Several officers from Chico State’s SWE organization received the exciting opportunity to travel to Austin, Texas, for 3 days to participate in WE17, the nation’s largest conference and career fair for women in engineering (held at the Austin Convention Center). Many students walked away with internships, interviews, and lots of words of wisdom from industry professionals that will always stick with them.
When WE17 claims it’s the largest national conference and career fair, it’s not exaggerating. All of the officers agreed that the capacity of people was shocking! According to SWE’s Treasurer, Beatrice Ju, there were about 13000 people just in the Austin Convention Center alone. The event was actually expanded from the allotted capacity of the previous year, and still completely sold out the week before the conference started.
There were about 350 companies at the career fair, as well as many companies giving different conference speeches and discussions. SWE Event Coordinator, Spenser Knudson, said that she enjoyed attending a discussion conference with Apple employees who shared some technical aspects of their job, their transitions between college and the workforce, and their personal experiences. Other talks Chico State officers got to participate in included “How to Shine at Work” and a cyber security conference with Rockwell Automation.
Besides the enormous career fair, panels, discussions, and interviews, officers of Chico State SWE also spent time together trying local cuisine and exploring Austin. As explained by SWE’s PR officer, Melissa Renteria-Santana, “I was exhausted after the weekend but learned so much and feel way more prepared to approach future companies and career fairs. I truly hope all our members get to experience [such] a conference.” Overall, the fast-paced weekend was full of great surprises, inspiring discussion panels, and an unbeatable career fair that left the officers with memories that will last a lifetime.
When WE17 claims it’s the largest national conference and career fair, it’s not exaggerating. All of the officers agreed that the capacity of people was shocking! According to SWE’s Treasurer, Beatrice Ju, there were about 13000 people just in the Austin Convention Center alone. The event was actually expanded from the allotted capacity of the previous year, and still completely sold out the week before the conference started.
There were about 350 companies at the career fair, as well as many companies giving different conference speeches and discussions. SWE Event Coordinator, Spenser Knudson, said that she enjoyed attending a discussion conference with Apple employees who shared some technical aspects of their job, their transitions between college and the workforce, and their personal experiences. Other talks Chico State officers got to participate in included “How to Shine at Work” and a cyber security conference with Rockwell Automation.
Besides the enormous career fair, panels, discussions, and interviews, officers of Chico State SWE also spent time together trying local cuisine and exploring Austin. As explained by SWE’s PR officer, Melissa Renteria-Santana, “I was exhausted after the weekend but learned so much and feel way more prepared to approach future companies and career fairs. I truly hope all our members get to experience [such] a conference.” Overall, the fast-paced weekend was full of great surprises, inspiring discussion panels, and an unbeatable career fair that left the officers with memories that will last a lifetime.
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Contributors: Beatrice Ju, Spencer Knudson, Melissa Renteria-Santana
Author: Monica Fisher
Author: Monica Fisher
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