Bringing Engineering to Women with Cassandra Gabara
Cassandra Gabara is the President of Society of Women Engineers (SWE). SWE provides female engineers with a supportive community and a greater voice in the engineering industry.
Why did you decide to join Society of Women of Engineers and what has been your experience so far?
As a freshman, I wanted to join an organization that had tons of opportunities and a great network. I found out very quickly that SWE had those very qualities I was looking for. SWE executes so many diverse and impactful events. We have corporate networking dinners to facilitate networking between students and company representatives, community outreach events to encourage young females to pursue technical fields, and social events to spend time blowing off steam. The personal and professional network that I've built and maintained through SWE has been amazing, and I've grown a lot in my strategy and leadership skills. Overall, it is an amazing organization for female engineers to join at USC.
What have been your most memorable moments as part of SWE?
I think some of the greatest moments have been observing my fellow SWE Officers grow as leaders. Throughout my 3 years in leadership within SWE, I have seen my fellow SWE leaders learn from others, develop themselves, and excel in their roles. Many have successfully implemented new programs and events that hadn't existed before. To see their drive and passions come to fruition through new and impactful events is always something that I love to see as President.
What's something you think people would be surprised to learn about SWE?
We are an all inclusive organization! We don't discriminate against non-female engineers. We accept anyone as a member who supports the mission of SWE, which is to support and inspire females in engineering! Every year we always have a handful of male members who like our organization so much that they decide to become members. It's great!
What type of community projects does SWE get involved with?
We do so much community outreach! Some of our annual signature events include Halloween Fun Fair and Girl Scout Badge Day. These are geared towards young girls, and during these events, we put on fun science-based activities. The purpose of these events is to get girls interested in science.
We started a new program this year called High School Outreach. During these sessions, we do more involved technical activities. Some of the activities we performed included a Python programming workshop, and designing a battery powered circuit. In an upcoming High School Mentorship event, we will host a panel of current engineering students to discuss their experience, and will also have USC engineering labs and organizations talking about their research and projects. The High School Mentorship Program is a great way to reach girls who are at a point in their life in which they are considering colleges and majors.
Learn More About USC Society of Women of Engineers
website: http://sweusc.com/
twitter: https://twitter.com/sweusc
follow Cassandra on twitter: https://twitter.com/CassGabara