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| Associate Professor Volker Sick (left) congratulates Eric Rybczynski on a job well done. |
As most students settle into their spring semester routines, ME senior Eric Rybczynski will be honing his leadership skills with movers and shakers of the Society of Automotive Engineers. Rybczynski was recently selected to participate in the first SAE Leadership Development Program. He was nominated by Associate Professor Volker Sick, who serves as faculty advisor for the SAE Student chapter; Rybczynski serves on the executive committee as treasurer. When Sick learned about the new leadership program, he thought this "engaged student, who's well-organized in his involvement" would be a great fit.
So did SAE. Rybczynski was one of just 25 students chosen by the organization for the two-day program, which takes place in San Antonio, Texas, in late January 2005. The event is designed to further develop leadership skills in younger members that are key to high-level participation in SAE as well as in the mobility industries. Sessions will include training in the areas of presentation skills, career development and mentoring. The cost of the program and related travel expenses will be borne by the society.
Rybczynski's involvement with the U-M SAE chapter doesn't stop with financial accountability. Since freshman year, he's been part of MRacing, U-M's FormulaSAE team (Sick also serves as team advisor). With "little outside assistance," according to Rybczynski, the student team designs, builds and tests a small open-wheel race car. Last year he served as engine group leader for the team, responsible for overseeing the design, purchasing, organization, manufacturing and testing of the engine and related components for the car.
In the 2004 FormulaSAE Competition, the team placed fourth in the design event, and improved 16 positions from the previous year's race.
Rybczynski says he was excited to learn he was selected for the leadership development program and that it will help him "learn more ways to become a better leader and manager in the field of automotive engineering. I'm sure I'll meet many successful peers with which to network and communicate about leadership and society participation. I'm very much looking forward to meeting people with the same interests and drive as myself."
He also hopes to leave the program with a better sense of how to lead projects and organizations and some ideas about how to help colleagues and participants in those projects feel they're a critical part of the team.
Sick expects Rybczynski will come away with a great deal too. "Doing well within a small environment does not necessarily mean one can handle larger scale tasks. It's also difficult to compare one's own success with that of one's peers. Eric will be exposed to broader concepts during this seminar and will learn new skills to help him to take on new responsibilities."
After graduating, Rybczynski plans to return to U-M to pursue a master's degree in ME and to explore the fluid mechanics and thermodynamics of internal combustion engines. As that time draws close and he reflects on his college career, he says his experience on the FormulaSAE team has been "by far the most rewarding here at the university." Sure, it takes a lot of time, he adds, "though in the end I would not have had it any other way. I believe you just have to keep focused on the future and realize that although it may be a lot of work right now, it will be worth it in the end."