Elizabeth Hastings

            The day before classes started my freshman year I attended a welcome picnic given by the Society of Women Engineers (SWE).  I immediately felt a sense of support and recognized SWE as a way to continue my involvement in the community while meeting other female engineers who could give me advice.  Since then I’ve held several leadership positions, including organizing a Girl Scout Day for two years in a row where girl scouts from the Ithaca area come to Cornell to learn about engineering and earn a “Women in Engineering” patch.  This year, as the Director of Outreach, I led eleven people and managed a budget of $5000 to organize six service events with over 100 participants in each.  The ultimate goals were to encourage engineering in the community and promote friendships between SWE members.

One change I initiated was reinstating a program where female Cornell engineering students go to high schools and explain what it’s like to be an engineer, encouraging students to consider an engineering education.  Another change was increasing the number of community participants in SWE Outreach events.  For example, the number of girl scouts participating in SWE’s Girl Scout Day rose from 75 last year to 140 this year.  With the suffering economy, SWE encountered major challenges in terms of budget this year as SWE receives most of its money by hosting Information Sessions for companies that come to Cornell to recruit.  With fewer companies recruiting, we had to make cuts in the budget or alternatively raise funds without sacrificing the quality of our programs.  By carefully planning each activity, I was able to spend about $1000 less than last year while providing the same activities.  In addition, we convinced Engineering Admissions to donate $1300 to help pay for SWE’s Prospective Candidates’ Weekend, when all the admitted female engineers are invited to spend a weekend at Cornell.

By increasing the activities and number of participants in each activity, SWE now impacts more people and will hopefully encourage more people to consider an engineering education, or at least help more people develop an understanding of the infinite ways that engineers impact our daily lives.  By saving money I’ve helped to ensure the continuation of SWE’s programs and made our programs more efficient.

As the Director of Outreach for SWE, I’ve gained leadership skills while contributing to the community and forming valuable friendships with fellow female engineers.  I’ve learned to teach engineering in an exciting way, I’ve practiced motivating my peers to become involved, and I’ve gained organizational skills and taken responsibility for actions that are not necessarily my own.  SWE has also allowed me to interact with many different people and provides opportunities for me to give back to the community.  Finally, I’ve met some of my best friends through SWE and have received essential support from fellow members.  As the incoming Co-President, I plan to continue benefiting the community and providing members with volunteer and personal development opportunities, and a great way to make friends.

            As part of Dean Olpadwala’s mentoring group, I became acquainted with the Dean and his wife over dinner and will attend an event at Day Hall where we will meet members of the administration.  I am a member of the group responsible for organizing a class to teach children basic computer skills.  The project is just beginning so we will hopefully have a chance to actually implement the program next semester.  I also met with Peter Meinig to discuss topics like starting a business and venture capitalism.

     ·     GE Faculty for the Future Undergraduate Research Recipient

By comparing the genomes of four different species of bacteria, I looked for consistencies in gene position with the ultimate goal of contributing to the development of a mathematical model of a bacterial cell.

·    Biomedical Engineering Society

·    John McMullen Dean Scholar