Hispanic Engineering Group Gets Regional Recognition
Approximately 200 undergraduate and graduate students from about 35 colleges in SHPE Region 2, and professional members, gathered on the University of California, Santa Barbara campus April 1-3 to sharpen their leadership skills by participating in workshops and case studies.
SHPE Region 2 covers Arizona, Southern California and Southern Nevada, and also includes some Mexican colleges from Baja California. SHPE's stated mission is "promoting well-developed Hispanics in technical professions as a way to achieve educational excellence."
SHPE/UA president and systems engineering junior Jose Estrada attributed the regional award to the success of UA chapter's February events, which included hosting the Advancement of Latinos in Engineering Day and the Young Latina Forum. "We were chosen for our outstanding community outreach efforts, ALE Day and YLF, and for our high involvement during E-Week," Estrada said.
"We felt very proud being one of the top universities represented at this conference," he added.
The SHPE/UA delegation maintained a high profile throughout the regional conference. "We took 16 of our future leaders, who are potential SHPE/UA executive board members of the future, and some current board members," Estrada said. "That's more than any school in the region, including all the California schools."
During the case study competition, Estrada said, it was clear that the UA chapter had a regional reputation as being successful and well organized. In this competition, the students at the conference formed mixed-college teams of five students each, and were charged by SHPE regional leaders with solving problems such as improving member recruitment and retention.
"We have such a good group at UA, and many of our younger peers came up and asked us questions and advice," Estrada said.
From the 32 teams in the competition, the four best teams were chosen by SHPE leaders and sponsoring companies. Three of the four best teams included a SHPE/UA member. The SHPE/UA members were aerospace engineering student Johana Guzman, mechanical engineering student Angel Tellez, and economics student Ruben Villalobos. Guzman's team placed second overall in the competition.
In addition to the chapter of the month award, SHPE/UA executive vice president Beverly Valdez received the Regional Member of the Month award for November 2010. "Beverly was chosen for her outstanding professional development efforts and for her excellent execution of our first SHPE national report," Estrada said. "The national report includes everything the UA chapter does, and covers subjects such as expenses, initiatives, and lessons learned," he added. "Basically, we are trying to set national standards."
At the conference Valdez announced her candidacy for the SHPE Region 2 Student Representative. If successful, she will represent more than 30 universities in the region at the national level.
During Engineers Week in February, SHPE/UA gained some local recognition on campus when they won the overall competition by acquiring the most points as they took part in the many different events organized by the Engineering Student Council. First prize was $500, which SHPE/UA will use to fund initiatives in outreach, professional development, and increased membership.
There was more local recognition for SHPE/UA in April. The UA chapter of Women in Science and Engineering gave SHPE/UA its Outstanding Organization Award, and the UA Center for Student Involvement and Leadership named SHPE/UA the Outstanding Student Organization of the Year at the Accolades ceremonial banquet.
"We are extremely proud that our efforts are being recognized campuswide," Estrada said. "I have been a SHPE member for 3 years, and when I became chapter president, my theme was raising the bar and improving aspects of all we do."