Students reflect on SWE Conference

Several students from the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences chapter of the Society of Women Engineers had the opportunity to attend the organization's annual conference in Anaheim, Calif., in November.

They reflected on their experiences at the conference.

Jamie Caines, S.B. '21, an engineering sciences concentrator

This conference was an incredible opportunity for me. The career fair occurred on two days, and had nearly 1,000 companies. I was able to interview for one of those companies on site the next day, as some other Harvard SWE members did. The academic talks were another highlight for me, in that I was able to learn about how 3D printing is being used to help develop a new medical procedure. By 3D printing human torsos, they were able to provide models to both develop and practice this new procedure, and evaluate the implant they inserted using this model torso. Another talk that was really interesting for me was done by Deloitte. A Deloitte Analytics Lead broke down the differences between a data analyst, data engineer, and data scientist, as well as the requirements for each. She then described all of the (free) resources available for people wanting to get into data science, and I left the talk feeling invigorated and motivated to use some of those resources, if not to become a data scientist than to be able to use these skills in related careers (biomedical engineering, entrepreneurship). We were also able to catch up with our president from the 2017-18 academic year Alison Tsay, as she was representing Lockheed Martin at the fair. All in all, I am grateful to have been able to attend!

Andrea Rodriguez-Marin Freudmann, S.B. '20, a mechanical engineering concentrator

This year's conference was my favorite so far! I went to interesting talks, received fee waivers for grad school, chatted with admissions people, and got a few leads on jobs. I also met some lovely women while in line at the free manicure station, caught up with Allison Tsay (who is one of Harvard SWE's former presidents, who was presenting on behalf of Lockheed at the conference) and got to know the other members of our SWE section better. I had a fantastic time and would definitely recommend it to everyone.

Danielle Davis, A.B. '21, an engineering sciences and music concentrator

This year’s conference was absolutely amazing! It was my first time ever attending and it was truly inspirational to be surrounded by so many amazing women. I attended panels that discussed topics ranging from mindfulness to artistry in engineering, in addition to panels run by various companies that gave me greater insight into their respective company culture and opportunities for career growth. The icing on the cake, of course, was having the opportunity to interview with a company that does not recruit on the East Coast and receiving an internship offer for this coming summer!