On the night of November 3rd, 2010, fourteen executive board members of SWE-UCLA made their way to the Annual Conference for Women Engineers, hosted in Orlando, Florida. We arrived at our hotel, Rosen Inn, around 7 am local time after a long (and shaky) red-eye flight. Needless to say, we were all cranky, hungry, and exhausted…only to discover that we had to check into the Convention Center for the Conference in a few hours! We quickly grabbed some breakfast, washed up, and got ready for the busy day ahead of us. We first checked in at the Convention Center, a gorgeous building conveniently located right next to our hotel, where we attended the Collegiate Welcome Luncheon with delicious sandwiches, pizzas, and drinks. At the luncheon, we met other collegiate members and listened to presentations by various speakers. This was followed by the SWE Region B meeting, where we were accompanied by other collegiate section members from Southern California, Utah, Mexico, Arizona, and Southern Nevada. We all split up into separate committees where we discussed with our groups what ideas and programs SWE Region B should work on and implement in the upcoming year. We then had some down time to go back to our hotel rooms and rest before attending the hospitality suites hosted by many big companies inc
luding Google, Dell, Boeing, Boston Scientific, etc. This was a wonderful opportunity for job seekers and students to informally speak with company representatives as well as enjoy delicious snacks and appetizers!We started off our next day with a enormous career fair bright n’ early in the morning. Members not only had the chance to speak to big name companies but some were even called back for interviews the same day. For those uninterested in finding jobs, however, there were a huge variety of workshops going on throughout the day. These workshops included presentations about companies, interview skills, professional/business etiquette, outreach events, time management and much more. After a busy afternoon, we were ready to relax and explore Orlando. For dinner, we headed to Café Tu Tu Tango, a local Spanish tapas restaurant that not only offered delicious and affordable food but also had a vivacious and lively atmosphere, which included beautiful artwork and a live performance by flamenco dancers. Definitely a night to remember! The next day was our “day off” so we got to choose how we wanted to spend our free time; some of us decided to hit the mall and shop at the Orlando Premium Outlets while others headed to the theme parks to check out the brand new Wizarding World of Harry Potter. We all got back just in time for the Celebrate SWE! Banquet, where we enjoyed a delicious three-course meal while watching all the different SWE region representatives compete against each other during a spin-the-wheel contest. Additionally, we had the pleasure of being accompanied by the entertainer Roxy Bellows, the emcee for the event, who kept the audience laughing and chuckling the entire night. Soon after, the SWE staff presented various awards to honor individuals as well as professional and collegiate sections for their outstanding work and dedication to SWE. UCLA was proud to receive several awards, which included the Membership Retention Program Award, 1st place for the 2009-2010 Newsletter Award, and 2nd place for the 2009-2010 Website Award. Additionally, our very own counselor Bill Goodin received the Rodney D. Chipp Memorial Award, which "celebrates the work of a man or company who has made a significant contribution to the acceptance and advancement of women in engineering." Congratulations to Bill and to the SWE-UCLA executive board for making this possible.
All in all, the 2010 SWE conference was even better than we had hoped for & provided wonderful benefits and opportunities for all members. A special thanks to everyone who came out to Orlando, FL and was able to attend and represent UCLA. We can’t wait for another successful and amazing conference next year in Chicago!
Ramita Sawhney
Historian
<3 the SWE Hand sign pic.
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