the nation really made me feel like I was part of something bigger: the movement to bring more women into engineering.
This is my first year in SWE and my first conference, so I came in with very few expectations and a drive to participate in everything I possibly could. When I first arrived at WE19, I was very intimidated. Everybody around me was dressed professionally and looked like very, very smart people. At first I didn’t feel like I fit in, but as the conference went on, I realized that there were many people who, like me, were at their very first conference and others had felt the same way
during their first conference. I gained more confidence talking to people, and it helped me attend workshops and presentations without any hesitation. Once I found out that there were people like me at WE19, I felt more like the people I saw as well and it created a very inclusive and supportive environment for engineers to explore possibilities in their field.
speakers supported engineers at all levels and I feel everyone was influenced in one way or another.

whether I am smart enough to even continue majoring in
Computer Science (Imposter Syndrome, anyone?). But the women I heard and saw at WE19 motivated me to continue pushing through. I want to pursue my degree not only to be one of the women who enter into that field but also to inspire others to do the same. The conference made
me realize how much of an impact female engineers, including myself, can have on society and
on other people.
reach for my dreams. I hope everyone else who attended came out a new person as well, as engineers who live, learn, and lead.
Mari A.