Waunakee Rotarians learned more about the World Affairs Seminar hosted by a Milwaukee area Rotary Club at the Aug. 2 meeting.
Waunakee High School students Sydney Schmidt, Joey Thompson and Gretchen Johnson shared their experiences at Carroll University, where they joined 300 other students from around the United States and other nations worldwide to learn about issues facing different cultures and solve problems.
There were  breakout sessions for smaller groups on eight topics. Gretchen said she enjoyed one about how culture has been incorporated into the Milwaukee Bucks arena and how that has brought the community together.
The counselors brought a depth of knowledge to share as well. Greg is blind, and he demonstrated aids such as walking sticks, braille writing and talking computers to help those with low or no vision. Greg also works at a Carroll University radio station and took them on a tour. Students could also help host a radio show.
Joey talked about attending a workshop that highlighted the use of underwater robotics, basically drones used for getting samples and finding lost items. They could also rescue missions, he said.
Keynote speakers delved into tops such as innovations at Amazon, self-driving cars, the maker movement, STEM education and artisans and fair trade.
Sydney said even if you weren’t interested in the subject, they got you out of your comfort zone to learn something new.
Gretchen was impressed by the urban farm Will Allen talked about in Milwaukee. He’s the director Grow Power, which helps bring under privileged communities together and provide nutritious food to families in urban settings.
Another presenter was John Y. Walz, the president of the Milwaukee School of Engineering, Gretchen said. He stressed the need for engineers, particularly women engineers, with only 20 percent of women choosing that field.  
The self-driving cars session was led by Dr. Jon Reihl, who explained the five levels of vehicle autonomy, Joey said. Current automobile are at a level 2, and level 5 would be difficult to achieve because cars can’t make ethical decisions – at least not yet.
The week also included field trips to places like GE, Johnson Controls, the Milwaukee School of Engineering and Grow Power.
At the end of the week, groups comprising students from all over the world worked on capstone project, Sydney said. One was to develop trash cans that could automatically sort waste from recycling. Another was a rap about innovation. Joey group created a key chain for car keys that displays the vehicle’s time and temperature, alerting the driver when the heat is unsafe for babies left in them.
The students thanked the club for the opportunity. Joey said he’d be willing to talk to other students about his experience as well, adding he was apprehensive about going at first because he knew little about it.

 

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Other news:

–Linda Olson gave a short meet-the-greeter talk, noting that she finds in life she’s focused on solving first-world inconveniences, but Rotary allows her to help solve Third World problems.
–Bob Klostermann told the club that after the program by the American Lung Cancer Association, he had the radon levels checked in his home. Finding they were hazardous, he installed a radon detection system.
–Ken Ballweg said the Wauktoberfest committee is collecting items to raffle at the Beer Tasting event Sept. 16.
–Ken Pesik announced that Ray Statz fabricated a ramp for one on the Village Center Pond docks.
–President Elect Taylor Endres and President Mark McFarland thanked everyone who helped out at WaunaFest. The tip jar for the Sun Prairie relief fund there collected $500 that will be matched.  

 

Guests: Joey Thompson, Sydney Schmidt, Gretchen Johnson; guests of the club; Connie Gavinski, guest of the club; David Dargenio, guest of Phil Willems.  

 

Visiting Rotarians: None.

 

Birthdays: Aug. 12, Scott Cochems; Aug. 13, Kathy Cefalu; Aug. 14, William Erickson.

 

Anniversaries: Aug. 10, Bob and Nancy Arntz; Aug. 10, Erick and Hillary Plumb; Aug. 13, Danny and Yvonne Paul; Aug. 14, Randy and Amy Guttenberg.

Greeters: Aug. 9, Ken Pesik and James Pingel; Aug. 16, Bob Pulvermacher and Corey Randl; Aug. 23, Thomas Roepke and David Rupp.