I keep getting emails and letters about the Penn State WEPO (Women in Engineering) program, and I was wondering if anybody has experience with it, as I am considering doing it. Is it worth it? What does being involved entail?
We have several family friends who were WEPO students, and all spoke positively of it. It does seem to be somewhat time consuming, but considering the networking, social activities, and peer support, I don’t think any of them would not recommend it. Engineering is a very demanding program, and you don’t have a lot of time to develop friends outside of it – it can be great to have a peer group that understands your day. All the women I know who did WEPO have gone on to very impressive jobs or grad schools.
I am a parent of a current rising sophomore that attended WEPO last year. My daughter would highly recommend WEPO for several reasons
- Met a great group of students that gave her a great start socially and an incredible support group.
- Enabled her to be prepared to interview for internships. She was offered an internship as a Freshman and is currently rooming with one of her WEPO roommates at her internship.
- She was able to have many other social groups, participated in Club sports, and was involved with numerous other clubs (some of which she learned about through WEPO).
- Probably the most important thing WEPO gave her was a support group. She was injured (Club sport) in January and was on crutches for 2 months during winter pre and post surgery. Her WEPO group not only helped her get through the tough times but they enabled her to be successful while having fun.
I wish you the best at PSU Engineering