The University of Mississippi’s Society of Women Engineers (SWE) raised $20,000 to pay for its members to attend the National Society of Women Engineers Conference in New Orleans last month. In doing so, the group overcame significant funding cuts through creative revenue-raising efforts.
Like every other registered student organization (RSO) at the university, SWE lost anticipated revenue due to a freeze on the Student Activity Fee, which prior to this year distributed activity fees charged to each enrolled student among RSOs to pay for organizational events and activities.
The freeze on funding was instituted by the university after Gov. Tate Reeves signed House Bill 1193 into law, which prohibits K-12 and postsecondary schools in Mississippi from maintaining “any programs, including academic programs or courses, or offices that promote or endorse divisive concepts or concepts promoting transgender ideology, gender-neutral pronouns, heteronormativity, gender theory, sexual privilege or any related formulation of these concepts.” Though the Mississippi attorney general stated in an opinion that this law exempts RSOs, it does not exempt student activity fees, which are labeled state funds.
In light of SAF cuts, the chapter had only eight weeks to hit their fundraising goal of $20,000 to send 23 members to the national conference. The two-day annual conference includes professional development workshops and one of the world’s largest career fairs for STEM students.
“We try to cover everything from food, transportation and a hotel, so that was where the fundraising came in,” SWE President Maria Argote de la Torre, a senior biomedical engineering major from Guadalajara, Mexico, said. “For this year, it was kind of piece-mealing things together because of how short-term it was.”
Argote de la Torre emphasized the importance of the opportunity for members to attend the event.
“This is where a lot of our members go and try to find internships, co-ops and full-time jobs,” Argote de la Torre said. “So this is a double-edged kind of opportunity for development for them.”
Vice President of SWE Camille Newman, a senior mechanical engineering major from Pass Christian, Miss., detailed creative fundraising efforts through donations, percentage days with local businesses and designing buttons for tailgates at the Grove.
“We called just about every restaurant and cafe in town asking about profit-share days, reaching out to corporate sponsors and asking for donations in exchange for game day buttons,” Newman said. “We started to gain some momentum around week three and were slowly piecing together the funds.”
Through all of these efforts, SWE was able to meet and exceed the goal of $20,000.
Claudia Pieroni, a senior computer science major from Madison, Miss., who attended the conference, spoke of her reaction to the funding cuts.
“It was disheartening hearing about the funding cuts, and we fully prepared to fund the trip out of pocket,” Pieroni said. “Our SWE leadership team and sponsors did an amazing job organizing fundraising events to reach our goal of going to the conference fully funded.”
Newman expressed pride in the chapter’s determination to succeed and overcoming of the funding challenges on such short notice.
“We refused to think about the ‘what ifs,’ charged ahead, and we made it happen,” Newman said. “This was, by far, one of the most challenging and stressful things I have ever taken on, and I am honored to have been a part of the group who overcame these challenges.”
Pieroni also spoke of her experience attending the conference and the opportunities offered there.
“As an upcoming graduate, I am looking not only for job opportunities within my field but also a good way to network in my field,” Pieroni said. “The SWE National Conferences always cultivate that space for me. This year, my main focus was on the career fair, and I spoke to different companies and even had interviews there in the building.”
Victoria Esparza, a senior mechanical engineering major from Flowood, Miss., attended the conference and echoed Pieroni’s sentiment about the opportunities there.
“My experience at the conference was nothing other than amazing,” Esparza said. “I was able to get to talk to so many different companies in a variety of industries to share my work experience and skills that I’ve attained from studying at the university.”
SWE focuses on professional development and building a sense of community to teach its members the fundamentals for success in college and their careers. Argote de la Torre spoke of the organization’s openness to membership.
“Anyone is welcome to join the forum, regardless of major or gender identity,” Argote de la Torre said. “It’s the Society of Women Engineers and it’s about the advancement of women engineers, but we accept anyone that believes that it is a just cause to progress toward.”
The group meets every two weeks and alternates between professional development and fun events for members. Professional development opportunities include seminars, “Lunch and Learns” with industry partners, resume reviews and career fair preparation. Some fun activities have included Friendsgiving, making friendship bracelets and creating vision boards.
