Member of the Month, February: Maima Samah

I’ve been part of SWE since first semester this year. From the beginning I knew this was going to be one of my favorite clubs on campus. SWE has been very useful guiding me through campus with the many helpful workshops they offer like the how to handle my finances during Handle Your Purse at the February GBM. SWE has also allowed me to network with interesting professionals as well as other SWE members. I am also a part of the Outreach Committee and it’s nice to know that I’m helping put together events that will help get kids interested in the field I love so much. Hopefully as I go through my life here at RPI I will be able to be more involved with SWE.

Member of the Month, February: Morgan Kube

Morgan, center, speaks to parents at Girl Scout Engineering Day Spring 2013

I have become more involved with SWE at the beginning of this year. SWE has opened so many doors for me both professionally and personally. I really enjoy all the networking events that they schedule for their members as well as just the generally body meetings. Recently I volunteered through SWE at Girl Scout Engineering Day. I helped with the parent program and led an activity about how to make home-made lava lamps. This was a fun way to give parents fun science activities that they could do with their children to get them involved in STEM fields. Not only do the kids enjoy these activities but you can tell that the parents really enjoy them too. This was also a great networking experience because I was invited to go camping with one of the Girl Scout troops to teach them all about environmental engineering while camping. I look forward to many more SWE-vents in the future!

Member of the Month, February: Obe Aye-Addo

Obe hard at work on the far right at Girl Scout Engineering Day Spring 2013

I have been involved with SWE a lot so far this semester and I wish I started earlier! As a transfer student, I was still finding my way around a bigger school, my classes, meeting new people, and even though it was my third year in college, it was my first year away from home so adjusting did not come easy at first. I usually have the problem of wanting to do everything at once, so after trying out different clubs and events my first semester, I narrowed down the extracurricular activities I wanted to do the rest of my time at RPI (finally!) and I’m happy to say SWE was one of them! I think the thing that really drew me to SWE, besides what the organization itself stands for and how candid, humble, and devoted the members and officers are, was how really involved the RPI chapter is; and I mean, REALLY! Besides hosting companies for networking sessions and empowering sessions like Night of Networking and Breaking Barriers Women Unite (the list goes on!), they also reach out through SWE Outreach to younger children especially young women. This outreach section of RPI’s chapter does their part in educating kids about engineering while making presentations interactive and fun in events like Exploring Engineering Day and Girl Scouts Engineering Day. I have to say that this is my favorite part of SWE so far; I get to educate young people about the endless possibilities of applying everyday life through engineering while having fun doing things like making slime and breaking things with liquid Nitrogen; odd combination, I know, but they make it work and that’s why I love being a part of it!