School SWENext such as when/how they were founded
Our Eastlake High School’s Society of Women Engineers Chapter was founded in 2018 by members of our FIRST Robotics Competition, TitanBot 2543.
Who is your SWE Counselor?
Our current SWE Counselor is Dr. Tracy Nguyen (WE Local 2023 Engaged Advocate Winner), current Outreach Chair for SWE San Diego and an advocate for STEM education for young girls. With her encouragement and advocacy, four members of our club are the recipients of the STEM in Action Award for 2023 (Allysa Wong (Marketing Director), Mia Beltran (Vice principal), Lily Bertrand (Secretary) , and Maria Ulloa (Club President)
Members demographics
Ethnicity Demographics:
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- White – 14%
- Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish Origin – 39%
- Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander – 3%
- East Asian, South-East Asian, or South Asian – 36%
- Black or African American – 8%
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Gender Demographics:
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- Female: 63%
- Male: 37%
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What are your club’s main activities or events?
Through talks, activities, club projects, and our participation in FIRST Robotics with FRC Team 2543 TitanBot, our group explores various engineering careers and experiences. In addition, our group actively engages in community outreach to encourage students to pursue careers in engineering and STEM. We accomplish this in a number of ways, including through our GIRLS Conference, STEAM Art Contest, and robot demonstrations.
Club goals
We want to increase inclusivity and equity in learning opportunities for girls in engineering by providing educational opportunities for students to gain confidence and leadership qualities.
Create a community where we as women uplift and empower each other to achieve our goals and prepare for careers in engineering and technology, and network with engineering professionals and peers.
Club accomplishments
In this past semester, our club has organized and co-hosted our 8th annual Girls Inspiring Real Leadership in STEAM (GIRLS) Conference alongside our FRC team, in which we invited 6th-12th grade students to come and listen to professional speakers in fields in medicine, art, computer science, and engineering, to learn about creating meaningful connections by networking and communicating with professionals. Students got the opportunity to network.
The ultimate goal of our conference is to provide our attendees with the skills, resources, and confidence they need to pursue STEAM careers, fulfill their passions, and make a difference.
In order to encourage students to learn more about STEAM and to demonstrate their interest in STEAM via art, we have organized and hosted a STEAM art competition for the past two years. We challenge kids to be imaginative and to allow their creativity to take root through our prompts. The art competition has shown to be a clever technique to engage people in STEAM and give them a chance to consider their views and interests. We also give them more information about STEAM options, occupations, and activities during our awards ceremony.
Along with that, we took part in the Sweetwater Game of Throws, where our group had to construct a trebuchet and compete against other high school teams in accuracy. Within a few weeks, the club had developed and constructed an effective trebuchet. In the High School division, we took first place in the competition.
Finally, our SWENext Club participates in various Outreach events by working together with our school’s robotics team, TitanBot FRC 2543. Together, we engage students from young ages in STEM education to spread learning opportunities, and help students immerse themselves in engineering related activities at a young age.
Anything else you may want highlighted?
Our SWENext Club is currently involved in spreading the #HeForSWE Movement in our local area to help boost inclusivity in engineering opportunities. By sharing our efforts, we hope to increase numbers of male allies and increase diversity and inclusivity in STEM related fields.
