Volunteering with GE

Are New Year’s Resolutions on your mind?  What will it be this year: work out?  Get in shape?  Lose 10 pounds?  Eat healthier?  It’s great to think about what you can do to improve your own lifestyle, but what about goals focused on those around you?  Add volunteering to that short list of goals for 2012!  Giving back to the community and to those less fortunate should always be at the front of our minds.  Volunteering, community service, and giving back is a pillar of the GE culture across all businesses.  Whether it’s a small activity with just a few ITLPs, a large event with GE Volunteers, or simply something you took the initiative to do on your own, getting involved in the community is supported by team members and managers alike.  It’s estimated that 100,000 GE employees volunteer annually, contributing to one million hours every year.  GE employees and retirees can participate with strategic volunteering partners or GE-wide initiatives.  Regardless of your interests and passions, GE fosters volunteer opportunities in education, healthcare, the environment, and community development.

© Getty ImagesAt GE Healthcare in Milwaukee, I have found an organization called STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) that goes into the classrooms and helps students in those focal areas.  Assisting students on their projects and getting them excited about these disciplines is a fun way to leverage a skill I have and get involved with a passion of mine.  I always enjoy going back to the school, visiting the kids, and seeing what is on their minds for that week.  Additionally, we also try to discuss how studying and working hard now can help them with a career later.  Sharing personal experiences and informing them of their options motivates them to look beyond today and think about long-term goals.  Serving as a resource to these students – whether as a tutor or a mentor – is entirely rewarding.  Add ‘volunteering’ to your 2012 New Year’s Resolution, take an hour or so out of your weeks, and make an impact in your community!

An IMLP Winter in California

http://www.flickr.com/photos/miheco/ / CC BY-SA 2.0

Well, with Hanukkah upon us and with Christmas and New Years around the corner, I couldn't help but think about what the weather is going to be like in New York when I return for the holidays. As of now, it has rained for a grand total of 5 days spread across the entire 5 months I've been out here in California. The coldest it's been was around 40 degrees, and that's only at night and early mornings.

I am a winter person. I went to school in upstate New York, Syracuse University to be exact (GO CUSE!), and right around now, I would be trudging through 6 inches of snow to make my way to my last final of the semester. So naturally I miss the white stuff, especially because there are three small mountains within 45 minutes of the campus to ski on whenever you want.

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IMLPs Head to Paris for a New Years to Remember

How great would it be to spend New Year’s in Paris with all of your friends?  Well, this past New Year’s, 10 IMLPs decided to find out.  Flying in from all corners of the world for the event, these IMLPs traveled the distance in an attempt to end the year in style.  And did they ever!  Talk about a trip to remember! 

The festivities began just days after Christmas, as the group gathered on the 27th in the great city of Paris, France.  Wasting no time, these IMLPs moved all about the city, seeing historic sites like the Bastille, the Arc de Triumph, the Cathedral of Notre Dame, and the Eiffel Tower, going to amazing places like Montmartre, Opera, the Latin quarter, and the Louvre, and tasting all of the local faire like Parisian crapes, wine, champagne, and cheesecake.  Not only this, but, sparing no expense, they treated themselves to a front-row French Cabaret show at the famous Lido Paris, took a twilight champagne cruise on the Seine River, and indulged in a series of dinners at the finest restaurants Paris has to offer.

Culminating with a night of wining and dining at La Bastide d’Opio, where 2009 was ushered in by shouts, cheers, toasts, hugs, and kisses, and continuing into the wee hours of the morning with drinks at Le Cab, this New Year’s was definitely something special for these 10 IMLPs.  But there was more to their New Year’s Eve than just a twilight cruise, amazing dinner, and crazy night on the town.  IMLP Joel Turcotte proposed to his long-time girlfriend, Kristy… and she said “Yes”!  So, Congratulations to the happy couple!

But all good things must come to an end and all too soon it was time for the IMLPs to head back home again.  So, with a handful of souvenirs, a camera full of pictures, a head full of memories, and a full stomach, the IMLPs returned to their respective corners of the world.  Until next time…