Society of Women Engineers provides supportive network to CEAT students

Monday, January 6, 2025

Media Contact: Tanner Holubar | Communications Specialist | 405-744-2065 | tanner.holubar@okstate.edu

The Society of Women Engineers is a global organization with more than 70 years of history empowering female engineers to achieve their full potential in their careers.   

The Oklahoma State University chapter of SWE empowers women in science, technology and engineering fields, and is a way for members to develop their leadership and professional skills.   

SWE serves as a support system in the field of engineering, where women's involvement continues to rise.   

Lenna Abouzahr, an electrical and computer engineering major, is the president of the OSU chapter of SWE this semester.   

The number of students involved with SWE has steadily increased since Abouzahr first became involved with the group, growing by 30% in recent years. Abouzahr credits the hard work and dedication of the officer team for the increase in membership.   

Dr. Jennifer Glenn, director of the IEM undergraduate program and associate professor of teaching, has been an advisor for the group since 2013. Her involvement is full circle, as she was a member of SWE when she was an OSU engineering student. She, at one point, served as chapter president, giving her a strong understanding of the impact that SWE could have.  

Although the group was smaller than it is today, Glenn found a sense of community within SWE. She said when she was a student, there was one female faculty member she could rely on as a mentor, and that experience made her want to provide the same to the current SWE members.   

“That was part of why I wanted to be involved when I became a faculty member — remembering the impact it had on me as an undergraduate student," Glenn said.   

Glenn helps oversee the budget and financial side of the group. She serves as a mentor for SWE members while also giving the group’s leadership team as much autonomy as possible.   

“One of the greatest needs is for them to have a professional relationship with someone on the faculty who is another female,” Glenn said. “I worked in industry after I finished my Ph.D., and, one of the main reasons I wanted to come back to the university and be on the faculty was to be a mentor and someone who could work with our female students.”  

Glenn said the international SWE organization recently released some information about the factors that motivate women to be engineers. She said two of the factors, having a strong sense of belonging in engineering and having a strong support network, are things the OSU chapter of SWE does well.  

“For me, that is critical,” Glenn said. “With the rising trend of females enrolling in our engineering programs, we have to be intentional about how we foster their participation and selection to be an engineering student and stay in that career field.”  

SWE tries to have at least two events per month during each semester, including hosting guest speakers, tours of industries and events. Members of the group recently toured ASCO Aerospace, a manufacturer of airplane parts located in Stillwater. A group of 15 members also toured an aerospace manufacturing facility in Wichita, Kansas, during a previous semester.  

“Being part of SWE is a great way to learn about different disciplines and directions we can take our careers in,” Abouzahr said.  

Other events hosted by SWE are ways for female engineering students to get to know their peers and have some fun. Events serve as a way for them to be empowered by their peers who have similar experiences in a field that still has a larger percentage of men than women.   

“We just want to make sure that female engineers have the resources to succeed, whether through social or professional events,” Abouzahr said. “Having that support network is more important than people might think. It is something that everybody can benefit from because, at the end of the day, we are all going through similar experiences, so it makes the hard days easier when you have those people around you who can help you get through things.”  

Many of the friends Abouzahr has made in college she met through SWE. It has provided her and other members with opportunities to meet CEAT students in other majors.   

It makes Abouzahr proud to see more students joining SWE. With more students joining and an effort to make an even greater impact on the student and local communities, interest in the group continues to grow.  

She said it is an inspiration to see women in leadership positions and to listen to female engineers discuss their experiences on projects. 

“I can’t emphasize just how important the support network is,” Abouzahr said. “It’s inspiring to know that you have friends who are going through the same experiences that you are. SWE will always be there for members who are always looking for support. Whether you’re a member or you just come to one of our events, we always want to be there for you.”  

Glenn has been pleased to see the continued rise of SWE membership and its impact on female engineering students at OSU. She said the overall rise of SWE at OSU has also led to increased participation from outside of the campus.   

"It brings me great joy. For example, when I was president of SWE, we had a small group, and we might have gotten one female to come speak at a meeting if we wanted,” she said. “We would not have even thought about a panel, but if you fast forward to today, we had 13 panelists at our career fair.”