UA Student Clubs Working to Support Underrepresented Populations
The UA chapter of the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, or SHPE, is one of several clubs at the University of Arizona providing resources and serving as a "home away from home" for engineering students from underrepresented populations.
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.
“Knowing others share that same feeling of wanting to make their family proud while having all this pressure on their shoulders is really reassuring,” said club president Fabian Medina, a PhD student in mechanical engineering.