Beckley, W.Va. — Women in STEM at WVU Tech now have expanded access to national resources and professional development after the university’s Society of Women Engineers chapter received its official national charter. The approval, finalized in July, makes WVU Tech one of only two colleges in West Virginia with a nationally recognized SWE chapter.
The charter is the result of months of work by students and faculty, including meeting membership requirements, submitting financial documentation, and securing letters of support from the national organization.
The SWEWVUIT chapter was founded by students seeking community and support for women in STEM fields. Club president Mia Valenzuela, a senior mechanical engineering major from Phoenix, said the group began with just three students from different majors who wanted to connect with other women on campus.
“It felt good for us to be interconnected with other women in STEM on campus,” Valenzuela said. “Especially on a smaller campus, there’s a smaller sample size of women, and to be able to get together and support our community and support each other was really empowering, but also fun.”
Faculty advisors Dr. Winnie Fu and Dr. Gifty Osei‑Prempeh say the national charter opens doors to scholarships, grants, national conferences, and one of the largest STEM career fairs in the country.
“They have scholarships for students, and grants we can apply for outreach activities,” Osei‑Prempeh said. “They do national conferences every year and huge career fairs — the biggest I’ve seen for any professional organization.”
The chapter is active in outreach both on and off campus, including Engineering Day at the Clay Center, robotics competitions, and SWE Next, a program encouraging 6th–12th graders to pursue STEM careers. Students are also planning a professional networking dinner to connect with alumni and industry partners.
“Our most important thing is that we want professional networking for the students,” Fu said.
For more information about SWEWVUIT and other student organizations at WVU Tech, visit students.wvutech.edu/student-organizations. For more information on the Society of Women Engineers, visit swe.org.
