The Student Engineers’ Council gives back to the students in the College of Engineering by establishing two new funds. |
Image: Courtesy of SEC President, Kyle Beck
Student organizations across the College of Engineering are doing amazing work to support their fellow students. They are addressing mental health, tackling environmental issues, amplifying marginalized voices and more, but they can’t always do as much as they would like due to lack of funding.
This notion spurred the Student Engineers’ Council (SEC) to establish the Engineering Organization Fund. “There are so many ambitious things that people want to do, and their biggest inhibitor is resources,” said Kyle Beck, SEC president. “We want to utilize our resources to amplify the impact of these great opportunities and programs that exist in the College of Engineering’s student organizations.”
Established in 1939 by the dean of engineering, the SEC has been providing resources and opportunities to engineering students for 83 years. Its mission has remained the same — to be a representative voice of all engineering students, to increase engineering awareness and to promote professional advancement for all students in the College of Engineering.
“We’re here to serve the students and the organizations. We represent them and their concerns to the faculty and administration, working to benefit everyone the best we can,” Beck said. The SEC currently has 140 members who serve on 15 committees to fulfill this mission.
The students also seek to use their talents to meet the needs of the surrounding community. In addition to service projects with The Big Event and Angel Tree, they host STEM camps and workshops for local school children who may be interested in engineering. The group also has a partnership with the REACH Project and are in the process of developing a digital Graduation Preparedness Course.
Among the many events hosted by the SEC is the Engineering Career Fair, which serves to provide not only countless doors of opportunity for graduates and employers, but also resources that the SEC can use to give back to the students they serve. After analyzing student survey responses and speaking with student leaders, deans, and advisors, the SEC determined that they could best utilize these resources by providing financial support for the 90 plus student organizations in the College of Engineering.
“Our vision is to ensure that we can provide a platform for other societies and organizations in the College of Engineering to connect, collaborate and have the avenues to get to know other engineering students outside of a classroom setting,” Beck said.
The SEC has been continually impressed with the initiatives that have been accomplished by engineering student organizations. Its members hope this fund will allow those organizations to have an even greater impact within their community and industry while furthering engineering excellence.
“The goal is for engineering organizations to have the capacity to do so much more,” Beck said. “Hopefully, we can remove the financial burden, see some creative new ideas and see people do more of what they are already doing really well.”
The SEC has also taken action to meet the needs of first-generation students through the establishment of the First-Generation Engineering Students Mentoring Program Fund. Half of this gift will be used to provide scholarships for first-generation students, and the other half will be used at the discretion of the FGEn program.
In conversations leading up to the establishment of this fund, SEC committee members met with several leaders on campus who outlined the impact FGEn has on first-generation students within the College of Engineering, who make up more than 20% of the college’s undergraduate population. Among those they met with was Dr. John Hurtado, interim dean and vice chancellor for engineering and a first-generation college graduate.
“Dr. Hurtado and others helped bring light to some of the struggles that first-generation students face. If you don’t have the right resources and support, that can be a really challenging transition,” Beck said.
Students across the College of Engineering will experience the impact of the SEC’s effort to continually bring the college to a new level of excellence. Like many previous and current members, Beck has seen what can be accomplished when Aggie engineers stand beside each other in collaboration and innovation.
“At the end of the day, it’s a volunteer organization —you are there because you want to serve. All of the things we do happen because our members sacrifice their time and effort for other students here at the College of Engineering or in the community around us.”
This notion spurred the Student Engineers’ Council (SEC) to establish the Engineering Organization Fund. “There are so many ambitious things that people want to do, and their biggest inhibitor is resources,” said Kyle Beck, SEC president. “We want to utilize our resources to amplify the impact of these great opportunities and programs that exist in the College of Engineering’s student organizations.”
Established in 1939 by the dean of engineering, the SEC has been providing resources and opportunities to engineering students for 83 years. Its mission has remained the same — to be a representative voice of all engineering students, to increase engineering awareness and to promote professional advancement for all students in the College of Engineering.
“We’re here to serve the students and the organizations. We represent them and their concerns to the faculty and administration, working to benefit everyone the best we can,” Beck said. The SEC currently has 140 members who serve on 15 committees to fulfill this mission.
The students also seek to use their talents to meet the needs of the surrounding community. In addition to service projects with The Big Event and Angel Tree, they host STEM camps and workshops for local school children who may be interested in engineering. The group also has a partnership with the REACH Project and are in the process of developing a digital Graduation Preparedness Course.
Among the many events hosted by the SEC is the Engineering Career Fair, which serves to provide not only countless doors of opportunity for graduates and employers, but also resources that the SEC can use to give back to the students they serve. After analyzing student survey responses and speaking with student leaders, deans, and advisors, the SEC determined that they could best utilize these resources by providing financial support for the 90 plus student organizations in the College of Engineering.
“Our vision is to ensure that we can provide a platform for other societies and organizations in the College of Engineering to connect, collaborate and have the avenues to get to know other engineering students outside of a classroom setting,” Beck said.
The SEC has been continually impressed with the initiatives that have been accomplished by engineering student organizations. Its members hope this fund will allow those organizations to have an even greater impact within their community and industry while furthering engineering excellence.
“The goal is for engineering organizations to have the capacity to do so much more,” Beck said. “Hopefully, we can remove the financial burden, see some creative new ideas and see people do more of what they are already doing really well.”
The SEC has also taken action to meet the needs of first-generation students through the establishment of the First-Generation Engineering Students Mentoring Program Fund. Half of this gift will be used to provide scholarships for first-generation students, and the other half will be used at the discretion of the FGEn program.
In conversations leading up to the establishment of this fund, SEC committee members met with several leaders on campus who outlined the impact FGEn has on first-generation students within the College of Engineering, who make up more than 20% of the college’s undergraduate population. Among those they met with was Dr. John Hurtado, interim dean and vice chancellor for engineering and a first-generation college graduate.
“Dr. Hurtado and others helped bring light to some of the struggles that first-generation students face. If you don’t have the right resources and support, that can be a really challenging transition,” Beck said.
Students across the College of Engineering will experience the impact of the SEC’s effort to continually bring the college to a new level of excellence. Like many previous and current members, Beck has seen what can be accomplished when Aggie engineers stand beside each other in collaboration and innovation.
“At the end of the day, it’s a volunteer organization —you are there because you want to serve. All of the things we do happen because our members sacrifice their time and effort for other students here at the College of Engineering or in the community around us.”
How to Give
Endowments supporting students in the college have an immeasurable impact on their education. If you are interested in supporting the College of Engineering and its departments or would like more information on how you can give, please contact Patrick Wilson, director of development.