Student Organizations Step Up for Their Members Mason Engineering’s student organizations give members a sense of community, and in the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, they continued that mission. Multiple organizations’ executive boards worked hard to stay connected with their members during the period of isolation while staying true to their individual membership.
The Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) is among these organizations. Mason’s student chapter president Ximena Perez and vice president Elias Aleman, both computer science majors, were disappointed when they had to cancel the rest of their semester events, but they made the most of the virtual situation. “The most important thing is that we’re not going to stop doing things for our members. We want to make this as engaging as possible,” says Aleman.
WE’VE ALWAYS STAYED CONNECTED WITH OUR MEMBERS. WE REALLY WANT TO CONTINUE THAT SENSE OF SUPPORT. —Ximena Perez, student chapter president, the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers
46 VOLGENAU SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING ANNUAL REPORT 2020
SHPE usually hosts a series of professional and social events throughout the semester. During the transition, they did virtual study sessions, Netflix party events, and virtual elections for next year’s officers. They stress the importance of sticking together even though they can’t be physically together. “We’ve always stayed connected with our members. We really want to continue that sense of support,” says Perez.
