This time of year is often filled with conferences across IEEE. Not only in Boston, but in other parts of IEEE. There is something about having an event in the fall! In New England at least, I swear it is the air, that crisp air that I have always loved being a lifelong Boston resident.

At a recent IEEE-sponsored event, I had the pleasure of making a connection with some students from the Tufts University IEEE chapter, and a week later, saw these same students at another, unrelated event. They were seniors, eager to look for jobs, meet with professionals, and learn what is out there in the world for them to explore now that they are so close to graduation. What I learned from these interactions was that this student chapter was quite busy having their own events, making their own impact, finding ways to fund their own activities, and keeping their own student members engaged. But prior to that, we just were not aware of the details of it. That usually means that one simple link needs to be made- getting the news of their WINS to us – so that we can support them, engage with them and encourage them to do even more. This used to always be handled with emails going back and forth, reports being sent, etc. It still CAN happen that way, but it now can also be as simple as following each other on social media!!!! Or “tagging” each other on social media when having an event. The world has evolved and while those other methods still work, these can be used very simply!

After realizing that these students were doing such great things that we might not have been aware of, and knowing that Boston is surely creating events and programs that would likely benefit them as a student chapter, I asked them to follow our professional Bos- ton section on LinkedIn. And I did the same with their student chapter. Simple! And now I have their information available to me so that I can check in to see how they were going. There is also Instagram, Facebook, TikTok …..

I have several events coming up in the next few months where I will be interacting with lots of students. I plan to make sure that they are following Boston on LinkedIn and other platforms. Even if the student attends a university outside of Boston, or is looking for jobs in other areas – who knows where they may truly end up working, next week or someday down the road? Boston certainly has a lot to offer in the STEM world and is surely a great candidate for a location for students/young professionals to end up living in, So, why not have them know what we are doing, what events we have coming up, what programs we are building. They might even just be “passing through” Boston sometime in their own work/ personal travels and want to join us at an event!

And most of all, if a student/young professional is even thinking about keeping IEEE in their life beyond graduation – which is one of our biggest goals – social media make this a lot easier. They can see what we have for positions, programs and events on our calendar and possibly join us to be future leaders of the Boston professional section! And IEEE is always there for you – whether it’s right when you graduate, when you are first working, as you make career changes, life changes, moves to other locations, and into retirement and beyond.

If you or anyone you know would like to learn about how easy it is to use social media in this way, contact us! You would be surprised how something so incredibly simple can make such a huge impact.

Denise Griffin is a Senior Member of IEEE, an HKN (Eta Kappa Nu) member, and a Past Boston Section Chair. She was President of the Tufts University IEEE Chapter during college. In IEEE Region 1, she is a Past Women in Engineering Coordinator and currently is the Area Chair for the Northeastern Area. She serves on the Board of IEEE- HKN (Eta Kappa Nu) as Governor for Regions 1 and 2. Denise is passionate about Awards & Recognition and is a member of the IEEE-USA and MGA Awards & Recognitions Committees and will serve as MGA Awards Chair in 2026.

Denise is a long time member of the Steering/Organizing Committees for the IEEE WIE Forum, mainly focused on sponsorship, and was the General Conference Chair in 2016. She strongly values industry sponsorship and was also the Sponsorship Chair for the 2018 IEEE-USA Future Leaders Forum, the 2025 WIE International Leadership Forum and Rising Stars conference (since 2024). Denise has twice received the Region 1 “Enhancing IEEE and Industry Relationship” award and has also received the IEEE-USA Regional Professional Leadership Award. She has a BSEE from Tufts University where she still volunteers extensively as a speaker, re- union event planner, alumni community event planner, fundraiser, and admissions interviewer. She is also a long time member of the Society of Women Engineers (SWE), serving most notably on the Awards Commit- tee and as Past Boston President, and still speaks on behalf of SWE at high schools.

Connect with Denise on LinkedIn at: linkedin.com/in/denisemgriffin

Follow the IEEE Boston Section at: linkedin.com/company/ieee-boston-section