FY19 SWE PNW Collegiate Scholarship Recipients

Contributor: Elaine Reeves

SWE PNW has the privilege of being able to offer several scholarship opportunities to students to support our SWE mission & vision:

Our Mission: Empower women to achieve full potential in careers as engineers and leaders, expand the image of the engineering and technology professions as a positive force in improving the quality of life, and demonstrate the value of diversity and inclusion.

Our Vision: A world with gender parity and equality in engineering and technology.

SWE PNW college scholarships are targeted for both high school seniors that will be pursuing engineering as well as college freshman to juniors that are in an engineering program. We are therefore thrilled to announce the winners of our FY18 SWE PNW Collegiate Scholarship Program!

Mary Ellen Russell Memorial Scholarship

Mary Ellen Russell, a charter member of the PNW section of SWE, devoted her career to engineering and science. She dedicated her life and energy to activities to the benefit of SWE, to geology, to outdoor activities and to the leadership of many young women and men who cherished their time with her. Mary Ellen earned degrees in Mathematics and Geology at the University of Washington. The recipient must have achieved at least a college level junior standing. The Mary Ellen Russell Memorial Scholarship is a minimum of $1000.

FY19 Recipient: Alissa Capuano who is a Civil Engineering student at Seattle University 

Congratulations to our two time scholarship winner!

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Elaine Reeves has over ten years of experience in EMC and Environmental Hardware Compliance in both commercial and medical equipment. She graduated with a Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Washington, Seattle in 2017. She is an active in SWE PNW as is the current FY19 President.

FY18 SWE PNW Certificate of Merit Scholarship Recipients

Contributor: Elaine Reeves

We are thrilled to announce the winners of our FY18 SWE PNW Certificate of Merit (COM) Scholarship Program!

Our FY18 SWE PNW COM Scholarship Recipients are:

• Aditi Kumar
• Karen Benson
• Anna Soper
• Diane Haass

The COM Award program was established to honor high school women having high  achievement in science and mathematics and to encourage them to consider engineering as a career. To receive a certificate, the student should be someone whom you would like to encourage considering engineering as one of their career options.

To be eligible for a COM Scholarship, applicants must meet the following qualifications:

1. Be a woman of Senior standing who will graduate from high school by June of the application year.
2. Be a woman who has been accepted for enrollment in an ABET accredited engineering college or university.
3. Be a Certificate of Merit (COM) Award recipient.

Thank you to all the students that applied and good luck to our recipients as they begin their college careers!

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Elaine Reeves has over nine years of experience in EMC and Environmental Hardware Compliance in both commercial and medical equipment. She graduated with a Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Washington, Seattle in 2017. She is an active in SWE PNW as is the current FY19 President.

FY18 SWE PNW Collegiate Scholarship Recipients

Contributor: Elaine Reeves

SWE PNW has the privilege of being able to offer several scholarship opportunities to students to support our SWE mission & vision:

Our Mission: Empower women to achieve full potential in careers as engineers and leaders, expand the image of the engineering and technology professions as a positive force in improving the quality of life, and demonstrate the value of diversity and inclusion.

Our Vision: A world with gender parity and equality in engineering and technology.

SWE PNW college scholarships are targeted for both high school seniors that will be pursuing engineering as well as college freshman to juniors that are in an engineering program. We are therefore thrilled to announce the winners of our FY18 SWE PNW Collegiate Scholarship Program!

Lydia Pickup Memorial Scholarship

Lydia Pickup, a member of the Pacific Northwest Section of SWE, devoted her career to engineering and science and her life and energies to the benefit of SWE. Lydia served as chief petty officer in the Waves during World War II. She attended the University of Kentucky and worked as an engineer at Boeing. In addition to being an avid SWE member and supporter, Lydia was very active in the American Legion. The recipient must have achieved at least a college level junior standing. The Lydia Pickup Memorial Scholarship is a minimum of $1000.

FY18 Recipient: Alexis Brandon who is a Petroleum Engineering student at Montana Tech of the University of Montana.

Mary Ellen Russell Memorial Scholarship

Mary Ellen Russell, a charter member of the PNW section of SWE, devoted her career to engineering and science. She dedicated her life and energy to activities to the benefit of SWE, to geology, to outdoor activities and to the leadership of many young women and men who cherished their time with her. Mary Ellen earned degrees in Mathematics and Geology at the University of Washington. The recipient must have achieved at least a college level junior standing. The Mary Ellen Russell Memorial Scholarship is a minimum of $1000.

FY18 Recipient: Alissa Capuano who is a Civil Engineering student at Seattle University 

Shirley Holmgreen Memorial Scholarship

Shirley Holmgreen was a winner of Zonta International’s Amelia Earhart scholarship. She was a graduate of the University of Texas in Aero Engineering and completed post-graduate studies in Belgium. Professionally, Shirley was an expert in wind tunnels and worked as an engineer at Boeing. The recipient must have achieved at least a college level sophomore standing. The Shirley Holmgreen Memorial Scholarship is a minimum of $500.

FY18 Recipients:

Leticia Ndagang who is a Mechanical Engineering student at Seattle University.

Krista Brown who is a Biological Engineering student at the Montana State University in Bozeman.

Congratulations to our scholarship winners!

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Elaine Reeves has over nine years of experience in EMC and Environmental Hardware Compliance in both commercial and medical equipment. She graduated with a Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Washington, Seattle in 2017. She is an active in SWE PNW as is the current FY19 President.

Region J Scholarship Fundraiser by SWE PNW

As we bid a fond farewell to Region J, we'd like to do one last thing to solidify the region's legacy. Region J plans to use its remaining region funds to endow a second scholarship. They are currently a little short on the necessary $25,000 required to endow a new scholarship. SWE PNW voted as an EC on April 22, 2018 to commit to a fundraising goal of $1,500 to help Region J close the gap to reach $25,000.

Endowing this scholarship will be Region J's final act. We hope you will join us in enabling the region to empower women to succeed one more time! If you are able, please make contributions through the link below by  Friday, May 25, 2018.

Margaret "Pritch" Pritchard

Donation Link: https://www.paypal.me/swepnw/25

What?

The new scholarship would be named for Margaret (Pritch) Pritchard, aka the “Godmother of Region J.” The new scholarship, if endowed, would have the following criteria:

• Renewable for 5 years
• Scholarship Recipient Class Status: Sophomore, Junior, Senior, Graduate
• SWE collegiate membership required
• Any engineering major
• Geographic location preference: Oregon, Washington, Alaska, Montana, Idaho
• Geographic selection based on College location, not home address

Statement from Daria Wightman, who co-chaired the 1996 SWE National Convention:

I would love to have an endowed scholarship in Margaret Pritchard (Pritch)’s name. Pritch was the godmother of the Section and Region J. She helped with the 1996 Convention in Portland and used her connections to provide local native American entertainment. 

She also mentored many of us in the Region as well as had SWE friends throughout the US. Since she traveled for her consulting engineering work, she was more comfortable being a member at large. However, she attended the Region conferences and Section activities when she was in town.

Pritch was a pioneer in the engineering field as one of the first SWE members in the Region. She solved engineering problems in water, wastewater, manufacturing, laundries, and energy around the world as well as in the United States.

She was quite a character and inspiration. She lived in Milwaukie and Oak Lodge, Oregon all her life and has been interviewed by local historians and SWE. As a pioneer in the field of engineering and consulting, she would be a great role model for young students applying for the scholarship. Her life would have so much more power to inspire and motivate and it would keep her memory alive.

To learn more about Pritch, check out these links:

• Oral History: http://ethw.org/Oral-History:Margaret_Pritchard
• SWE Pioneer: http://societyofwomenengineers.swe.org/page/4986-margaret-pritchard
• Podcast: SWE Stories – Tales from the Archives Episode #2: http://alltogether.swe.org/2017/11/podcast-swe-stories-tales-from-the-archives-episode-2/

Have questions about this SWE PNW Fundraiser?

• Contact our Section Treasurer at swe.pnw.treasurer@gmail.com for information on the finances or donation side.
• Contact our Section Rep at swe.pnw.section.reps@gmail.com for information on the Region J side.