Hi! My name is Kristy Martini and I am a junior studying electrical engineering. I recently traveled to Nashville, Tennessee for the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) National Conference. I received a travel grant that allowed me to have this wonderful experience and I would like to start this blog post by expressing my gratitude to the anonymous provider of the grant. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to be inspired by powerful women in STEM fields.
This was the first conference of any type I have ever attended, so I did not know what to expect. I researched past SWE conferences before attending and created a schedule of seminars that interested me. The goal I set for myself before attending the conference was to meet at least three women who had become not only engineering leaders in their respective companies, but also leaders in their personal lives and their families. I imagined it would be difficult to achieve this goal, as I thought successful professional women would not be interested in interacting with undergraduate students. I could not have been more incorrect.
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| To me, SWE means powerful women encouraging each other to be the best engineers they can be. |
My favorite parts of the conference were the panel sessions I attended. The sessions featured five or six women who were executives in their companies. The atmosphere was quite casual and the women spoke of topics such as leadership and work-life integration. At the end of the session I decided to approach a particular woman whose words resonated with me quite well. The high level of her position made me nervous but she was extremely welcoming and we spoke for a while about electrical engineering and my professional goals. I became less nervous after speaking with her and I continued to interact with speakers after their seminars. It can definitely be said that I exceeded my goal of meeting three powerful women.
I attended the conference with one of my best friends, Monica. Monica and I have known each other since freshman year and we were actually teammates in First-Year Engineering. Attending the conference together made it even more special because we were able to watch each other grow. We have different interests so we attended different events throughout the conference, but at the end of the day we were able to talk about what we had learned, who we met, and who inspired us. I learned as much from Monica’s experience as I did from my own.
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| Monica and I at the closing dinner. |
The opportunity to attend the conference came at the perfect time in my undergraduate education. Junior year in any engineering major is challenging and the conference was just the confidence boost I needed to stay motivated throughout the rest of my studies. I encourage all female engineers to consider attending the SWE National Conference or similar conferences. You will have the opportunity to meet women who have been in your shoes and become powerful professionals and role models.
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| Monica and I exploring Nashville at night. |
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