That said, getting to know everyone outside of outreach committee is a lot of fun too, even if it takes practically the entire year to do so. People on committee were some of my first friends at UCI, and they’re always my go-to people to talk to in class.
What was the most surprising thing that you learned about yourself or about WICS after joining committee?
This wasn’t necessarily “surprising,” but being on WICS committee has been a great reminder of how inspiring and motivating it is to be part of a group of people who are working really hard toward the same goals as I am. I lost a lot of that shared experience during covid my junior and senior years of high school, so it was really great to find such a supportive community in college with WICS. Committee members have not only reminded me that a lot of people are going through the same struggles as I am, but seeing others working hard on their classes, extracurriculars, and job searches pushes me to work harder too.