Meet the Members of Olin's Society of Women Engineers (SWE!)

Here at Olin, we have clubs as far as the eye can see! Everything ranging from our popular Olin Fire Arts Club to our Rocketry project team that competes nationally. One important organization on campus is our active and inclusive Society of Women Engineers (SWE) Chapter. SWE provides Olin students- (of all genders)- who are interested in promoting women in engineering, with professional development opportunities and mentorship. Current SWE leaders want to say hi to you readers and share their experiences as members of the SWE Olin Chapter: 

Hey, I’m Elin! I’m a sophomore at Olin and the Vice President of Olin’s chapter of Society of Women Engineers (SWE). In high school, I was the only girl in my engineering classes. As welcoming as my classmates tried to be, I still often felt left out, like I was being talked over, or that my ideas weren't worth listening to. While I was eventually able to gain my peers’ respect, I had to fight for it over the span of years. At Olin, I never have to fight for my voice to be heard. The supportive environment helps encourage young non-male engineers, like myself, to feel confident in our engineering identity. 

Heyo I’m Angela! I’m a sophomore at Olin and president of Olin’s Society of Women Engineers (SWE) chapter. In high school, I was actually an artist and writer without any engineering experience. I definitely felt the gender divide growing up of who was pushed towards the humanities vs. STEM, and was really worried going into college I wouldn’t be able to keep up or keep from being talked over. One of the most important things I’ve learned since then is to have confidence in myself! Being immersed in highly technical work at Olin in project teams and engineering research has made me realize how capable we all are of being great engineers no matter what background you come from or prior skills you have. I’ve found no barriers of entry into or exclusion from any project team or org on campus, which means a lot in terms of being able to learn practical engineering skills right from the start of your first year and build confidence (& also be in diverse technical teams!). I’ve found a lot of personal meaning in seeing the incredible work of and being helped out by various amazing female upperclassmen and professors at Olin. They’re a big part of the reason I’m so passionate about SWE, because SWE both inside and outside of Olin is all about inclusion and mutual confidence- & connection-building and helping each other out, especially as female engineers in a still male-dominated industry. 

Hi! I’m Meagan, I’m in my second year at Olin, and I’m the treasurer for Olin’s chapter of Society of Women Engineers (SWE). As a female engineer, SWE has been a great opportunity to meet other engineers and work on my professional development. SWE has been a safe space on campus for me to ask questions to people who are similar to me. Being at Olin in general has also helped me a lot in building my confidence as a female engineer. Because of the even gender split and excellent professors, I’ve felt more comfortable sharing my opinions and asking questions in class, whereas I might not have otherwise. 

Olin, and all of our community members, are committed to forging an environment where each student feels confident to grow and expand their engineering identity! If you’re interested in learning more about gender diversity on Olin’s campus, or just really want to hear more about the fire arts clubs, visit us in-person or virtually!