Hi guys! Last weekend I traveled to Baltimore with 10 other girls to represent the USC chapter of the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) at our National Conference! This is the third national conference I have gone to, and it’s always a great experience in networking, learning from workshops led by experienced female engineers in industry, and bonding with my SWEsters!
Good morning LAX! So excited to go to Baltimore today for the SWE conference! #we13 @cassgabara pic.twitter.com/8cvXNIlf0S
— Natalie Alvarez (@natralvarez) October 24, 2013
I left with my roommate and SWE President Cassandra and another SWEster Reetika on Thursday morning for a long day of flying to Baltimore.
Flying to Baltimore!
Once we landed in Baltimore Thursday night we headed to the Conference to network at the career fair and also eat dinner at the hospitality suites. These were smaller networking settings where we were able to have longer conversations with recruiters. Each company also had fun activities to do at their suites, like photobooths!
The rest of the weekend was filled with more networking with recruiters and attending workshops led by successful female engineers. One workshop I attended was about building your personal brand, and another discussed tips to becoming a successful woman leader. I even had the opportunity to interview with Turner Construction Friday afternoon. One of the other perks is picking up conference swag! My favorites are probably my Google puzzle and Microsoft T shirt!
Post career fair workshop: Powering you to Succeed: Enhancing your brand by @eatoncorp #WE13
— Natalie Alvarez (@natralvarez) October 25, 2013
Once the conference ended Saturday, we spent the rest of our time exploring Baltimore, the harbor area, and eating seafood! It was a great time to get to know some of the younger girls in SWE. I really enjoyed Baltimore, and even made time to explore the Johns Hopkins campus.
I had an amazing time at the 2013 SWE National Conference, and can’t wait to go again next year when the conference comes to Los Angeles!
Until next time,
Natalie
