Saturday, May 25, 2019

The Cow Who Made the Bus Driver Cry



This is Tammy. She’s a friend and coworker. (I love that “co-worker” begins with “cow”.)
During a binary counting exercise. Trust her. She knows.
She’s one of the Cowculator’s biggest fans. So much so, she became a Cowculator yesterday at work right along three udder colleagues. 
Cape-able Cows
Our company hosted a field trip of 290 students and 30 chaperones and the five of us boarded each bus as they arrived to give the day’s welcome – Cowculator style. 

Organizing the Herd
We had a script to tell the kids the following:

Greetings!  My name is                                       – but today I’m talking to you as “The Cowculator!”  A lesser-known super hero. Solver of problems; lover of STEM – Science Technology Engineering and Math. Before you come into our corporate corral, I’ve got a few important announcements. Some bull-et points. Or a Cattle-log of things. There are 3 C’s just like “Cowculator” to help you remember.

First C – Careers.
That’s why you’re here today. You’ve got a little time before you need to decide what you’d like to do in life, but this is exactly when you should be thinking about your future and a possible career. You know – a job that will put a roof over your corral and food in the trough, and afford some of the fun things.  Pay attention to the careers like no udder that you’ll be exposed to today. 

Second C –Capes.
Usually we think of super heroes who wear capes. Super heroes solve problems. They have a fearless approach to problem-solving; they have confidence and courage to tackle hard things.  Just like professionals in a tech field.  You are going to see some things that look complicated or overwhelming today. You might think, “this is way outta my league” or “I’m not smart enough to do that”.  Bull!  Imagine your own cape. You’ve all got the capacity to do hard things.

Third C - Courtesy
Although you’re outside of your corral today, you’ve coming to our company corral today. Please remember, our colleagues are working and need to continue to get stuff done. Be courteous to them. And also – you may have a classmate who’s interested in what’s being presented, who’s imagining their own cape, be courteous to them. Please don’t detract from their experience.


Three engineers, an operations manager and an admin. Women you can cownt on.

And, boy, what an experience the day was!  We had over 40 employees corralling kids and giving workshops on semiconductor processing, failure analysis, concepts of electricity and the power of innovation.  Tammy was the event’s Head Heifer. The Divine Bovine. The Main Moo. She thought of every little detail from color-coded name tags, to lunches for the volunteers, to photo-ops, to the welcome sign, to parting gifts for the students and chaperones – and the bus drivers. 

Two of the six bus drivers opted to join in on the day’s tours and near the end when the students were eating lunch, Tammy escorted them back through security. I saw Tammy after she returned from the parking lot making her deliveries and asked where she had been. 

“Oh, just making a bus driver cry.”

Earlier in the day, Tammy showed me the gifts she prepared for each driver with a company water bottle and pen – because, really. The bus drivers were critical players in getting loads of kids including our next generation of scientists and engineers to our facility. She told me that one of the bus drivers, a man, started to tear up and said,

“Wow. No one ever thinks of the bus driver. Thank you.”

And there we were. Standing still in our corporate corral, now both of us tearing up at that exchange. Students were swarming in the halls and conference rooms around us. Volunteers were scarfing lunches. It was a brief moment before we re-began the bustle because that’s how we both work. A zillion things and thoughts churning, and we’re acutely aware of most of it while getting stuff done.
And, Tammy gets it done. She’s a natural Cowculator, solving problems and figuring it all out. She does the thinking behind the scenes when many just see the result. It makes me happy that the bus driver appreciated her thoughtfulness, because I do, too.  A Divine Bovine, indeed

"One way or an udder, I'll get it done!"

Sunday, April 21, 2019

The Cowculator

What does a farmer use to add up his bulls? A Cowculator.  Ha!

Years ago when I was coaching a middle school math club, a student told me that joke. Hmmm… I had a cow suit from Halloweens past.  What else could I do?  With a decorated cape and matching Converse sneakers, I invented the lesser-known math superhero, the Cowculator.
The Cowculator made her debut to welcome 100+ Mathletes to the annual Eastern Idaho MATHCOUNTS competition a few years ago. I feel silly and whimsical in a cow suit, but as soon as the cape completes the transformation, I am unstoppable. There is no problem too difficult or discouraging for the Cowculator.

Hours after my foray at the microphone, I had a poignant exchange with a lanky, freckle-faced Mathlete, who reminded me of myself at that age. He fit the checklist of stereotypes. He was jittery and nervous as he spoke. His white socks emphasized his faded high-water jeans and grubby sneakers. Those sneakers likely never did anything athletic. I imagine he only combed his hair when someone reminded him and since he boarded a school bus at 5am, there was likely no one awake at his house to offer a reminder.
Propelled and disarmed by our mutual love of math, and likely by the cow suit and cape, this Mathlete zigzagged through the tables during lunch when he spotted me. He waved and yelled,
 “I know you’re the Cowculator!
I only wore the costume during my welcome address. I changed into a geek-sanctioned polo shirt and khakis while I coached my team. My tie-on cow hood left my full face visible, so I’m sure everyone in the ballroom knew I was the not-yet-famous superhero, but I played along.

 Oh? And how did you know that?

With a goofy-toothed grin and pizza sauce on the corners of his mouth, he pointed to my feet. 
Your shoes. “   
Ah yes. My sneakers gave me away.
I winked at him and told him that he would make a great detective someday. 

I know. I figure things out because I’m a problem child.

A handful of students that day had buttons with the slogan “Problem Child” pinned to their backpacks and jackets.  These kids think they are merely doing math, but they are learning how to solve problems. Answers may not come easily or quickly, but they come.  Solutions may be elusive, but they exist, and this world needs all the problem-solvers we can get.
Today, the Cowculator is part of the team to welcome students to my company's facility for field trips and tours.  Wearing a cow suit and cape to work is a blast, but the Cowculator seeks to serve a critical role in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) outreach.  The technical concepts and professional environment can be intimidating or daunting. With humor and puns aplenty, the Cowculator works to connect with students to demystify conceptions about careers in STEM.

The Cowculator doesn’t help students solve their problems, but rather she’s all about empowering them. Puzzles and problems can be “udderly” fun when it’s in the process. The challenge.  The work. With a little grit mixed into instruction, kids can become their own personal problem solvers with no need for a Cowculator.  They can be their own superhero—with or without a cape.


At a Supergirl STEM Conference
About to read a children's book on Engineering to 1st graders