Last year, I wrote about my involvement in the marching band, so this year, I thought that I would discuss something a little different for my favorite student involvement. The American Institute of Chemical Engineers is a national organization for chemical engineers to network, share ideas, and connect with one another. USC has a chapter on its campus, and I have been a member for the last two years.
I am not going to say that I have been the most active member, but I really do enjoy going to different AIChe events throughout the year. My freshmen year, I went to lecture given by a professor from the Middle East talking about his biofuel research. I also went to a session with a representative from Southern California Edison, where he discussed the company and internship opportunities.
Last year, the president of AIChe was Anastasia Barge, who is a former VSA. The best event I went to last year was a info session given by the US Nuclear Navy. They discussed one of their programs where they pay for a student’s tuition to get their engineering degree and then you go work for the navy doing nuclear engineering work. It was really interesting. You can check out their programs here.
I really hope to get more involved in AIChe this year. It’s a great organization to be a part of and there are so many neat things to do. If you are interested in hearing what AIChe is like from a perspective of a board member, check out Lyssa’s post on AIChe here.
You can check out the AIChe – USC website here, and the national website here.
Finally, you can check out my blog post from last year – My Favorite Student Involvement – USC Trojan Marching Band.