Female high school students get a glimpse into the lives of Penn State engineering students

Posted by Curtis Chan on March 24, 2014 in Campus Life, Outreach & Service, Students | 0 comments

As part of the Society of Women Engineers High School Stayover, students check out some of the majors and extracurricular activities Penn State offers during an involvement and majors fair in Kunkle Lounge. (Photo credit: Society of Women Engineers)

By Erin Miller

A scavenger hunt of the Penn State campus for the high school students isn’t complete without a photo with the Nittany Lion Shrine. (Photo credit: Society of Women Engineers)

Thursday, March 20, kicked off the 2014 High School Stayover organized by the Penn State Society of Women Engineers (SWE).

The two day event hosted 68 accepted female students to experience college life from the perspective of a current female engineering student.

Going to class, eating in the commons and many other events were scheduled for the participants to attend.

On Friday evening, SWE jointly hosted a send-off dinner with the Women in Engineering Program for both participants and parents.  At the dinner participants and parents learned about programs like the Women in Engineering Program Orientation (WEPO), on-campus special living options and how to get the most out of college classes and clubs.

Networking with current students and peers provided participants with the opportunity to make connections throughout and after the program ended.

Penn State SWE organizes the stayover program each year to encourage high school women to pursue an engineering field and to attend Penn State.

At a dinner, students and their parents learned about the opportunities at Penn State, including orientation, special living options and how to get the most out of college classes and clubs. (Photo credit: Society of Women Engineers)

The program highlights areas such as class schedules, different engineering majors and involvement opportunities at Penn State and within the College of Engineering.

The stayover would not be possible without the generosity of SWE’s corporate sponsors and the hard work and enthusiasm of all of SWE’s volunteers, and faculty advisers.

Erin Miller is a fifth-year architectural engineering student from Collegeville, Pa., and an active member of SWE, WEPO, the Engineering Orientation Network and the Tau Beta Pi engineering honor society.