Hi Everyone! My name is Michaela Flaherty; I’m a junior studying Mechanical Engineering at UPenn. I’m also the AWE intern, which means I play a big role in planning a lot of the events for women engineers. I’m also a co–chair in Educational Outreach for SWE, which is a frequent partner of AWE (SWE, for those of you who don’t know, stands for Society of Women Engineers—which Sheetal talked more about in her entry last month).
Our latest event was High School Shadowing Day, which took place this past Wednesday. We hosted over 30 high school girls from local high schools, who were each paired up with a Penn woman engineer. Then, each student got to follow their engineer match to 3 different classes throughout the morning. At our closing luncheon, Dr. Katherine Kuchenbecker—one of our professors in Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics--spoke about her experience as an Engineer and her role at UPenn. Overall, it was a great day, and we’re already looking forward to next year’s High School Shadowing Day!
Our events are not only educational; they’re also great for fostering relationships and making new friends! We have a bunch of social events throughout the semester, scattered among our professional/academic development ones. Planning a successful event can be a challenge, but it’s a lot of fun and it’s very rewarding! My favorite parts of being involved with SWE and AWE (besides making a difference for women in engineering, of course) are the opportunities to become a part of Penn Engineering and to meet a lot of the students and faculty that make the school what it is.
Fortunately, at Penn, it’s very easy to get involved—especially in the Engineering school. I definitely encourage everyone to pursue something you are passionate about; with enough hard work and persistence, virtually anyone who wants a leadership role can find one that is the right fit.
No comments:
Post a Comment