SWE Spreads the Love
Society of Women Engineers, better known as SWE, is a national organization which exists to advocate for women in engineering and technology fields. The organization has been around for more than six decades and is centered around a passion for their members' success. SWE continues to evolve with the challenges and opportunities reflected in today's engineering and technology specialties. SWE is a world-wide organization, and is an enormous organization on the Missouri University of Science and Technology (Missouri S&T) campus.
Missouri S&T has over one-hundred active SWE members. These students come from all backgrounds, majors, and even sexes. You might think that SWE is a club exclusively for women, but there are several male advocates at Missouri S&T. SWE also has members of a variety of majors - from civil engineering to IST and business majors - who actively participate in the organization.
The Missouri S&T SWE chapter is very active on campus and the community. One of their main goals is outreach to the younger generations so that they may spread a love of engineering and technology to the next generation of STEM students and professionals. Members of SWE visit local elementary schools to demonstrate nano-technology and do other hands-on activities. They also partner with the Women’s Program to host a Lock-in on campus. This Lock-in is available to female juniors and seniors in highschool who are looking to explore the science, math, and engineering departments at Missouri S&T. They also hosted “Make a Move” to teach female students about robotic motion. The goal was to make the program interesting and explain in a fun way how the robotic parts interact with each other. The students also had the opportunity to write their own programs. SWE also hosts other events which focus on robotics. In one such event, the Mars Rover Team shows off their competition robot.
Although this SWE is focused on women in STEM, there is more to its mission than just recruiting students. SWE aims to bring women together to form lasting friendships and create everlasting memories. To do this, they host fun events on campus, such as “just for fun” evening socials and on February 13th they hosted a “Galentine’s Day Social.”
Many of the Missouri S&T chapter members are also members at the national level. Several members attend local, state, and national SWE conferences. To fundraise for the expenses associated with attending these conferences, SWE hosted a “SWE Rose Sale '' on February 13th and 14th in the Havener Center and the Curtis Laws Wilson Library. The sale gave Missouri S&T students an opportunity to show their love to a friend, a family member, or a significant other on Valentine’s Day or just spread the love of SWE. One-hundred percent of the proceeds go to SWE, helping them send members to conferences in addition to supporting their outreach program which works with the Rolla Girls Scouts, the Rolla middle school, and the Newburg Children's Museum.
