Cornell women and Hispanic engineer groups capture national awards

The Society of Women Engineers (SWE) at Cornell won first place in the Outstanding Collegiate Section Competition at the 2007 SWE National Conference in Nashville, Tenn., Oct. 27.

Also recently garnering a national award was the Cornell chapter of the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE), which received the Outstanding Chapter of the Year Award at a national conference in Philadelphia during the first weekend in November.

Judging written reports submitted months earlier, the SWE competition recognized accomplishments of collegiate SWE chapters. Cornell's report was a compilation of all events Cornell SWE participated in throughout the year, according to Jenna Rea, Cornell SWE co-president.

"We feel very fortunate to have been awarded this year," Rea said. "Our competitors included a 500-member SWE section from California, and our section is only 250 members."

Cornell's SWE chapter organizes many events during the academic year. Two new events this year included a social T-shirt-making activity and a networking trip to New York City during Cornell's fall break.

Similar to the SWE requirements, the SHPE had to submit a 50-page report on their previous academic year, including: documentation of student-chapter activities for future and existing chapters; demonstration to industry sponsors of how their support is being utilized; and documentation of individual chapter efforts in accomplishing SHPE goals.

SHPE chapters are expected to host programs that offer experience in professional, leadership, academic and chapter development, as well as outreach and community service.

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