Society of Women Engineers hosts keynote speaker in an 'Evening with Industry'

The Cal Poly Society of Women Engineers (SWE) will host speaker Patricia Galloway to inspire and encourage women in a variety of engineering fields during an “Evening with Industry.”

Galloway was picked by SWE President Betsy Sale because she is a good example of a successful woman engineer, and is a former president of a nationwide organization. Galloway is a highly regarded professional civil engineer in the international engineering and construction market.

Galloway will be speaking tonight at the first SWE meeting of the quarter. The Cal Poly chapter of SWE is the largest in the nation of over 300 campuses with 70 percent of their 500 members being women.

“Our main goal is to recruit and retain women in engineering and to introduce younger girls to the dynamic and exciting field of engineering,” Sale, a civil engineering senior, said.

Cal Poly SWE was recently named most “Outstanding Student Section” in the nation, finishing ahead of Purdue University and the University of Texas at Austin. Last year marks the fourth year in a row that Cal Poly has won the award.

“I heard about SWE before I even went to school here,” said Andrea Shern, a civil engineering senior and SWE vice president of corporate relations. “I knew it would be hard to be a women in engineering. I felt that (SWE) would be a mentoring avenue, and be a great opportunity for leadership.”

Dr. Galloway will be speaking at “Evening with Industry” tonight at 6 p.m. in Chumash Auditorium.

The meeting will promote ticket sales for their main event on Jan. 27. Tickets for that event are selling for $10 for SWE members, and $25 for non-members. More information can be found at www.swe.calpoly.edu.