Purdue's student section of the Society of Women Engineers celebrates 70 years
When the Purdue Student Section of the Society for Women Engineers (SWE) was chartered in 1954, few women were studying engineering. SWE started modestly with 20 members, only five years after the national Society of Women Engineers first met.
Today, SWE’s membership has grown to about 700 men and women, making it one of the largest engineering student organizations at Purdue.
“It’s exciting to see how much we’ve grown and how many opportunities we’re able to provide,” said Abigail Mizzi, president of SWE.
The anniversary coincides with Purdue Engineering’s 150th celebration.
Besides being the oldest continuously chartered section at a university, Purdue’s SWE provides professional and social support as well as hands-on experience to engineering students. Students in SWE get the opportunity to participate in engineering competitions, visit elementary students and tap into professional networks for help with resumes and networking. The organization is made up of an executive board of 45 students.
“Our mission is to empower women as engineers and leaders in society, and to provide those opportunities to women at Purdue,” said Mizzi, who will graduate May 2025 with a bachelor’s degree in aeronautical and astronautical engineering.
"To commemorate SWE’s 70th anniversary, the organization gave a $125,000 gift to the College of Engineering to build a plaza honoring Lillian Gilbreth, the first woman to become a Purdue engineering professor, outside of the A.A. Potter Engineering Center. Gilbreth was instrumental in the founding of the national Society of Women Engineers," said SWE advisor Beth Holloway.
Purdue SWE’s anniversary festivities kicked off Oct. 25 in Chicago during its national conference. Holloway and Mizzi spoke at a breakfast event, attended by about 200 students and alumni.
“It was great to see so many generations of alumni and engineers that started out at Purdue,” Mizzi said. “It was magical to see those connections coming together in the same room.”
Holloway said that Purdue’s SWE is “as strong as ever.”
“It’s a great organization,” said Holloway, who is in her 24th year serving as advisor. “I’m very honored that I get to be a part of it.”
On Nov. 1, stickers, T-shirts and other merchandise will be available, and additional items will come out this spring to commemorate the 70th anniversary. Then, on Nov. 9, students in K-12 will be invited to a 70th celebration “tea party” at the West Lafayette campus to learn about engineering with student volunteers.
For Mizzi, being a part of SWE has allowed her to develop leadership skills. When she was a sophomore, she organized a networking event that drew 13 companies and 100 students. As a junior, she became SWE’s technical director, overseeing a 50-year-old Grand Prix team that builds and races two go-karts as well as groups that focus on research and design and technical solutions. In 2024, SWE added a fourth team for environmental engineers to work on projects pertaining to their majors.
The organization also plans to incorporate opportunities for graduate students.
“I’ve gotten to grow a lot through SWE as a leader and take on these challenges,” Mizzi said.
Her first introduction to SWE was as a high school senior in suburban Chicago. That’s when she attended a virtual Zoom meeting in 2020 during the COVID pandemic. Mizzi asked SWE board members questions like, “What’s it like to study engineering at Purdue? What’s it like to be a college student?”
One board member in particular stood out to Mizzi. She was also studying aeronautical and astronautical engineering.
“At the end of the Zoom, she gave me her number,” Mizzi said.
When they met in person during Mizzi’s first weeks at Purdue, “she was super helpful and welcoming and kind. She supported me every step of the way.”
Angie Zhang, a 2022 aeronautical and astronautical engineering graduate, helped Mizzi navigate some of her first experiences at Purdue SWE. Zhang served as the organization’s president in 2021-22. “It was such an amazing experience to be able to guide (Abby) and mentor her,” Zhang said.
For Zhang, SWE was also a part of her life even before she got into Purdue. She started a SWE section at her high school in California and others in her area. “When I got to Purdue, it was the No. 1 thing I had to join,” she said.
Zhang started as a general member in SWE and became president her senior year. “I met my lifelong friends.”
Beyond personal and professional relationships Zhang built from being in SWE, she credited members of the organization with stretching her beyond her comfort zone.
Zhang now works at Boeing — her “dream job.” She credits SWE directly with helping launch her career.
“It built my personal life and my professional life,” she said. “It introduced me to such amazing mentors, mentees. I cannot thank the organization enough.”
Visit the Purdue SWE website to get involved.
https://www.instagram.com/purdue.swe/
