Founding a SHPE chapter at an Ivy League Institution

How the idea came about:

I still remember an afternoon in September of 2017 when I created the first ever school account for the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) at Dartmouth College. I did this in hopes of seeing my vision of having a Dartmouth SHPE chapter come true. The previous year in 2016, when I attended an academic conference and networked with some of my fellow peers in engineering, they mentioned their school had SHPE chapters. I soon realized Dartmouth College did not have one established. This realization startled me because the more I began to research into it, the more I realized that the other Ivy League institutions had their own established chapters of SHPE while Dartmouth did not. Upon further inquiry, I found out that our chapter was non-existent and that a few years prior, an effort was made to try and create one but it ultimately fell through. As a result, I wanted to embark on the task of creating the SHPE chapter at Dartmouth College. Through my visits at various conferences, I was able to interact with other individuals who gave me the necessary tools to create SHPE. Another key question I would always ask myself is this, “Why aren’t there more diverse backgrounds in engineering at Dartmouth College?”. I wanted to create a SHPE chapter that could somehow retain the number of diverse hispanic & latinX engineers. This population existed within the college, I just needed a way to provide a community to support them when they embarked on the engineering major and beyond. 

My vision and idea first came about in 2016: “Our mission is to empower young Hispanic, LatinX Engineers and STEM leaders at Dartmouth and expose them to external resources by providing a community that encourages learning growth and success”. 

How I founded the organization on campus:

All of 2016 involved laying out the resources and foundation for the organization so that on September of 2017 I could create the first account and get the organization off the ground.

In order to move forward, I decided to loop in faculty, the Assistant Dean of Thayer, and other available resources at the Thayer School of Engineering. My first step was reaching out to professor Petra Bonfert-Taylor and explaining my idea through an email. She then looped in the Assistant Dean, Holly Wilkinson. They both provided more direction and clarity in regards to how we could get established. As the advisors, their support was instrumental in regards to getting us recognized and established as an organization. The Assistant Dean and I would interact with each other regularly and she helped me understand what I needed to do in order to set the foundation for our local chapter. Having Holly and Professor Bonfert-Taylor as the advisors for the organization was ideal because our goal was to retain as many engineers as possible and their support provided resources and clarity in order to achieve that. Whether it was asking logistical questions for the set up of the first executive board or budgeting, they helped me immensely. Additionally, Jay T. Davis, Director of the First Year Student Enrichment Program (FYSEP), was also a huge help. I emailed Jay and he helped me recruit students by utilizing the social media FYSEP group to first introduce SHPE to interested students. He was able to direct any students my way that were interested in STEM at Dartmouth, in particular engineering. 

First members:

How I started the chapter's infrastructure:

As the founder of our local SHPE chapter, I knew that setting up the foundation would be the most critical task as that would determine SHPE’s longevity after I graduated. To do this, the very first step involved recruiting and establishing the first executive board and members. Afterwards, I leveraged my existing resources at Dartmouth to come up with rules and a structure as to how we should operate as an organization. This task was complex because I not only had to meet Dartmouth and Thayer’s guidelines, but also the guidelines set up by the SHPE national organization. In order to make sure that all the guidelines were adhered to, I would reach out to other chapters such as Northeastern and leverage them as a resource. Whatever decisions I made would set the precedent for what could and couldn’t be done in the future. Everything from our rules, events, activities, and more had to be carefully crafted. I was in contact with the SHPE national organization every step along the way and any advice or suggestions they gave, I immediately incorporated. After a while, I was able to get SHPE recognized by the college and I was also able to get us nationally recognized. This was a huge step for us because it verified our legitimacy and opened up doors of opportunity. 

Our first executive board

Kevin Ponce '20, Lawrence Abu-Hammour '19, Cristian Vences '19, Anaqhelly Cisneros '19, Dave Lacroix '19

?Missing: Lessley Hernandez & Celeste Vazquez

National Recognition:

Increased the number of Hispanics and LatinX identifying individuals in engineering:

As the founder and the first President of SHPE at Dartmouth, I decided that I would use whatever resources I had to help the students. Prior to creating our first executive board, I decided that our local SHPE chapter would be centered around three core values: Academic Support & Development, Community Building, and Professional Development. I also led the partnering of SHPE and Dartmouth Emerging Engineers (DEE) to help provide mentoring and tutoring for students who needed help with their engineering courses. Academically, I did not want the students to just survive, I wanted them to thrive. Subsequently, this partnership increased the membership count for the chapter. Lastly, with the help of the first executive board, I led & organized the first SHPE National Convention trip for our members.

The first SHPE at Dartmouth National Convention Trip in Cleveland, Ohio:

Magazine about the first national convention trip: https://engineering.dartmouth.edu/magazine/new-student-group-society-of-professional-hispanic-engineers

The chapter's growth:

This past September marks 2 years and I am amazed by how much SHPE at Dartmouth has grown in that time. I was able to see our initial group of members increase from 10 to 84 students and although it was a hard task, I wouldn’t have been able to do it without the help of our community. I am immensely proud of the younger generation's grit and resilience. I am also very proud of the Presidents this year, Kevin Ponce '20 & Lessley Hernandez '20, who were members of the first executive board themselves last year. As the founder, I was able to pass the torch to them and they did an amazing job in taking the lead and attacking the logistical planning for the SHPE National Convention this year. As the year progresses, it will be their turn to pass the torch unto others as I have done with them. This cycle is what will keep SHPE going as new generations take the mantle, and I look forward to seeing how SHPE at Dartmouth will develop for the years to come.

The second national convention trip in Phoenix, Arizona:

Alumni Board & Network

In regards to next steps, I am now founding the SHPE at Dartmouth Alumni Board and Network. I am currently working with the Thayer Alumni Relations to actualize this. The Alumni board and network has the purpose to lead and guide the newer generations with professional development. Additionally, the Alumni board and network will be able to help connect our local chapter network and unify it into one. Alumni who are now in industry and taking on real world problems as engineers will have the opportunity to join. Older Alumni who never got to be a part of SHPE, because it was not established during their time on campus, will get the opportunity to join as well. It is my hope and new vision that the Alumni network community will share their knowledge with current students and help them navigate industry. 

SHPE at Dartmouth Alumni Network

To the future, I say this: ?Si se puede!