HONORED WITH NATIONAL CHAPTER OF THE YEAR AWARD

BY STEPHEN GREENWELL

The University of Houston's wing of the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers has earned a National Chapter of the Year for 202122 from the national leadership of the group.

According to award criteria, National Chapter awards are given for excellent performance overall. Awards are based on the Chapter Management Template (CMT) submission, chapter report evaluation, chapter’s self-nomination, and the strength of the chapter’s functions, activities and events in all the relevant categories. A minimum of 90 percent (27 of 30 total points) are required for award eligibility.

Only 14 chapters qualified for this designation in 2021-22. SHPE-UH has student and professional wings, and both received the designation.

Members of the 2021-22 executive board for SHPE-UH included Tahimy Landestoy, president; Natalia Rodriguez, vice president internal; Quang Vo, vice president external; Rolando Vera, treasurer; is a first-generation college student majoring in Civil Engineering, graduating Spring 2023. Outside of her classes, she's working part time as a Civil Engineering Intern at Black & Veatch and is the current Secretary for the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE). Her favorite place to study (and get coffee!) on campus is Cougar Grounds, and post graduation she plans to join Black & Veatch full time as a Structural Engineer!

Roberto Martin, secretary; Jimena De Los Reyes, communications director; and Amaury Robles, new member representative.

For the 2022-23 executive board, Robles is now serving as president, and Vera is vice president external. Other members include Bridgette Salazar, vice presidental; Silvestre Solis, treasurer; Linda Fulcher, secretary; Jessica Avellaneda, communications director; and Josea Garza, new member representative.

In the United States, Hispanic Heritage Month runs from Thursday, Sept. 15 through Saturday, Oct. 15 for 2022. To recognize this, in addition to spotlighting the SHPE-UH's awards, we are also running the following five profiles of group members. These write-ups were provided by Robles, the organization's current president.

Linda Fulcher Rolando Vera Christian Reyes

Samantha Tovias Leija

is a Mechanical Engineering senior graduating in May 2023, and after being a part of SHPE for 2.5 years, he has grown fond of the organization. That’s why he is serving as the VP-External for SHPE-UH. If you know Rolando, you know he loves sports and never declines the opportunity to play soccer, basketball, football or volleyball. He tries to organize his time to see his sister and parents but also leaves time for his classes. His passion for engineering will take him to the oil and gas industry next year as a Wells Engineer with BP.

is a first-generation college student majoring in Biomedical Engineering and double minoring in Biology and Mathematics. She plans to graduate in Spring 2024. Samantha is an active member in UH Chapters of SHPE, SWE and AIAA. She serves as the social chair for SHPE and values the chapter development of her committee. Samantha loves to work out, crochet, knit, hike, travel and read. She loves to empower her community to participate in STEM through advocacy, access, support and development.

Amaury Robles

is a junior majoring in Civil Engineering graduating in the Spring of 2024. Being a firstgeneration student, Christian finds navigating through college challenging yet thrilling. He comes from a Guatemalan and Mexican background, which led him to enjoy working with students from various backgrounds. Outside of class, Christian holds a position as one of the MentorSHPE coordinators for the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) and works as an undergraduate teaching assistant for ENGI 1100. Although Christian enjoys all of his civil courses, he is very intrigued with structural engineering and is excited for what the future holds.

is a Mechanical Engineering senior graduating in May 2023. He currently serves as the President of SHPE-UH. In fall 2020, Amaury served as SHPE-UH’s Engineering Events Coordinator and New Member Representative. While his college career started at Texas A&M and then Lone Star College, it was through his involvement at the University of Houston and the SHPE-UH chapter where he found his 2nd Familia. He felt empowered to be the best version of himself, and now wants to inspire and empower the next generation of Hispanics in STEM. Amaury has interned at Hewlett Packard Enterprise as a Hardware Engineering intern and The Boeing Company as a Quality Engineering Intern. His interests are medical devices and the aerospace industry. In his free time, Amaury loves playing guitar and watching mixed martial arts.