Congrats to Penn SWE!

Congratulations to Penn SWE for being named Region E Outstanding Collegiate Section!

Penn SWE was named Region E Outstanding Collegiate Section at the Region E Conference held March 25 – 27, 2010 in Charlottesville, VA. Penn SWE was selected from 57 collegiate sections within Region E by a committee of regional leaders. Along with receiving the title of Outstanding Collegiate Section, they were awarded a plaque and cash prize, which will be used to continue to support SWE events and members.

Penn SWE was awarded specifically for its successful hosting of last year’s Region E Conference in March 2010, High School Shadowing Day held in October, and the 14th Annual Corporate Dinner held this February. Last year’s Region E Conference saw over 300 attendees (the largest attendance in recent history) and hosted influential National SWE leaders, professionals, and collegiates. High School Shadowing Day, which is Penn SWE’s largest outreach event, brought 30 high school girls to Penn Engineering to shadow SWE members. The high school attendees learned about different engineering majors, what it’s like to study engineering in college, and the types of careers available in the future. The 14th Annual Corporate Dinner was a big success again this year as it brought together engineering students in many fields and levels of study with industry recruiters from such sponsoring companies as Barclays Capital, Merck, Micros Systems, and Accenture.

Along with being awarded Outstanding Collegiate Section at the Region E Conference, Penn SWE earned third place in Region E’s Membership Drive for a 92% increase in national SWE membership this year. The 10 Penn SWE members in attendance at the conference also met and spoke with SWE Society President Siddika Demir, Region E Governor Colleen Layman, and many other national and regional leaders. Three Penn SWE members were also elected to this year’s Region E Collegiate Leadership Team: congratulations to Region Collegiate Representative Anita Sapre, Region Collegiate Senator Melissa Cedarholm, and Region Collegiate Alternate Senator Sheetal Rajagopal! All three will be attending the Collegiate Leadership Forum this summer with the SWE Board of Directors along with regional leaders from across the country.

Penn SWE has had a terrific year at the regional and local level, and they appreciate the continued support and dedication of all SWE members as well as the support of Penn Engineering staff and faculty. Penn SWE recently elected its incoming board for next year and is looking forward to another great year!

Written by Samantha Wang, Past SWE President, Senior, Bioengineering