A World of Opportunity Awaits
The Society of Women Engineers (SWE) WE22 Societal Conference was held in Houston, Texas, on Oct. 19–22. Twelve members of Tech’s SWE section and their advisor, Gretchen Hein, attended the conference.
The section’s conference activities included:
- Hein, Aerith Cruz, Skyler Brawley and Talia Olson held an #IamRemarkable Workshop regarding how to advocate for yourself and others.
- Alli Hummel and Kathleen Heusser presented on the SWE Section’s tiered funding model.
- Julia Westfall applied and was accepted into the SWE Collegiate Leadership Institute.
- The section was awarded the 2000 Gold Level Collegiate Mission Award.
- Gretchen Hein was recognized for her review of Undergraduate Scholarship and the Multicultural Awards.
The students also enjoyed meeting many of our Tech alumni who attended the Houston Area Alumni Meet and Greet. It was interesting to learn about their experiences at Tech and how campus and classes have changed over the years.
The section and their advisor thank their corporate sponsors for supporting their travel to the conference. We look forward to attending SWE WE23 Societal Conference in Los Angeles, California, next year.
Each student’s conference experience was different, and their quotes are below:
- Alli Hummel (civil engineering):
“The most impactful part of the conference was talking to various students and company representatives after giving a presentation on our section’s tiered funding model.” - Abby Mello (chemical engineering):
“It was inspiring to hear the stories of so many accomplished women in STEM. I look forward to seeing the women in our chapter follow in their footsteps, face challenges with the confidence they have earned, and lead impactful lives fulfilling their aspirations.” - Natalie Hodge (electrical and computer engineering):
“It was amazing to hear stories and life lessons from many incredible women. It really helped me rethink the way I approach challenges and other situations.” - Victoria Berger (materials science and engineering):
“I found the keynote speeches to be inspiring and motivating and loved how the women presenting them were so accomplished in life.” - Amanda West (mechanical engineering):
“With the support of my SWE section and the environment of woman empowerment, I took full advantage of the career fair with hundreds of companies, learning how to network and sell my resume.” - Aerith Cruz (management information systems):
“It was an incredible experience being able to share “#IamRemarkable” to a global audience.” - Skyler Brawley (computer engineering):
“I had an amazing experience during my first time at the WE22 conference.” - Talia Olson (mechanical engineering):
“I had the opportunity of presenting with such inspiring women leaders on the #IamRemarkable workshop.” - Kathleen Heusser Pakenas (biomedical engineering):
“I was able to see the most amazing women in engineering leadership … The entire experience made me feel that I can have a place at the top of the engineering world too, if I’m willing to work hard enough for it.” - Sophie Stewart (mechanical engineering):
“I have never seen so many women engineers in one place! I had so much fun attending the sessions, networking, and hearing everyone’s story.“ - Josie Edick (chemical engineering):
“As a graduating senior, I spent a lot of my time during WE22 at the career fair. … I was able to diversify my network and discuss opportunities with industries I never knew were possible to work in as a chemical engineer.” - Julia Westfall (mechanical engineering):
“I learned MTU alumni are everywhere and frequently hold leadership positions wherever they are … I did not realize how well employers recognized our smaller-sized school.”
By Gretchen Hein, Advisor, Society of Women Engineers.