UA Student Clubs Working to Support Underrepresented Populations

Multiple clubs at the University of Arizona are providing resources and serving as a "home away from home" for engineering students from underrepresented populations. 

The UA chapter of the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, or SHPE, extends its support throughout the community and fosters leadership growth among its members. The two go hand in hand. In response to COVID-19, club members have shifted to virtual events and strengthened sponsor recruitment to support shareable academic resources and relief scholarships. The club hosts the Advancement of Latinx in Engineering event, a series of themed workshops that promote STEM in high schools throughout the Southwest. The online spring 2021 event will feature a variety of companies that need engineers.

“When I first joined, it was not only the sense of community and the people that made me want to keep coming, but SHPE’s vision for its members – what we call the familia,” said Nayleth Ramirez, a senior studying systems engineering. “I realized this club was perfect for me, because I can learn and become a better citizen of the community and the world, while also gaining these skills that are so critical for both academic and future career success.”

The National Society of Black Engineers, or NSBE, aims to increase the number of Black and other minority engineers working in industry and attending graduate school. NSBE members agreed that even if they understand they can do whatever they set their minds to, without role models it can feel like navigating uncharted waters. But that’s one more reason to forge ahead: In a world with so much to fix, engineering offers a way to make lasting change.

“Before NSBE, I’d only met a handful of Black engineers, but when I joined, we had engineers from different companies come speak to us, and they were mainly Black,” said club president Kodjo Seddo, a senior studying systems engineering. “That kind of pushed me to do better.”