In the final weekend of October, the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) hosted WE24, the world’s largest conference for women in engineering and technology. SWE at Michigan Tech supported the travel of 19 students to the conference in Chicago, Illinois where they attended sessions, participated in the career fair, and met with Michigan Tech alumnae from the Chicago area and SWE at large.
The WE24 Career Fair is the largest career fair for women in the world. This year, students in attendance had 17 interviews and 4 internship offers just from participating in this event. Most of the students who interviewed will be hearing in the next few weeks regarding internships and full-time offers.
As part of the conference, WE24 held a robust awards ceremony where engineers from Michigan Tech received awards for their achievements and contributions.
The recipients included these Huskies:
- Julie Huffman ‘87, electrical engineering, received the Resnik Challenger Medal Award for visionary contributions to space programs
- Skyler Brawley, senior in computer engineering, received the Outstanding Collegiate Member Award for contributions to SWE, their community, and their campus
- Amanda Smies ‘18, materials engineering, received the Trailblazer Award for outstanding technical performance and/or leadership in a technical field
- Gretchen Hein ‘96, environmental engineering, and Presidential Council of Alumnae Member, retired associate teaching professor and SWE Advisor at Michigan Tech for 26 years, received the Distinguished Educator Award for significant contributions for at least 20 years, with at least 10 years of instructional experience in the fields of engineering and engineering technology
“The national SWE conference is something I look forward to every year. This year was extra special because Gretchen Hein and I had the honor of being recognized by SWE and receiving awards. It was truly a fantastic experience.”
Joining in their celebration was Kaitlyn Bunker ‘10 ‘12 ‘14 who currently serves as SWE Secretary. In addition, Tory Cantrell, senior in mechanical engineering, received the IPG Photonics SWE Scholarship and Carissa Best, junior in mechanical engineering and SWE at Michigan Tech president, received the Martha Maxwell Scholarship.
“This was the second SWE National Conference that I have had the privilege of attending and it always amazes me just how empowering it is to be surrounded by so many talented women in science, technology, and engineering. I had a wonderful time getting to know all the amazing women who came with me from Michigan Tech and it was quite amazing to watch them all become empowered as young woman engineers by the sessions they attended and the environment they were experiencing.”
SWE at Michigan Tech would like to thank the support of their generous sponsors, which enabled them to cover the travel costs for all participating Michigan Tech students. Congratulations to our outstanding engineers!
About the College of Engineering
Michigan Tech’s College of Engineering offers more than 15 bachelor of science degrees in biomedical engineering, chemical engineering, civil, environmental and geospatial engineering, electrical and computer engineering, engineering fundamentals, geological and mining engineering and sciences, manufacturing and mechanical engineering and technology, materials science and engineering, and mechanical and aerospace engineering.
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