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.

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

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. 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.

The Society of Women Engineers (SWE) took a

similar approach. “We [reached out] to our members individually and through social media,” says student chapter president and information technology major Maya Chatterjee. “We did virtual events with our members, other organizations, and as a board.”

SWE normally hosts professional, social, and outreach events throughout the year. “We want to see a lot of women in engineering and motivate them. We want to help people in their education and career,” says vice president and computer science major Shruti Gupta. The board says they are excited to get back to Mason and their members when possible. “I feel like I took it for granted. I want to be back with my friends and give them my full attention,” says Gupta.

WE [REACHED OUT] TO OUR MEMBERS INDIVIDUALLY AND THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA.

—Maya Chatterjee, student chapter president the Society of Women Engineers

WHILE THEY UNDERSTAND WHY, SOME MEMBERS ARE UPSET ABOUT COMMENCEMENT BEING POSTPONED, SO WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THEY KNOW WE CARE.

—Jamal Taylor, student chapter president, the National Society of Black Engineers The National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE),

like others, stayed in contact with their members. “We used GroupMe a lot to give members information we receive, like updates from the university, Virginia, and the rest of the country,” says Mason’s chapter president and civil engineering major Jamal Taylor, a senior. Normally, the group has study sessions every Tuesday and Thursday and a general body meeting every month, in addition to their professional development events. Taylor says he wanted to find a way to honor his fellow seniors in the group since Commencement was so uncertain. “While they understand why, some members are upset about Commencement being postponed, so we want to make sure they know we care.” And it’s not only seniors, he adds: “This is hard for everyone, and our organization wants to be there to help.”

—Ryley McGinnis

PHOTOS PROVIDED