Thankful for SWE
Happy Thanksgiving! We wanted to take this day to share with our members why we are thankful for SWE and how much SWE has changed our lives.
Dana Gill — Vice President of Finance
Favorite SWE Events: Outreach events are always so much fun because you get to influence and interact with young people and having the opportunity to add to their lives and introduce them to STEM! Conferences are so special to me, not only because I got to plan our trips to Minneapolis and Seattle, but also experiencing Societal SWE has been so beneficial in seeing how a larger, global organization runs, and traveling builds independence within all attendees, which I love! Each year I love attending the banquet and celebrating all of hard work and accomplishments the entire year!!
Why Dana is thankful for SWE: SWE has enhanced my life in many ways. It provided me leadership opportunities throughout my college career, introduced me to some of my best friends, and has taught me multiple aspects not taught in school: financial wellness, professional networking, time management, and how I can empower those around me. SWE has been an outlet for me when I get stressed about school and gave me a support system of girls going through the exact same experiences I am!
Morgan Smith — Big-Little Director
Morgan’s Favorite Events: Big-Little program, all social events, professional development events
Why Morgan is Thankful for SWE: After becoming involved in SWE, I have met the most amazing female engineers who have become some of my best friends today. Through the Big-Little program, I received the best mentorship and was able to mentor future engineers and leaders. The leadership roles I have held have helped me grow as a person, learn more about being a leader in engineering, and provided me with experience that has allowed me to receive job offers from some of the largest and coolest engineering companies.
Vic Black — Social Director
Vic’s Favorite Events: Pins Social, Salary Negotiation workshop
Why Vic is Thankful for SWE: SWE has given me a support network of women all experiencing similar things in engineering. It gives me an escape outside of classes and schoolwork to meet amazing people that inspire me in different ways every day.
Kara McLaughlin — Interim Education Director
Kara’s Favorite SWE Events: Pins Social, Engineering Ball, Big Little Program
Why Kara is Thankful for SWE: I am thankful for all the friends I have made through SWE and for how SWE has allowed me to grow as an engineer
Anna Posta — Professional Development Director
Anna’s Favorite SWE Events: Cake wars, big little program, professional development events!
Why Anna is thankful for SWE: I am thankful for SWE for all of the role models I have met, the mentorship opportunities. SWE has helped my confidence personally and professionally (school, internships). I am so thankful to have a supportive group to learn from.
Amanda Slager — Historical Director
Amanda’s Favorite SWE Events: SWE ball, conference, banquet, painting with a twist, zoo lights, big little
Why Amanda is Thankful for SWE: I am thankful for SWE because of all of the great connections and friendships I’ve made. I have received invaluable advice from various members regarding internships and classes that has really helped me become successful academically and professionally. In addition, some of my best friends are in SWE. I love the connection that we all form and the passion we all share for supporting women in engineering. I feel like I can go to anyone, especially the other Officers, with any questions or concerns I may have either academically or about life in general. Overall, SWE has helped shape my college experience tremendously and has shaped me as a person along the way. I am incredibly grateful for this organization and I can’t wait to see what all we get to do in the future!
Katie Lenz — VP of Communications
Katie’s Favorite Events: Engineering Expo 101 event, Engineering Ball, SWE Conferences, and Outreach events!
Why Katie is Thankful for SWE: I am thankful for SWE for giving me opportunities to improve my leadership and mentorship skills. I am learning valuable life skills outside of the classroom and I love being there to support other women in Engineering!
Claire Penrose — VP of Relations
Claire’s Favorite SWE Event: Conference!
Why Claire is thankful for SWE: I am thankful for SWE because it gave me a community to be a part of since my freshman year. I have found truly my best friends through this organizations who support me through all of my endeavors. Truly life long friends that I would not have without SWE. SWE has open the door for so many opportunities and given me the chance to feel so passionately about a mission.
Lindsay Schmidt — Membership Director
Lindsay’s Favorite SWE Events: Negotiating salary, SWE ball, ice cream social and freshmen dorm decorating!
Why Lindsay is thankful for SWE: SWE has provided me a community of amazing, supportive women in STEM that serve to inspire me every day. I have experienced so much love and help from every SWEster I have met and it’s so cool to see how much I have grown with everyone! SWE has also helped me grow professionally and positively affected my college experience by giving me an organization that I am passionate about growing here!!
Allison Whitney — President
Allison’s Favorite SWE Events: I’ve loved outreach events where we go to the school for Discover Engineering. I also love the Big-Little program and have gotten so much from it, both from being a big and little!
Why Allison is Thankful for SWE: SWE has made my life better in so many ways! I’ve gained so much from it professionally because of all the events we’ve hosted to help perfect your resume, network with companies, and learn about what it’s like to be a real engineer. I’ve also made so many lifelong friends in SWE! My college experience has been so rewarding because of SWE and it’s something I can take with me after graduation!
