The Fishbach Reading Room in the Leo Engineering building of Manhattan College can be daunting at first. The walls are filled with old radio equipment and tables surround the perimeter of the room. Typical of a college setting, there are a few computers that will either not turn on or not let you log in.
Off this large room is a smaller, more homely room, designated only by a small sign notifying the student population that this houses the Society of Women Engineers, or SWE. Inside, a small group of girls get ready to begin their meeting and vote in new officers.
Karen Tschinkel, a chemical engineer, can’t decide what she wants to run for. “I’ve only been really active in SWE this semester, even though I've always been in it, but I think I’m going to run for a position. There are a lot open and everyone is really, really easy going.”
Tschinkel and 15 (representing about three percent of the 18.7 percent of female engineers in the department, according to Dean Tim Ward) other girls sit around the small, comfortable room donated by Conti Construction. One deep red wall holds a mosaic of famous women engineers, photos and bios collected by the girls.
There are six positions up for grabs and they all sink back into plush beige couches and pillows, listening to each other try to sway the vote. Though each girl running for a position is very different and has different expectations of the group, there is an overwhelming general consensus: keep SWE, still in it's infancy of being an official club, going as strong as possible.
SWE has been an unofficial club at MC since the 1970's. A constitution was drawn up, but fell by the wayside. According to exiting President Annie Caraccio, people would “kind of pick it up when they felt like it, but then would drop it again.”
However, two years ago SWE became an officially recognized club in the eyes of Manhattan College. “It was a lot of paperwork,” says Caraccio, a chemical engineer. “We had to revamp the constitution, make an entirely new budget, basically restructure the entire thing.”
The SWE mission statement says that it is “a not-for-profit educational and service organization that empowers women to succeed and advance in the field of engineering and to be recognized for their life-changing contributions as engineers and leaders…it is the driving force that establishes engineering as a highly desirable career for women.”
“It's great for networking,” says Caraccio. “We are still a minority in the field and we do still have to work hard. But we have a lot of fun times.”
Tschinkel agrees. “It's still a male dominated field, but I think I have a better chance at getting a job because women are the minority. I'm not bothered by working with a bunch of guys as long as they take the job seriously, and don't look for the easy way out.”
She says she found engineering because of her love of math and science, but was introduced to it by a male civil engineer. “I obviously thought that was the only aspect of it, until I saw an advertisement in high school for women chemical engineers at Manhattan.”
As an officially recognized club, SWE has to submit a budget and hold events. “In the fall, I don't think I was taken too seriously when I went up to student activities and told them what we wanted to do for the year and what kind of money we needed,” says Caraccio.
She did everything she could to prove them wrong. Some of the events that took place included a walk for breast cancer, resume writing workshops, a self defense class with tactical officers of the NYPD, a black box egg drop, monthly mediatations to relax, game nights, an ice cream social and Run for the Fallen, which will take place again during the week of April 27th, due to inclement weather.
“It was a lot, but we all worked really hard and pulled it off. I think we definitely get more respect off the bat. People want to plan events with us now and that means we're getting the name out. That's important, it's how we're continuing to grow,” says Caraccio, who would like to see the club expand even more. “We want the girls to all sign up for national membership so we get even more recognition
Tschinkel feels the same way. “I'd also like to see more stress relieving activities, those are important. Overall, I just want more people actually involved and not just put it on their resume because they went to one meeting in their lives.”
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