By Meredith Howard | Staff Writer
Baylor’s Society of Women Engineers’ two-day fundraiser is underway, and the club officers hope to outsell themselves today and use the event to support women in STEM.
The Baylor branch of the national organization sold socks, succulents and scrunchies from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Rogers Engineering and Computer Science Building and from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Teal Residential College.
Georgetown freshman Jenna Champion is on SWE’s freshman council and worked a shift selling products at the fundraiser yesterday. She said the fundraiser was going well, and that she has enjoyed her first year in the organization.
“We’ve sold quite a bit so far,” Champion said. “We’re hoping maybe people will see this up today and then buy some tomorrow.”
Tuesday, officers will be selling the same products from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Rogers and from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at Teal.
The national Society for Women Engineers is the “world’s largest advocate and catalyst for change for women in engineering and technology.” The organization was founded over 60 years ago, and many colleges and universities host its chapters. The Baylor chapter’s mission is “to provide students the opportunity of leadership, career preparation to create a sense of community, and to promote academic success at Baylor University.”
Champion said one benefit of being in SWE at Baylor was the networking opportunities it presents its members.
“It has great opportunities for internships and jobs, and it’s just fun to get to know other people in engineering who are also girls,” Champion said. “The STEM field in general is male-dominated, so just having that [group] so we can band together.”
Orange, Calif., freshman Caysey Walker is a pre-engineering major, and said she feels that Baylor values its female engineering students.
“I actually do feel like it’s split pretty evenly,” Walker said. “We have a lot of women in our class, and I’ve seen a lot of girls just in general going into engineering more recently. Especially here at Baylor, I think that they really hype up women in engineering.”
Walker also said she thinks students should pursue their interests regardless of whether their field may be traditionally viewed as male-dominated.
“I think that based on gender, there shouldn’t be a reason to not go for what you like to do,” Walker said.
More information about the Baylor Society for Women Engineers is available online. To find out more about meeting times and how to join the group, contact baylorswe@gmail.com.
