UW Students Find Inspiration at Annual Society of Women Engineers Conference

Seven members of the collegiate section of the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) at the University of Wyoming recently traveled to New Orleans to take advantage of an extraordinary opportunity.

The SWE puts on the largest conference for women in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) each year. This year’s conference, which took place Oct. 23-25, featured more than 200 informational sessions and a career fair boasting over 400 employers from across the globe. Attendees came from 85 different countries. The UW contingent were not only the lone representatives from the university, but also from Wyoming.

The collegiate section SWE members who attended this year’s conference were Margaret Hollingshead and Yesenia Vicencio Delgadillo, both from Rock Springs; Paula Medina Bolaños and Kelly Joyce, both from Cody; Payson Webb, of Gillette; Laura Rojas, of Bogotá, Colombia; and Preetika Kaur, of Ludhiana, Punjab, India.

The annual SWE Conference is an opportunity for members to learn, network and build their careers. Because the conference is global in scale, attendees gain insight into the scope of fields needing engineers and can interact with major employers, such as Toyota and Apple, companies students wouldn’t necessarily have contact with at local and regional conferences. For example, a past member of UW’s SWE is now designing roller coasters for Disney -- a position she secured at an SWE conference.

“There were people in every sector, including ceramic engineering, and engineers working with toilet paper, tape and even diapers. There were so many ways to take on engineering,” says Joyce, section treasurer and a second-year computer engineering major.

With the wide variety of session topics -- from emerging technologies to industry insights, to professional development, to navigating STEM careers as a woman -- there was something for everyone, regardless of background or major.

Joyce, for example, took advantage of a seminar on stage presentation to improve her public speaking skills. Since she will be taking over the reins when Webb graduates next year, Hollingshead, SWE vice president and a fourth-year mechanical engineering major, made sure to attend sessions on leadership and improving engagement for the student chapter.

This is Webb’s third year attending the conference, and, with graduation on the near horizon, she had her eye primarily on her job search. So, she focused on networking at the career fair, where she put in several applications and landed a job interview.

“It’s always so fun,” Webb says. “The energy in the room is so electric, and the industry talks are so motivating. It’s a place for empowering women in STEM and meeting women going through the same things.”

Rojas, the SWE social media manager and a third year Ph.D. student in energy and petroleum engineering, also had her eye on the job market, with a focus on the oil, gas and artificial intelligence sectors.

“I came back from the conference very motivated,” Rojas says. “There were so many opportunities for jobs, internships and networking.”

Due to recent changes at the federal level, funding to attend the conference proved more challenging for the student organization to secure this year. However, with guidance from Marjorie Jaeger, director of business operations in the office of the vice president for student affairs, and faculty adviser Eva Ferre-Pikal, an associate professor of electrical engineering and computer science, the SWE was able to garner funding through the Associated Students of the University of Wyoming and the support of donors on UW’s Giving Day.

SWE is dedicated to empowering women to achieve their full potential in careers as engineers and leaders, as well as expanding the image of the engineering profession as a positive force in improving quality of life and demonstrating the value of diversity.

The organization meets every other Tuesday at 4 p.m. in Room 350 of the Engineering Education and Research Building. The group also hosts activities throughout the semester, including an upcoming presentation practice event Nov. 20. All activities and meetings are open to students of any level, major and gender.

 To learn more about how to get involved or how to support SWE, follow the organization on social media at @swe_uwyo or email Payson Webb at pwebb6@uwyo.edu.