The University of Utah’s student section of the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) received second place in the Collegiate Section Award at the SWE Region B Conference. The award — which is bestowed to the top three collegiate sections from Utah, southern California, southern Nevada, Arizona and New Mexico — recognizes the U group for high activity, as well as its impact to both the university and local community.
Consisting of 70 members that represent all seven of the College of Engineering’s departments, the U SWE section hosts 15 annual outreach, professional development, membership and social initiatives. These include Girl Scout Night, Day in the Life and Evening with Industry events, as well as interacting with the Greater Salt Lake Professional Section of SWE.
Karli Gillette, U SWE president, says the College of Engineering’s outreach group has been instrumental in providing event and leadership support in order to host multiple activities and engage with diverse groups. She also credits the group’s faculty advisor, U computer science assistant professor Erin Parker, with providing professional insight into the group’s events.
“This award showcases that the University of Utah SWE Collegiate Section is one of the most active sections within Region B of the Society of Women Engineers,” explains Gillette. “This is a major milestone for the University of Utah SWE Collegiate Section.”