Female engineers break gender barrier

As the field of engineering advances by the second, more women are on the forefront than ever before. That development was evident last night at the second annual Society for Women Engineers corporate dinner, where Xina Quan, a chemical engineer for Bell Labs, was acknowledged for her leading role in the field of chemical engineering. The dinner -- which took the form of an informal recruiting session -- was sponsored by eight major corporations in the fields of engineering and technology, including Air Products & Chemicals, Bell Atlantic, Goldman Sachs, IBM, Johnson & Johnson, Lockheed Martin, Proctor & Gamble and Trilogy. After a period of open discussion among the nearly 90 students who attended the event, Quan addressed the audience on her personal experience as a female engineer, stressing five elements which she feels lead to success: the need to know what you want out of each stage of your life, the ability to understand the culture that surrounds you, the ability to make choices, the need to be flexible and the need to take chances. "It is necessary to stand firm and not be afraid to make choices," Quan said. "The world is full of options, yet it is important to be realistic. You can never be everything and everybody." SWE President Kristy Sundjaja, an Engineering senior, gave the opening remarks for the evening, encouraging students to ask questions about job opportunities and form relationships with professionals in the engineering field. Representatives and students were given the opportunity to discuss current trends and challenges in the field, as well as job and internship information. Bell Atlantic representatives Arnold Coleman and Arlene Blackston spoke to their table about the importance of leadership and communication skills, in addition to a solid academic record when applying for a job. The purpose of the SWE is to inform the community of the qualifications and achievements of women engineers. Its mission is to stimulate women to achieve full potential in their careers as engineers. "We want students to be able to ask questions," said Engineering senior and SWE Vice President Julie Herman, who organized the dinner. "This is a great opportunity to find out what life is like as an engineer. We have a diverse group of companies and we're hoping that SWE members will leave tonight with a better understanding of what it takes to succeed." SWE encourages its members to develop a strong presence in a field which was once considered "men-only" and systematically trains incoming members to keep the program strong, according to Materials Science Professor Karen Winey, the group's advisor. "SWE is traditionally the best student organization in the Engineering school," said Engineering senior Rick Kiok, one of 10 male members of the group, which is open to anyone.