At the end of October I had the wonderful opportunity to attend the world’s largest conference for women in engineering and technology, the Society of Women Engineers National Conference (WE22). This year it was in Houston Texas and thousands of professional and collegiate women came from across the country to attend.
This was my first college conference and I had an incredible experience. I traveled to and attended the conference with 24 other USC students from our school’s Society of Women Engineers (SWE) chapter. It was great to gain professional enrichment while also hanging out with some great friends as we explored Houston in our free time!
WE22 was a three day conference, and each day we got to hear from a different Keynote Speaker about their life, career, and lessons they wished to pass on to us. One of the highlights of my trip was the career fair that occurred each day with 100’s of companies, most of which were actively hiring at the conference. It was an incredible opportunity to expand my network and gain experience delivering my elevator pitch and interviewing.
Throughout the conference there were also special events different companies hosted individually to facilitate additional networking and where we could learn more about the company. I had the privilege to attend a few of these events while in Houston. They were super fun and helped me further my professional network.
The conference also hosted workshops and seminars throughout the day on a large variety of topics. My favorite seminar was called “One Giant Leap: Women Paving the Way in Aerospace”. The seminar was a panel discussion featuring five inspiring female engineers in leadership roles at Boeing. They talked about their careers and provided great advice about being successful, happy, and impactful in your engineering role.
Everyday at the conference was packed full, and it was an incredibly enriching experience! I am so thankful to have experienced my first collegiate conference with my fellow USC SWE friends, and all the other SWE members we met from around the world.
