Haley Barnes, LCL
Learning Content Coordinator
One of the best parts of Society of Women Engineers is the fellowship gained by being surrounded by women in engineering that understand what you are going through as an engineering student, but sometimes, us graduate students are pulled toward phenomenal opportunities that do not necessarily lead us to a new SWE family. As a proud member of the University of North Texas Denton section, I greatly relied on my SWE family for social and academic support. When I got the opportunity to complete my Master’s at the University of North Texas Health Science Center (UNTHSC) in Fort Worth, Texas, I was very excited to move forward in my biomedical engineering career. This opportunity was bittersweet however, because UNTHSC does not have a SWE section and likely won’t have a SWE section because of their emphasis on the pure biomedical and healthcare sciences.
Despite my fear that I would not be able to stay active in the SWE Network, my first year of my master’s provided multiple opportunities to stay involved with local SWE professional sections and the Society. Here are my top 3 tips for how I would advise any SWE graduate member at an institution without a SWE section!
- See if there are any local professional sections near you. By moving to Fort Worth, I had the opportunity to join the Fort Worth professional section or the Dallas professional section. Though I was not surrounded by students, I still was able to participate in the SWE fellowship. I also had close proximity to mentors and because of my involvement in the section, I also was alerted about volunteering opportunities that impacted my community.
- Get involved with the Society by joining the Facebook group and participating in a committee. With social media and the new update to the Society website, it is extremely easy to become involved with the international activities of the Society. Check out opportunities to serve on a Society committee, organize a workshop at WE Local, or volunteer at WE19.
- Don’t be afraid to start a new section where you are! Your SWE identity does not have to be tied to a section. You represent SWE wherever you go! If you have enough people at your campus interested, you may be able to start a SWE section. The Society also offers has a ‘Member-At-Large’ membership option for those who travel frequently or are geographically isolated from a local section. You also have the freedom to reach out to other SWE sections that may be out of your driving range but can be accessed by Skype or webinar. During semesters where I couldn’t be super involved in professional sections, I scheduled meetings to speak to the collegiate sections in my metroplex.
