Volunteers have always been vital to the success of ASNT. In honor of National Volunteer Appreciation Week, we asked active Society members why they volunteer to help ASNT reach our mission of creating a safer world.
Kathy Ferguson
FODetector Support
Boeing Research & Technology
Chair, Pacific Northwest Section
How did you become active in ASNT?
When I came to Seattle, I went to a section meeting. My job role had changed to focusing mainly on materials engineering. I was no longer doing NDT inspections, but instead was limited to calling out NDT requirements on airplane fabrication drawings and repair procedures. ASNT became the way I could stay in touch with NDT. At that first meeting, I was nominated to be a director. I felt so honored, I stayed involved ever since.
Why do you volunteer as a mentor?
I like to help people and I enjoy working with students. I’m into affirmation. I tell the students they don’t have to know everything, but they have to have people they can rely on.
As section chair, I get a lot of phone calls. I coach people through a problem, help them find their first job, help them feel confident. I want people to have enough self-esteem to make hard calls. You have to have a lot of honor and integrity—you can’t do this job if you aren’t honest.
You need the support structure and camaraderie of ASNT. It is very important to be a part of ASNT.
How have you benefited from being active in ASNT?
Being a member of ASNT has helped me grow. I would have never volunteered to be section chair, but the mentoring I received from other chairs helped me to achieve more than I otherwise would have. Then you help bring others up through the ranks. You help them break through barriers that were holding them back.
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Saptarshi Mukherjee, Ph.D.
Applied Electromagnetics Research Scientist
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Vice-Chair, Golden Gate Section
Research Council Program Committee, Engineering Council
Why are you a member of ASNT?
ASNT opened many opportunities to me in this field. I met a lot of experts, scientists, and professionals who were proactive in helping students. Through my mentors [Yi-Cheng (Peter) Pan and Shant Kendarian, at different times] I learned about ASNT and how to contribute. I participated in a lot of STEM activities in my initial days. This is an area where I have the ability to contribute with research, mentoring, and outreach.
Why do you volunteer as a mentor?
The mentorship program was very helpful when I was a student, and now that I am a mentor, I help others navigate their careers. It is great to have a mentor who has just graduated as well as those long in their career.
I’m currently mentoring Anthony, who is a high school student. He has already taken a lot of classes in radiography and ultrasonic testing. It is great to help him move forward. I’m fascinated that in high school Anthony has so much knowledge of NDE. It’s nice to know the resources available and it is a great learning experience for me, too.
Moving forward, it would be great to be associated with more volunteering opportunities.
How have you benefitted from being active in ASNT?
I met Anish Poudel at ASNT through one of the volunteering events and we stayed in touch.
Recently I organized an NDE electromagnetic workshop at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. I asked Anish to talk about ASNT at the workshop and he said yes. The whole event was supported by ASNT, and it was completely voluntary. This was one of the most positive things that came out of being involved in ASNT and being involved in volunteering in ASNT.
This workshop has resulted in more conversations for collaborations.
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Tara Kavanaugh
Level III, Quality Engineer and Lead Internal Auditor
Magellan Aerospace Processing
Chair, Metro New York/Northern New Jersey Section
How did you get started volunteering with ASNT?
It was basically an accident! At the start of my career, in the early part of the millennium, I began attending our local section meetings. I showed up enough that I was asked if I wanted to be on the board … and then sure enough, I was elected as a director!
What benefits have you experienced from volunteering with ASNT?
Meeting new people within the same genre of work is always a plus, getting to share NDT “war” stories and networking. But the greatest gift I have obtained was learning some great leadership traits over the years.
I have met some very great people. I have been given some very solid advice from amazing mentors from time to time. But I have also gained a sense of confidence with public speaking and leading a room. This has been a tremendous help over my career.
In addition, being involved and seeing our section reboot has been a very rewarding thing. The section was basically nonexistent for close to 10 years and then I received an invite to our “test” meeting and ever since we have regrown our section and I have even become chair! This is by far the most rewarding/positive part of volunteering within the organization.
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Danny L. Keck
KCS Enterprises
ASNT Vice President
How did you get started with ASNT?
I first joined the Ultrasonics Committee under the Technical & Education Council (T&E). I was at a conference and wanted to see what these committee meetings were all about. I volunteered for an assignment at that committee meeting—that was in 1978. I’ve been involved in ASNT in one way or another ever since.
I am part of T&E, the Certification Management Council, Industry Sector Qualification for Oil & Gas program, Employer-Based Certification Audit Program Committee, and the Board of Directors, as well as now, an officer of the Society.
Why do you volunteer to review publications?
To share my experience and to help those writing and developing publications get the information as accurate and meaningful as possible.
What are the benefits of volunteering with ASNT?
Meeting other professionals and learning from them, as well as letting others in the industry get to know you, which broadens your reach for prospective employment. That’s very beneficial when you progress to the consultancy side of the business.
I cannot imagine being in the NDT industry and not having the camaraderie and friendship of the literally hundreds of NDT professionals I have grown to know while volunteering at ASNT. I cherish that more than the employment itself. The employment pays better, but a dollar value cannot be placed on the rewards of volunteering at ASNT.
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Cindi Leeman is the ASNT Educational Materials Supervisor and editor of ASNT Pulse; cleeman@asnt.org.
There are a number of ways to get involved with ASNT and contribute to the NDT profession. We encourage you to explore these opportunities: