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April 5, 2012

Contact: Amy Hewes
805-756-6402; ahewes@calpoly.edu

Cal Poly Society of Women Engineers Rides Wave of Awards at
Regional Conference in Hawaii

SAN LUIS OBISPO – Cal Poly Society of Women Engineers (SWE) caught a wave of awards at the SWE regional conference Feb. 25 to March 3 in Honolulu. The Cal Poly chapter won all five categories in which it competed.

Megan Adams, a mechanical engineering senior, received the Sonora Region collegiate Emerging Leader Award. Jennifer Harris (B.S./M.S., Industrial Engineering, 2003), a clinical engineering manager with TriMedx, received the professional Emerging Leader award; and Helene Finger (B.S., Civil Engineering, 1988; M.S., Civil and Environmental Engineering, 1998), director of the Women’s Engineering Program (WEP) at Cal Poly, was named Outstanding Collegiate Mentor. The chapter also received the Outstanding Outreach Program Award and collegiate section History Award.

“We are one of SWE’s most active collegiate sections in the nation,” said Adams. “As the region’s collegiate representative this year, overseeing 30 sections, I realized how much we do in comparison to other schools. Without Cal Poly SWE, I wouldn’t have had the wealth of resources and leadership opportunities that led to a full-time position straight out of college.”

Adams also gave special recognition to the WEP director. “Helene Finger is a great resource,” she said. “Her constant availability, knowledge and support are assets that make Cal Poly SWE one of the best sections in the nation. She gave me the kind of support and insight that only an experienced woman engineer could offer.”

As a new engineering professional, Adams is about to take her SWE involvement to the next level, serving as the national organization’s collegiate leadership forum coordinator for 2013.

“Cal Poly alumnae taking active leadership roles in SWE is practically a tradition,” said Adams. “I once heard from a professional member that you can always count on Cal Poly to come through.”

The SWE national conference will be held Nov. 8-12 in Houston, Texas.

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