One of the greatest accomplishments of SHLA was allowing students to practice the skills they’ve learned, so below we’ve given our future leaders the opportunity to share their experience from their perspective!
“The SWENext High School Leadership Academy was a very well-organized program with an emphasis on leadership skills and valuable career pathway advice. I really enjoyed networking with like-minded STEM students in a fun virtual setting!” -Rhea Jethvani
“Attending the SHILA program was an incredible opportunity for emphasizing women in engineering. Being able to connect with fellow scholars who share the same passions as I do, and with awesome mentors was inspiring and helpful as my interest in engineering evolves, and as I work to advocate for more women and girls in STEM.” –Ameera Eshtewi
“As a young woman in STEM, it can feel extremely lonely being the only female programmer on a robotics team or always being told ‘you only got the position because of affirmative action’. Being a part of the Virtual SHLA 2020 camp allowed me to meet with other STEM women and build a community. This was one of the most empowering and uplifting experiences I have had in STEM and it definitely helped me stay motivated during the quarantine.” -Aroshi Ghosh
“I’m so thankful that I got to be a part of this amazing program! I’ve learned so much about Engineering from SHLA’s fantastic talks and panels and I feel that I’ve become more involved in SWENext as a whole. SHLA has also empowered me to pursue my interests as a female in engineering by showing me that there is a whole community of other girls just like me!” -Kat Cheng
“I had a great time attending the SWENext Virtual SHLA event and getting to meet and connect with other girls who like me, want to make a difference in our communities.
I was inspired by the speakers and enjoyed attending networking sessions. I am thankful for this amazing opportunity and experience. It was a great take away and I can’t wait to see what SHLA has to offer us next!” -Annie
“The most impactful part of SHLA is to know you’re in the company of like minded individuals and to know we are all in this together and have found a place we all belong. Together, we are stronger and more powerful so we can be more impactful. It’s so great to see us lift and empower each other!” -Madalyn Nguyen
“The SHLA program was very interesting as it gave me the opportunity to listen to great female engineers and mentors guide us.
Indirectly I received advice from each speaker and those questions I’ve always had in mind were answered. It also provided an opportunity for me to network with SWEnexters like myself.” -Bello Maryam
“I loved SHLA because I got to meet other girls interested in engineering from across the country. We connected on our song playlists and chatted after the sessions were over. I learned that it is hard to manage your time well from the presenters, and it makes me excited to go into engineering in college.” -Cassie Youn
“Since there are no SWE events in my small town Ranchi, the online SHLA program was a blessing in these troubling times! I loved the enthusiasm shown by my classmates and the informative webinars you hosted, especially the ‘Exploring Career Pathways’ session. Seeing engineers who looked like me in SHLA gave me the confidence that I could not only survive, but thrive in engineering! I did not know that there are so many lucrative career pathways out there that girls can take up, but do not do so simply because of lack of role models.
I will forever be indebted to the amazing life-changing work you are doing and remain an ardent member of SWENext even at college as I pursue my engineering degree!” -Adya Parida
“The environment at the virtual SHLA Program Cohort was such an encouraging and uplifting one. I met many great women from the STEM field who showed me it was possible to achieve big things in the field. After the program, I felt extremely excited to already go to college and start my career in STEM…I can’t wait!” -Victoria Olguin
This project is based upon work partially supported by the generosity of Motorola Solutions, Lockheed Martin Corporation, Cisco Technologies and General Motors.
Related content:
- The 2020 Year Review of SHLA
- December SWENexter Meet & Greet
- SWENext Club Spotlight: Ralston Valley SWENext
- SWEet Wisdom: How do Mentors Make a Difference?
