WSU SWE Industry Mentor Program 2018/2019

Guest Contributor: Ayumi Manawadu

Hello SWE PNW,

My name is Ayumi Manawadu and I am a graduate student in structural engineering, at Washington State University. I am the new coordinator for the Industry Mentor Program, conducted by WSU Society of Women Engineers (SWE). Each year, students are paired with industry mentors, who provide one-to-one guidance to make students prepared for their professional careers ahead. We anticipate having many new mentees join the program this semester and looking forward to expand.  

I wanted to reach out about joining the mentor program. Would you be willing to take part in the WSU SWE Mentor program during the 2018/2019 school year? Your expertise and knowledge will benefit the current WSU engineering students, to build their careers. The mentors are expected to provide guidance in areas such as;

·         Resume Critique

·         Improving networking circle

·         Enhancing interviewing skills

·         Providing general career advice

·         Building business etiquette skills

The mentor program is aimed to be primarily an email or phone relationship (not a huge time commitment), however meeting during breaks is always encouraged.

Attached is the mentor information sheet for the SWE mentor program 2018/2019. It has more details regarding the expectations and time commitment for the program. If you decide to be a part of this enriching program, please fill out the information sheet and email me back at wsu.swementor@gmail.com at your earliest convenience.

We look forward to hearing from you soon!

Ayumi Manawadu

Mentor Coordinator | Society of Women Engineers

Graduate Student| Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Washington State University

wsu.swementor@gmail.com

Industry Mentor Coordinator: Ayumi Manawadu

I joined WSU to pursue doctoral studies in Structural Engineering, soon after my bachelor's degree form Sri Lanka and this is my first year serving as a SWE officer. However, for years, I have volunteered as a President's Guide Awardee, an AIESECer, a Rotaractor and a youth leader, mentoring and empowering underprivileged communities. I joined SWE last semester, after volunteering for the Kids Science and Engineering Day (KSED-2018). I love basketball and played for my country, sometime ago. Currently, I am also a member of the Toastmasters Club. 

President: Rachel Johnson

This is my third year serving as a SWE officer and I am passionate about promoting diversity within STEM. I am from Santa Clara, CA and I'm majoring in mechanical engineering. I enjoy paddle boarding, hiking and baking during my free time.






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This guest article is part of SWE PNW's Collegiate Section Spotlight series, where we ask the local collegiate sections to showcase their section so we can share information up at the professional section level.

Collegiate Section Spotlight: Everett Community College

Guest Contributor: Kristine Washburn, Faculty Advisor, Society of Women Engineers, Everett Community College SWE

The EvCC SWE club has been around for nearly a decade and became an official CIG in 2013. Our main club activities are networking, outreach, and leadership and professional development.

We also like to make liquid nitrogen ice cream and play video games and board games together. Our big annual event is Dinner with Industry: a mentoring night where students can chat with local professionals over dinner. We send students to SWE conferences every year.

To fundraise for that, we host campus events like a videogame night before finals each quarter and we have a dunk tank at the college's spring fling where students can pay to try and dunk their engineering instructors. With the new WSU-North Puget Sound campus next door we hope to partner on events with their SWE in the future.


Everett Community College SWE Contact Info: kwashburn@everettcc.edu

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This guest article is part of SWE PNW's Collegiate Section Spotlight series, where we ask the local collegiate sections to showcase their section so we can share information up at the professional section level. These guest articles are coordinated by Elaine Reeves, Section Representative and College Relations focal for SWE PNW.

Collegiate Section Spotlight: Seattle University

Guest Contributor: Linda Karout (BS Electrical Engineering, Seattle University, SU Society of Women Engineers Vice President)

Seattle University’s SWE section provides myriad of opportunities for its members. At a school with roughly 4.7k undergrad students, SU SWE is able to connect to each of its members intimately and provide resources for life as a professional or grad student when the time comes. So, currently with 31 members, the SU SWE section is able to establish a connection between all of the engineering disciplines (Civil, Electrical, Mechanical, and Computer Science) and provide numerous networking and professional events throughout the year.

The SU SWE section’s most successful event is Resume Night where professionals from various engineering careers volunteer their time for a night to review the resumes of any student who is seeking help. This event is not only held for the members of SWE, but for the entire engineering department which helps SWE to pursue the SU mission of “educating the whole person, to professional formation, and to empowering leaders for a just and humane world.”

SU’s SWE also provides the opportunity for many of its members to attend the national SWE conference every year. This past year in Philadelphia, SU SWE was able to send 10 of its members to experience the enriching opportunities from various panels, networking, and one of the largest career fairs any of us have had the pleasure to attend!

In addition, SU SWE holds bake sales to raise funds and holds fun events such as movie nights and study sessions for bonding between fellow members. In the picture below, a group of SWE members participated in a trip to watch the critically acclaimed movie Hidden Figures in theatres; a movie about the great contributions that African American women made to the space program.

Thank you to those who have provided support to this program and our faculty advisor Dr. Agnieszka Miguel and her undying passion for her students.


For more information about SU SWE you can contact our section’s president Ashley White at whitea10@seattleu.edu or our sections vice president Linda Karout at karoutl@seattleu.edu

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This guest article is part of SWE PNW's Collegiate Section Spotlight series, where we ask the local collegiate sections to showcase their section so we can share information up at the professional section level. These guest articles are coordinated by Elaine Reeves, Section Representative and College Relations focal for SWE PNW.

Collegiate Section Spotlight: Montana Tech

Guest Contributor: Alexis Brandon, President, Society of Women Engineers, Montana Tech SWE

As a small school of only about 2,250 students, Montana Tech SWE is still able to offer many events to support our women on campus as well as create networking opportunities both with members and industry events. Over the past years, we have also raised thousands of dollars to donate to breast cancer research. Our attendance at the national conferences has risen exponentially due to the great support system it provides for women in STEM fields.

Montana Tech SWE is currently working on increasing our membership. Due to our school size, our membership tends to be low, but our officers this year are working very hard to provide worthwhile events that members are eager to attend.


Montana Tech SWE Contact Info: swe@mtech.edu

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This guest article is part of SWE PNW's Collegiate Section Spotlight series, where we ask the local collegiate sections to showcase their section so we can share information up at the professional section level. These guest articles are coordinated by Elaine Reeves, Section Representative and College Relations focal for SWE PNW.

Collegiate Section Spotlight: Washington State University North Puget Sound

Guest Contributors:  Tinneal Ching & Mariah Harvey (WSU-NPSE students)

The Washington State University North Puget Sound at Everett (WSU-NPSE) CIG was spearheaded by Mechanical Engineering students, Tinneal Ching and Mariah Harvey, to bring the benefits of SWE to the campus and promote professional development throughout student body while providing educational and career opportunities to women in STEM.

Officially established in January 2016, the CIG began with only 13 members. WSU’s Everett campus consists of a diverse demographic of non-traditional transfer students from local community colleges and universities.  A few members have attended the National Conference in Los Angeles, Nashville, and Philadelphia and attended the Regional ABJ Conference.

The CIG was officially approved on November 30th, 2016 and it continues to focus on organizing their “Women in Engineering” networking event, professional development workshops, local company tours, community outreach for K-12 students, Cougar Career Week, and hosting their annual Dinner with Industry with their sister chapter at Everett Community College.

Thank you to those who have supported us this past year and to both Dr. Ciera Graham, our organization’s advisor, and Mrs. Catherine Thomas, for her advocacy of our student organization.

For more information about WSU-NPSE’s SWE, please email us at SWE.NPSE@wsu.edu and visit us on our website [https://everett.wsu.edu/SWE_club_home] and our Facebook [https://facebook.com/WSU.NPSE.SWE]

(Updated 01/31/17: A previous version of this blog listed the Guest Contributor as Ciera Gaham)

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This guest article is part of SWE PNW's Collegiate Section Spotlight series, where we ask the local collegiate sections to showcase their section so we can share information up at the professional section level. These guest articles are coordinated by Elaine Reeves, Section Representative and College Relations focal for SWE PNW.

Collegiate Section Spotlight: University of Washington - Seattle

Guest Contributor: Emily Johanning (BS Civil Engineering, University of Washington, UW Society of Women Engineers President)

As one of 300 collegiate sections of SWE, the University of Washington (UW) section provides hundreds of unique opportunities for its members, including professional and academic development, social and professional networking, and community outreach. UW SWE has grown over 1500% in the past two years. What started as a group of 30 individuals has blossomed into an organization of over 450 students passionate about diversity in engineering. This increase in membership allows our section to have a huge reach, and gives us the opportunity to pursue our mission to its fullest.

However, with this many members, it can be hard to provide equally enriching opportunities to everyone. We have members from over 20 different majors who stay in UW SWE their entire collegiate career and expect different events every year, quarter, and month. Through the creation of ten new officer positions to bring our leadership team to a total of 28 officers (effectively increasing the officer team over 300% in the past two years), we now have the (wo)manpower to hold more events that enhance our organization.

Contact info for UW SWE:
email (main point of contact): swe@uw.edu
website (currently in progress): uwswe.com

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This guest article is part of SWE PNW's Collegiate Section Spotlight series, where we ask the local collegiate sections to showcase their section so we can share information up at the professional section level. These guest articles are coordinated by Elaine Reeves, Section Representative and College Relations focal for SWE PNW.