Halloween with SWE

I hope that all of you had a great Halloween! Since I didn't have any plans, I went to a Halloween party hosted by SWE, the Society of Women Engineers.

SWE is one of the organizations on campus geared toward female engineering students. Even though the club focuses on women students, men are welcome to join. There actually were a few guys at the meeting! Generally SWE supplies food and invites representatives from different companies to speak at their meetings. I have not been able to go to a lot of them because AIChE (American Institute of Chemical Engineers) almost always meets at the same time.

Since it was Halloween, they had pizza, candy, and a costume contest (with prizes!) instead of the usual presentation. After everyone settled in, the board members gave a presentation on becoming a nationl member of SWE. The Society of Women Engineers is a national organization with members all across the country. National members have access to scholarships and career resources that are not available to other students. It costs money to become a national member ($20 a year for students or $50 for all of college + 1 year as a professional), but it can be worth it if you take advantage of all the opportunities that being a national member offers.

MSU's chapter of SWE also organizes different social and volunteer events. This year, they already visited a cider mill, held a movie night, and hosted a tailgate. At the meeting, they also discussed bringing a group of volunteers to the humane society and the Ronald McDonald House.

Joining a group like SWE could help you get involved with the community of Spartan engineers, greater East Lansing community, and a community of professional engineers across the country.