Member of the Month

Member of the Month

Think you have what it takes to be member of the month? Do you know someone who does? Nominate yourself or that certain someone to a SWE officer or at your next meeting.

Annual SWE Activities



Each year, the Virginia Tech Student Section of SWE organizes and participates in many volunteer community outreach programs. Below is an explanation of our events. General meetings can be found on the event calendar.

Fall Events

National Conference

Each year the Virginia Tech section tries to send executive officers and interested members to the National Conference. It is a great way to learn more about SWE's diverse history, explore emerging technologies, and network with other attendees and industry representatives. The National Conference is where professional and collegiate members come together for networking and sharing knowledge about the professional industry. In 2002, the conference was held in Detroit,Michigan. This year the conference was in Kansas City, Missouri.


First Lego League

A relatively new addition to SWE's repetoire of activities, FLL volunteers will recieve training to help with competitions. Volunteer positions range from setting/packing up, assisting teams, and refereeing Lego matches. Each year, there is a new competition which kids plan for, and SWE does what it can to help.


First Lego League Exploring Engineering

SWE is very proud to be hosing the third annual FIRST Lego League Exploring Engineering Day (FLLEE). FLLEE is for students from the FIRST Lego League State Tournament and teaches them a little bit about different engineering disciplines and careers. This year participants will hear a lecture about robotics (given by Dr. Reinholtz of Mechanical Engineering), learn about three engineering disciplines through hands-on activities, and go on a tour of the WARE lab. This year, FLLEE takes place in November.


Spring Events

Evening with the Industries

"Evening With Industry" is SWE's annual dinner where SWE and other engineering students meet with corporate representatives in a relaxed and social atmosphere. This event serves as a valuable tool for learning more about industry and career options. This networking opportunity is growing in success every year. Attending students have the opportunity to submit a resume, which will be put in a compilation of resumes to be distributed to the attending companies. The advantage of attending not only includes getting your resume out early, but allows for a better chance to talk to representatives one-on-one. This event preceeds CAMEO's CareerFest


Girl Scout Exploring Engineering Day

SWE held the first Exploring Engineering Day almost a decade ago, and has become a major annual outreach event every spring. Exploring Engineering Day encourages young girls to pursue studies of science and engineering by showing how these fields can be stimulating, exciting, and rewarding. SWE invites junior Girl Scouts from the New River Valley to participate in a day of hands-on activites that demonstrate engineering principles and concepts. These activities are led by SWE members. The girls view us as role models and leave with the idea that they too can be an engineer. The Girl Scouts are awarded a patch for their effort and participation.

Each year we change the activities since most girls have a blast and want to come back year after year. If you have any suggestions, please let us know!

If you have any questions, we are more than happy to answer them!
For questions about registration and availability, contact Christa Hixson: crhixson@vt.edu
For general questions about the event, contact Elaine Huffman: elaine10@vt.edu


Engineer's Night

Every year during Engineer's Week at Virginia Tech, SWE holds Engineer's Night for elementary schoolers and middle schoolers in the area. On Engineer's Night, elementary and middle school students come in and participate in several engineering activities to explore the different types of engineering that Virginia Tech offers. Activities that have been done in the past include using fruit to power light bulbs, making styrofoam planes, manipulating Lego robots, creating graphing calculator art, testing water with professional water testing kits, building graham cracker bridges, making ice cream, making oobleck, making gak, building cars out of simple materials, building spaghetti towers, making slime, and testing material strength.


Relay for Life

Relay for Life is an annual event held on the Virginia Tech campus. This year SWE will join the fight against cancer and show their support by creating a team to raise money for the American Cancer Society. You can donate money to the SWE team by going to this link: http://www.acsevents.org/relay/vt/sweforrelay. If you would like more information on Relay for Life or if you want to join the team, please contact Jill Preto and Lindsay Miller [Community Outreach Chairs].


Regional Conference

Each year the Virginia Tech section sends members to the Regional Conference. The 2007 conference took place at New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) in Newark, New Jersey. If you would like to participate, please talk to an officer.



Women's Preview Weekend Ice Cream Social

The Women's Preview Weekend Ice Cream Social allows high school women interested in engineering a chance to come together for a discussion about the Virginia Tech Engineering program. SWE offers a casual discussion session for real-life questions the high schoolers may have.