​Hello!

​My name is Hyein Choi (pronounced hane), and I will be one of SWE’s Fundraising Relations Managers this year. This is my first year at UNM, studying as a Mechanical Engineer, and my first year as a part of SWE. So far, I have found this organization to be fun, educational, and helpful towards my college career. In the future, I hope to continue working towards making SWE a comfortable and fun environment for everyone to join. One of my favorite memories so far have been SWE’s game night where I was able to meet other SWE members and SWE conference where I met so many other women engineers. To be honest, it was much bigger than I had expected and the amount of company representatives there was overwhelming (but in a good way). After attending my first conference online, I hope to be able to attend in person one day.

​Throughout my first semester during COVID, I picked up a couple of hobbies. Like most others in quarantine, cooking has become a big part of my life and I enjoy learning new recipes. I took up knitting for a couple weeks, acrylic painted for a bit, have tried jewelry making, once again started nail painting, and continued my cello playing. But for the most part, I have spent the majority of my time on Netflix. If anyone would like show recommendations or have some for me, please reach out! (email: hychoi9265@unm.edu) I really hope it becomes safe for in person learning soon as I am very excited to meet everyone. I hope everyone has a great and safe semester!

Hello! My name is Abby, and I will be one of your SWE Fundraising Relations Managers! Currently, I am a sophomore studying computer science. I am super pumped to help out with SWE this semester!

​My favorite memory in SWE was my first conference. Last year, I was fortunate enough to go to Anaheim, California for the SWE19 National Conference. We had heard that there would be a HUGE line to register on the first day, so we made sure to get up early and get there right as the conference center opened. We successfully got our badges and since we had about an hour before the keynote speaker, we wandered throughout the center. Every hall we turned down had more and more rooms, all prepared for the various small talks throughout the day. Thankfully, SWE had a nifty app to keep track of these talks, so the night before, we decided which talks we would attend.

Then, the keynote started and our day was off! Moving from talks to keynotes to the career fair was awesome, even though we were dead tired by the end of the day! It was inspiring to see so many female engineers and scientists all together and all the talks and keynotes were informational and interesting. For me, the biggest shock was the career fair. It was huge! There were probably one hundred or more companies, including big names like Google, Facebook, and Northrop Grumman. I had brought a number of copies of my resume, so I went around to different companies and gave them a paper copy or had them take a picture of my resume to put in their system. It was definitely nerve-wracking to walk up to strangers and give them my elevator speech, but I realized that the recruiters were actually very friendly. Even though I was not familiar with the company, I also submitted my resume to Lockheed Martin.

​After the conference, I did not think too much about the resumes I submitted, but within the next couple of months, Lockheed Martin reached out to me about a phone interview. After a successful interview, they offered me an internship position! Unfortunately, due to COVID-19, I was not able to continue with the internship, but it was still amazing to get an offer.

​Hopefully everyone in SWE will be able to experience an in-person conference after COVID-19 blows over – but it is still pretty exciting to have all these virtual events to be able to make connections and have fun! Hope you guys have a great semester, and always feel free to reach out to me or one of the other officers if you have any questions!

​Hi everyone! My name is Tenzin and I will be one of the conference co-chairs for SWE this year. I am a Junior in Chemical Engineering and minoring in Mathematics. I am super excited to work with some amazing women who are promoting a movement of women in engineering to create a powerful change in the world.

My most memorable experience in SWE is the WELocal San Diego as it was a great learning experience for me. The women narrating their heroic experiences and accomplishments at the talks left me in complete awe and I took home their inspiration to live by. They made me believe and instill my faith that women are breaking stereotypes by traversing path breaking ventures.

​This summer, I am spending time with my family in New Hampshire and Massachusetts. In times of a global pandemic, I had the opportunity to reconnect with my family and close ones. I think that life’s fast forward pace slowed down itself, for the better. I am getting my mental respite having to share more time with family and self-introspecting myself.

​I spend most of my time with our little tortoise, Mosses. Feeding him lots of lettuce has been my favorite part of the day. I also enjoy going to the beaches and rejuvenating myself watching the sunsets. Getting home cooked food has been a silver lining on the cloud as I prepare myself for all the frozen food, I need to buy at Trader Joe’s to survive this semester.

​Hi everyone! My name is Emily Ganley and I am a ChemE Senior and a UNM SWE Conference Co-Chair! I am super excited for this role because conference is such a rewarding and fun experience for UNM SWE members – at conference, our members grow connections, get inspired at professional talks, and network to find jobs and internships. Last year, the WE19 national conference was in Anaheim, CA, and my favorite things about the conference were becoming closer with the other UNM SWE members and getting to network with engineers from Booz Allen Hamilton (which resulted in an internship offer)!

UNM SWE members at WE19

This year, WE20 will take place in New Orleans, LA under a hybrid online/in-person model and Albuquerque will be hosting a WE Local conference in the spring. Even with the limitations given by the COVID-19 pandemic, I am confident that our members will be able to gain a lot from both conferences.
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Speaking of COVID-19, my summer has turned out to be very different than what I planned. My internship with Booz Allen Hamilton was cancelled, so I spent my time on summer classes and studying for the GRE instead. In my free-time, I spent a lot of time hiking, tie-dying, and learning Python! See the photo of me below, backpacking at Nambe Lake in my DIY tie-dye sweat suit!

The most epic photograph of Summer 2020

Another thing I spent a lot of time doing was educating myself on the United State’s racists past (and present). I learned about what it means to be anti-racist and have been taking steps to educate and work on myself. If you’re not on this train already (or, if you hopped off a week or so into the protests) its time to get on it – to start, I recommend checking out this article and listening to The Breakdown with Shawn King daily. Reading is also a great place to start; I highly recommend joining and becoming a Patreon of the Noname Book Club. Also, please reach out to me (ganleye@unm.edu) if you would like specific book recommendations or want to set up a mini book-club/ discussion!
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I hope that you all had a good and productive summer! I am very excited for this upcoming semester and getting to re-unite with my SWEsters!

Salutations!
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I am Alicja Sadzewicz: a junior in ChemE and one of your outreach co-chairs for this year! I’m super excited to work with everyone, as I feel we have some really strong officers and chairs this year. I don’t think there could be a better group to take on one of SWE’s most challenging years!

Now a little bit about me:

I love to paint and I’m really into reading (as you may or may not have already been able to tell from my Charlotte’s Web inspired greeting). During the school year I don’t really get to do either much as textbooks and equation sheets take up most of my time–*sigh* the life on an engineering student, right?  So, although quarantine has been more than a little tough, I must say that it has freed up some time for me to get some reading and art in. Here are some of the books I’ve read so far and my reviews:

–Call Me By Your Name by Andre Aciman: Have you seen the movie? Well the source material is good too. Rating: 10/10 peaches.

–Diary of an Oxygen Thief by Anonymous: What happens when a sociopath makes a hobby out of getting people to fall in love with him, only to purposely break their hearts? This is one of those “wow this is really psychologically messed up but like I can’t stop reading” books. Rating: 9/11 Oxygens.

-The Strange Library by Haruki Murakami: A short novel about a boy who gets trapped in a hell library. It’s also supplemented by some cool Andy Warhol inspired art. Honestly anything by the author is great, I’ve also just started reading his book called Norwegian Wood. Rating: 100000/1 Creepy Librarians.
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And here is the painting I have been most recently working on:

Well, I hope this has helped you get to know me a little better, and I’m excited to get to know all of you SWE members, officers, and generally cool STEM people! To everyone: good luck with your next semester and I can’t wait to see you all at the next SWE Zoom Meeting!
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-Alicja Sadzewicz

Hey there! My name is Kayli Nordby and I’ll be one of the Community Committee Co-Chairs for SWE this upcoming year. I will be a Junior in the Mechanical Engineering program starting this Fall. I am also involved in the Honors College Pathmaker Mentorship program. In my free time, I enjoy spending time outdoors, playing music, walking my dogs, and video editing! I am looking forward to becoming more involved in SWE as the Community Co-Chair and planning the monthly socials for both new and current members. While much of the activities may have to be online due to the pandemic, I am hoping that the events will still be a great way to bond with and meet fellow SWE members, especially with reduced social interaction we have had to adapt to over the past few months. One of my favorite memories was attending the Anaheim Conference, where I met and connected with many bright and creative women, especially the ones from our UNM charter. Although the conference focused primarily on professional development, networking, and the job fair, there were so many underrated aspects I particularly enjoyed, with one being, the chance to get to know my fellow members a lot better. A few have even become some of my closest friends at UNM. Almost every night, my roommates and I would go out for a walk, just explore Anaheim, and then find a restaurant for dinner. Usually, there was no specific destination, and we relied on spontaneity. It made for many photo-ops and unforgettable memories. That feeling of just pure happiness and adventure was something indescribable, and I cannot be more thankful for the opportunity that SWE provided for that tremendous experience of both professional development and strengthening of friendships.

Anaheim Adventures

Test Driving at the Anaheim Conference

​With all the uncertainty right now, this definitely has been a time where those type of special moments with friends/family feel even more so significant. So if you need someone to talk to at all during this time, please feel free to reach out directly to me via my email knordbysf@unm.edu
I am really excited for this upcoming school year and all that SWE has planned. Until then, stay safe and healthy out there 🙂

Hi everyone! My name is Mary Arnhart, and I am the Professional Development chair, and beginning my junior year in mechanical engineering this upcoming fall semester.

I initially become a member of SWE because I knew I wanted to help the community and grow my professional network. Upon joining SWE, it exceeded my expectations, and I’m so proud to be a part of it. Within the first few meetings and outreach events, I met intelligent, kind, and inspiring individuals that I knew would strengthen my sense of belonging in my degree, and provide advice and support in the toughest moments of my academic experience.

Like so many others, my favorite experiences in SWE were just that, the moments here that rekindled my motivation and purpose pursuing an engineering degree, particularly at the WE19 national conference.
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I made so many new friends, and grew closer to the ones I already had. I met with so many amazing professionals that serve their purpose everyday, continuing to innovate and improve the world, as I hope to do one day as well.

In regards to my summer so far, I think this picture just about sums it up:

I have mostly spent my days working and taking two online courses, while trying to lose the covid-(nineteen pounds). In the limited free time I have, I love to go on runs, and binge watching netflix when I get the chance. I’m hoping to finish off this summer by spending it with friends and family, and doing all of the things I love.

I am super excited for this upcoming semester, especially meeting the upcoming SWE members! We have an amazing group here at SWE, and I hope to be as helpful to you all as they have been to me.

Howdy howdy!

Fig. 1: A normal chemical engineering student; not a serial killer.

My name is Rose Lee and I’ll be one of the Design Project Co-Chairs next year. I’m going to be a senior in chemical engineering with a minor in mathematics. Last year in SWE, I was the Secretary (aka I bought all the food and made the flyers), and I really enjoyed creating an exciting community and connecting with many wonderful personalities in meetings and social events. This next year, I look forward to continuing engaging our community through developing the Design Project and hosting technical workshops.

While the global pandemic has certainly shifted things around, I’ve made the most out of my time and have had quite a swell summer so far. I spend my days studying Organic Chemistry 2, researching electrochemistry in the lab, hanging out with my roommates, enjoying the outdoors, playing some games, and jammin’ out on some instruments. Junior year was definitely a demanding year, so I’ve appreciated the ability to sleep more than 5 hours and enjoy the sweet feeling of doing nothing.

Fig. 2: Rose’s ACNH island. Custom-made Tanjiro robe by yours truly ;D

​If you need a pal to talk to, or someone to play TFT with, feel free to reach out to me! Until next time, wear your masks, wash your hands, and stay safe out there 🙂
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– Rose (roselee3@unm.edu)

Hi there! My name is Mari Aoki and I will be one of the Social Media chairs for SWE this upcoming school year. I am a junior in Computer Science with a minor in Japanese, and I am also a member of the UNM Women’s Swimming & Diving team. I’m super excited to work in this committee to help recruit more members and let others know what we’re up to. SWE has helped me grow professionally in many ways and being surrounded by inspiring women in STEM empowers me to be the best that I can be. My favorite experience with SWE has been the WE19 national conference. I became closer to many of my fellow UNM SWE members and the conference gave me a new perspective on the direction I should move forward in. I’ve made a ton of new friends in SWE and I’m really excited to see them again in Albuquerque. Joining SWE has been one of the best decisions I’ve made so far in my college career, and I hope to spread this joy with others.

As I’m sure is the case with many of you, my summer is not as I had planned. I am combatting my losses with what I can do with my extra time at home. I’m taking a couple of classes, exercising, spending time outside, working on personal projects, reading/listening to audiobooks, and working on some things for SWE. I am doing what I can do now to prepare myself for this next school year, and I am setting new goals for myself. At times I feel like I’m flailing around and undoing my progress (Imposter Syndrome is real, y’all!), but I am in a better place now than I was last year. I am thankful for UNM, SWE, and all the friends, resources, and support I have gained along the way. I love making new friends, so don’t be afraid to reach out to me or say hello at one of our meetings!

Me!

​Hello! My name is Sami, and I’ll be an outreach co-chair and a senior in chemical engineering next year. Just like everyone, my summer has been really wacky. Most of the time, between school, work, frisbee, and volleyball, I’m constantly busy. Now, I have time to try other fun things I’ve never had a chance to do (most of them pretty basic, I admit. But I’m having a good time). I figured I’d share some of my silly new hobbies and give my opinions.

• Gardening: Awesome. So great. Cannot recommend enough. I’ve become obsessed enough to make a board of my star plants. My happiness has become weirdly tied to the success of my little baby seedlings.

• Making fancy coffee: Pretty cool if you spend an obscene, shameful amount on coffee-shop coffee like I do. I now own a Ninja coffee bar system, a percolator, a cold brew diffuser, and a milk frother. I am not a morning person, but I do look forward to waking up to a custom (cheap) cup of coffee. Who needs Starbucks?

• Needlepoint: very cool, but very slow. Like very slow. I’ve had this for about a month and I’m still not very far along. But it’s been great for nights where I’m not doing anything except sitting around watching Avatar.

Cactus needlepoint!

• Jogging: Nope. That lasted about a week. Not my jam.

These haven’t been used in a while…

Like everyone else, I can’t wait for this to be over. But I have to say, I’ve enjoyed getting a chance to do things I normally wouldn’t. I hope everyone is doing their best to stay healthy and stay positive 😊

-Sami