May 6, 2013 - The Society of Women Engineers (SWE) at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville received two awards Saturday, May 4, from the St. Louis Society of Women Engineers. The St. Louis SWE held its first Awards Night at the Engineers Club of St. Louis.

The SWE earned the Collegiate Award for its “Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day” program, which was held on February 23. The event encourages middle school girls to pursue engineering careers. More than 100 young women from the Metro East rotated among classrooms in the SIUE Engineering Building to perform experiments in the fields of chemical, mechanical, structural, electrical and civil engineering.

The hands on activities and interact with women engineers as a way of engaging and encouraging them to enter into the field of engineering. The event also earned SIUE’s Kimmel Leadership Center’s Outstanding Program of the Year award.

The SIUE SWE received the SWE Crease Award for Collegiates for the highest growth, adding 22 new members during the 2012-13 academic year, of a collegiate section. The Crease award came early March with monetary value of over $200.

SIUE section President Alexis Brown accepted the Collegiate Award on behalf of the section. She was joined by classmates Stephanie Veile, Meetva Shah and Cathy Casey. Also present were SIUE engineering alumni Jessica Hoffman, who is the SIUE SWE collegiate counselor, and Kalyn Miller.

“Congratulations to all our SWE members for an outstanding year,” said Hasan Sevim, dean of the SIUE School of Engineering. “Our SWE section has been successful in providing high school students the chance to discover exciting career possibilities in engineering. Our students can play a significant role in recruiting future female engineers who will bring fresh, creative ideas and perspectives to the industry.”

School of Engineering:  The SIUE School of Engineering offers one of the most comprehensive and affordable engineering programs in the St. Louis region with eight undergraduate degrees, five master’s degrees and a cooperative doctoral program, all housed in a state-of-the-art facility.  Students learn from expert faculty, perform cutting-edge research, and participate in intercollegiate design competitions.  Companies in the metropolitan St. Louis area provide students challenging internships and co-op opportunities which often turn into permanent employment. All undergraduate programs are accredited by their respective accreditation agencies.

dmcilha@siue.edu