As a senior about to graduate in a week there are so many things I am grateful for. One of the things and I most grateful for is SWE and anyone reading this. If you’re a current student, future Illini, or just a high schooler reading this I hope this gives you the warm fuzzy feeling I get writing this. This is an ode, if you will, to my SWEesters (SWE sisters). An affirmation of the immense gratitude I feel being part of this organization.
My journey started in 2016 as a senior in high school at Little Sisters Weekend. This weekend, little did I know, I met my best friend (Yes, we’re still bffs 4 years later). I remember sitting in a Physics 211 lecture with a group of other little sisters. I thought I was SO cool because I was sitting in a COLLEGE lecture. Later that night we played broomball, which was outrageously fun. I look back on those pictures and have nothing but good feelings. The following years I got to be a big sister and watched nervous high school seniors become good friends over night. That feeling will always be with me.
Freshman year rolled around and I was so nervous. Nervous about which RSO’s to join (I figured out what RSO stood for on quad day), nervous for class, and nervous about taking the bus for the first time. The one thing that helped me was the small community I had already formed from attending WIE orientation. A bunch of people that attended LSW were also at WIE orientation. It was like a little reunion! My favorite SWE memory from freshman year was when my friends and I went to the back to school cook out. We were over an hour late. Why? Because we took the wrong bus and got completely turned around. Yes campus is big and scary, but getting lost with friends is actually quite fun.
Now here I am, officially graduated from the U of I and terribly missing all the good times I had in SWE. I was a chair for various outreach events and the best part was always running around all day making sure everything was perfect. It sounds stressful but It was also so much fun, and such a great feeling when parents would complement you. The best was the number of other SWE members that would come to volunteer. People I had not even met yet came to help out at MY event. My heart was always so full! That just goes to show you the type of community you gain from joining SWE. Yes, we are all a bit nerdy in our own way and YES we use SWE puns way too much… but at the end of the day I know I can always count on them.
So, if you’re looking for a place to call home, friends, volunteer work, or free food I encourage you to join (or stay in) SWE. Yes we are all super cheesy with this SWE pun, but it grows on you. You might not think your late nights in the Swoffice are as productive as you’d like but I promise you will talk with amazing people and form friendships you will be so grateful for. Yes, we all love the free food but the next time you sit down at a GM look around you at all the AMAZING and EDUCATED people around you. Yes, YOU ARE ONE OF THOSE AMAZING EDUCATED PEOPLE. Believe it. I promise you, there is so much more than just a bunch of women who are in engineering.
From the bottom of my heart, thank you for these past four years. I will cherish them always.
