University of New Mexico

Francis Gonzales

8/2/2021

Hello everyone!
My name is Francis, and I will be your UNM Society of Women Engineers Design Project Co Chair for the 2021-2022 school year. This will be my first year holding a leadership position within SWE and I am looking forward to making it one to remember. This is also my final year studying Mechanical Engineering and I am happy to share this last year with you all! I was born in Albuquerque, NM but my parents, brother, and I moved when I was 3 to a small town an hour west of it. Fast forward 15 years later and I moved back to attend UNM. This city will always hold a special place in my heart, and I intend to continue to give back to it as much as I can.

Studying engineering has allowed me to apply my love for analysis and design to then create solutions to problems that otherwise, would not be possible to find. Since joining SWE, it has been comforting to be a part of an organization that has such welcoming people that also share the same academic struggles. If you’re readying this and have spent double digit hours on one homework assignment, don’t worry, we get you. In my spare time, I enjoy watching horror movies, learning how to cook new vegan recipes, and have a guilty pleasure of watching reality tv. I hope everyone has had a great summer and stay safe!

188 Comments

Diana Nguyen

7/31/2021

8 Comments

Hi everyone, my name is Diana Nguyen, and I’ll be your
Professional Development chair for the 2021-2022 school
year. This position is slightly new to me, but I am excited
to learn new things whether online or in-person. I will be
focusing on networking and connecting with other groups,
organizing team meetings, and setting up certain events
throughout the semester. The major I am currently
studying is Chemical and Biological Engineering with a
concentration in Bioengineering and a minor in Chemistry.
I’m most excited about SWE is learning new ways to
connect, and connect with everyone through the subject of
being a woman in STEM.

I am thrilled to get to know everyone and find out your
own individual “why” for a career in STEM. This will be a great year! Now, about my summer. This summer has been very time consuming and busy in simple terms. I recently got a job as a pharmacy technician and it has been a great experience so far. Just getting to do something that helps others and putting a smile on a face fulfills my day. Along with work, I have been taking summer classes, which are very fast-paced. There are small exams at the end of each week, piles of homework each night, and of course; zero sleep. But to balance work and school, I have two small hobbies of mine--crocheting and baking--to keep me sane and to relax after a long day. Even though crocheting may give me carpal tunnel in the future, I love to make things that I never thought I could make before. Overall, my summer has been enjoyable and I’m excited to get out there to work and learn with you all. I hope everyone’s summer has been great so far, and I’m looking forward to meeting everyone soon.

8 Comments

Haley Chavez

7/21/2021

4 Comments

Hi all!
My name is Haley Chavez, and I’m a rising senior in civil engineering. I have been in SWE for six semesters and have held two different executive board positions. I’m super excited for this upcoming 2021-2022 school year and to take on my third leadership position as conference co-chair. Our UNM SWE chapter will be attending two conferences this year; our national conference in Indianapolis, IN and our local conference in Albuquerque, NM (woohoo!). I’m looking forward to having an in-person conference and to bond with SWEsters from all over the world after our isolating last few semesters.

I’m honored to be ending my journey with SWE UNM as the conference co-chair because the national conference my freshman year was a pinnacle moment in my journey through college. I was accepted to attend a conference my freshman year as an undecided major who was interested in exploring different fields of engineering. In the span of those three days at the conference, I met some of my closest friends, found a passion for supporting women in STEM, and declared my major as civil engineering. It was a very impactful 72 hours. Below is a picture of my roommates and I at conference (now my conference co-chair and our president).

I look forward to seeing all of you this next school year. SWE has been an incredible community for me at UNM where I have grown as both an individual and an engineer. I’m passionate about this organization and its commitment to making engineering an exciting and viable career choice for women.

4 Comments

Morgan Falk

7/13/2021

165 Comments

Hello!
My name is Max Morgan Falk (preferred name Morgan). I am one of the community co-chairs for the 2021-2022 school year, and I am a computer science major in the school of engineering. I am transgender (MtF) and have been undergoing a gender transition through the last seven years, with services provided at UNM’s student health and counseling center. For the last year I have also been out professionally, with my employers and cohort knowing of my gender identity status.

At present, I am spending my summer finishing up a term of service at Americorps, where I am stationed in a research lab on UNM campus. My years of service proved quite fruitful and provided me with numerous skills that will prove beneficial in the future, but I am quite eager to move onto other opportunities that will present themselves. I am extremely excited to take my role in the upcoming school year as the Society of Women Engineers has been one of the most accepting environments that I have encountered during the time that I have been out of the closet professionally. Not only have they been willing to maintain an actively inclusive environment, but they have made a specific point to reach out and encourage me to participate in situations where I would otherwise hesitate to join in as a result of my gender identity.
With the level of vaccinated individuals proving such that New Mexico is able to open up and have in person classes, I am eagerly hoping that UNM will also be able to provide for in-person student organization meetings. While at this point it is not guaranteed we would be able to do so, I am optimistic that come fall I will be able to see my friends in person rather than through a screen.

165 Comments

Cassandra Walde

7/1/2021

1 Comment

Hello everyone!
My name is Cassandra Walde and I am going to be a junior in Civil Engineering. I am from Albuquerque, New Mexico and I have an older brother who is getting his master's degree in Mechanical Engineering and my twin sister who is also going for her Bachelors in Civil Engineering.

As you can tell I have a little dog and her name is Sally, my dad gave her to me when I was little, she is my best friend! When I am no at school I am working or I am hanging out with my friends. This summer I am taking 4 courses which is very time-consuming, but I am also trying to make time to have a little bit of a summer!

This is going to be my second semester in SWE and I will be your Social Media Co-chair. I was so excited to see that one of our conferences this year will be in Indiana and the other conference will be here in New Mexico! I am also excited to finally meet everyone in person and see what we do this school year. My sister and I had always been shy when it comes to meeting new people and trying new things, but our friend Sasha was in SWE and she always told us that she liked it and finally one-day last semester we decided to go and I like attending the meetings and getting to talk to everyone. The society of women engineers is a great way to get involved and meet new people, they were all so inviting, and they share great opportunities as well as tell us about their own experiences with getting internships as well as interview tips. I really think SWE is a great opportunity to make more friends and gain insight into what it's like to be a woman in engineering. I promise it’s a lot of fun and I cant wait to see everyone in the fall semester!!!

1 Comment

Angelica Walde

6/25/2021

1 Comment

Hello everyone!
My name is Angelica Walde and I am a civil engineering major currently going into my junior year here at The University of New Mexico. I just finished my first semester of SWE and this is my first leadership position. I am excited to be a co-chair of the social media team along with my twin sister Cassandra Walde for the 2021-2022 school year!

This year I am excited to see what SWE does because I have heard about the conferences they go to ( this year it is in Indiana!) and because hopefully we will actually be in person to meet! From the last semester that I have attended SWE I really enjoyed our guest speakers, SWE’s plant night, and the SWE night escape room that we did all over zoom. This summer I am taking 5 summer courses so my summer has been a little hectic. But usually during summer I go to California for vacation, I like to go camping and I like hanging out with my friends. I was introduced to this group by my friend Sasha! Then I joined this group for the potential to meet new people and to be in a well respected group that is well known for their community service. When I am not doing homework I am usually at work, hanging out with friends and family, or I am traveling. Other than that I really like to get coffee from different coffee shops around New Mexico, and I really love to travel to new places! (The picture below is Cassandra on the left and me on the right)

1 Comment

Anna Janicek

6/15/2021

1 Comment

Hi all!
My name is Anna Janicek, and I am an incoming senior in electrical engineering. I have been in SWE for 6 semesters and have held 3 previous leadership positions. I am excited for this academic year (2021-2022) because I will be in my 4th leadership position as conference co-chair. I am most excited to go to conference this year! SWE UNM goes to two conferences each academic year. This year, our national conference will be held in Indianapolis, Indiana and our local conference will be held in Albuquerque, New Mexico. I am super excited for conference to be in-person and to be able to take a bunch of people to our local conference.

Ending my undergraduate experience as conference co-chair means a lot to me since I really got involved in SWE and the engineering community at UNM after my first national conference. My first SWE conference was during the Fall semester of my freshman year, and I got to visit Minneapolis, Minnesota. I roomed with the now president and my co-conference chair. We all bonded at conference and made some amazing SWE memories! I think having such an
awesome time at our first conference greatly influenced our
interest in being more involved in SWE UNM when we returned and is a big reason each of us have held executive and committee positions since joining.

My hope is that other new SWEsters have just as great of a time at conference this year as I did my freshman year! It is so exciting to see each new class of engineers be so involved in SWE and I think the commitment to leading and organizing such a large student organization starts with the friendships and the good memories made at conference!

1 Comment

Alicja Sadzewicz

6/9/2021

6 Comments

Hi everyone!

I’m Alicja Sadzewicz, and I will be your Outreach Co-Chair for this year! If you scroll down in the blog, you will see an ‘Alicja’ introductory post from last year; this is the second year in a row where I will be an Outreach Co-chair. This year I will also be a Senior in Chemical Engineering… which is wild. How did this happen?! Although, I think I still have to make it through the summer before I can officially call myself a “Senior”.

I have a job working in materials, so I spend most of my summer days looking through very expensive microscopes (which I feel like I have no business being around, much less running), and swabbing things with chemicals. Recently, I took a summer vacation to California. Much to my disappointment, I didn’t get to go to Disneyland (only California Residents are allowed right now). But, one of my favorite SWE memories was when we went to Anaheim for conference, and afterward some friends and I all got to go to Disney together! The picture’s a little blurry, but if you look close you can make out our president: Hailey Cuevas!

Moving on…here’s another picture from my most recent vacation where I went to the San Diego Air and Space Museum and met an astronaut friend:

The thing I am most excited for this year is to hopefully go to SWE meetings in person. No clue when or if it will happen, but things seem to be looking up! For new members, or those who joined during the pandemic, the in-person meetings always have really good snacks. Though, I promise I’m not a member of SWE just for the free food. Everyone I have met in SWE has been super encouraging, and SWE even helped me get the job I have now. Anyways, I’m definitely excited to spend my last year as an undergraduate working with such a great student organization.

6 Comments

Sierra Quintana

6/3/2021

6 Comments

Howdy Everyone!

I am Sierra Quintana, a rising sophomore at the University of New Mexico. I am majoring in electrical engineering and pursuing a minor through the Honors College. My home has always been Albuquerque, New Mexico, so I have been surrounded by Lobo traditions my whole life. Though, I think it is important to note that I grew up an NMSU Aggie fan since both my parents are alum. Nevertheless, I am filled with Lobo Spirit now. It is very exciting to announce that I have the pleasure of being UNM’s Society of Women Engineers Outreach Co Chair for the 2021-2022 school year.

I am beyond excited to continue the amazing work that UNM SWE has been doing. It is my goal to expose students not yet at the collegiate level to the incredible opportunities that engineers have. I plan to use my connections to Cibola High School, NM MESA, and New Mexico’s VEX Robotics league to accomplish my objective. In addition to SWE, I am very involved around campus. I am an ASUNM Senator, and I want to encourage feedback from my peers so we can improve the UNM experience. Also, I have graduated from the Emerging Lobo Leaders program and I actively participate in ASUNM Community Experience. Additionally, I am part of Greek life through being a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma. Plus, I am also a member of UNM Circle K.

This summer has and is going to continue to be extremely busy. I have been working in a lab at the Center for High Technology Materials doing undergraduate research alongside graduate and PHD students since the start of the 2020 fall semester. Fun fact, I have actually been at CHTM since the summer of 2019 when I got a high school internship. In addition to lab work, I was chosen to be a New Student Orientation Leader. I am very excited to introduce new Lobo’s to all the great opportunities, like SWE, that UNM has to offer. I hope you all have a great summer, and I can’t wait to see everyone in-person in the fall!

6 Comments

Tawhida Kabir

5/25/2021

5 Comments

Hi everyone!

I'm Tawhida Kabir, an international student from Bangladesh but born and brought up in Dubai, a junior majoring in Electrical Engineering and your Design Project Co-Chair for the year 2021-2022!

I've always known some engineering departments had an overwhelming high ratio of men:women, but that fact was cemented when I realized I could count the number of women in my introductory ECE courses on one hand. Halfway through my second semester at UNM, I joined my first SWE meeting. It was a little daunting as most of the people there already knew each other, but they welcomed me in and I couldn't have been more excited! But, spoiler alert, the pandemic hit. That's why I couldn't be more excited to return to in-person classes and (hopefully) in person SWE meetings and make up for all the lost time by socializing, networking and attending conferences with my fellow SWEsters (that's such a cute nickname!). I'm currently located in Bangladesh, my home country, for the past half year and will be spending my summer here! I've been missing Dubai a lot and I haven't been able to visit because of the pandemic, but at least Bangladesh and Dubai have the heat and humidity in common! The rainy season here is the only highlight of my summer. I think it'll be great time to relax and watch a few shows and movies (Move to Heaven on Netflix is a really good, really sad show that you need to watch if you want a good cry!!) and pursue my hobbies of video editing (vidding) the things I watch, reading plane crash analyses and obscure wikipedia articles and taking pics of pretty sunsets and skies. Here are three sunsets from Sirajganj, Albuquerque and Dubai, respectively.

5 Comments

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