Empowering Women Engineers

Through SWE, she found a community of support and encouragement

By Emma Olson ’24 CE

I joined the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) as a first-year student for the opportunity to grow closer with fellow female engineers while gaining advice from older students and strengthening my leadership skills.

In my three years with the group, I’ve found all this and more as we’ve worked to engage our members in our activities and empower all female engineering students.

I served as the Social and Wellness Committee chair in the wake of the pandemic as SWE was rediscovering how to host in-person events and foster bonds between members after being online for a long period of time.

Now, as vice president, I am working on strengthening relationships and improving our presence on social media.

We are also encouraging members to take an active role in the organization by attending more events throughout the year. Sometimes, people join SWE only to add a line to their résumé, but there is so much to gain from participating in this group.

In the fall, I had the opportunity to travel to Houston to attend WE22, the World’s Largest Conference for Women in Engineering and Technology, hosted by SWE. Initially, I did not know the five other SWE members on the trip very well, but by the end of the weekend they felt like close friends.

The conference left me energized for my engineering career. I attended as many speaker sessions as possible, learning everything from advice about introducing sustainable practices to your boss, to initiatives for introducing STEM careers to young girls of color. The concluding keynote speaker had me crying and laughing throughout her talk, making me feel honored to simply be in the presence of so many incredible women.

WE22 also hosted an enormous career fair where countless companies were ready to network with future employees. It was amazing to see so many female engineers in one place. At one point, I walked up to a large contracting company where more than 20 female employees were waiting to network with students. I felt an incredible sense of belonging.

Each of us from Villanova’s SWE chapter received interviews with companies, and some even received internship and job offers. Every time someone got off the phone with a smile on her face, she was met with immediate congratulations from our group. The support and love I felt from each member was incredible, like a family where you could share in the joy of each other’s accomplishments and offer advice or a listening ear when needed. These women left me inspired for the future of the SWE community at Villanova.

A pin I bought at the WE22 Boutique reads, “Empowered Women Empower Women,” and that perfectly characterizes SWE. Through SWE, we as female engineering students can continue to empower one another by celebrating each other’s achievements and supporting one another through challenging times in such a demanding technical field. I love the welcoming community of SWE and am so honored to be a part of the organization’s future on campus.

Emma Olson is a Civil Engineering junior from Portland, Ore., and the vice president of Villanova’s chapter of the Society of Women Engineers.