Society of Women Engineers awards scholarship to local engineering student
The Society of Women Engineers – QuadCities/Muscatine awarded Colleen Gannon from DeWitt, IA a $1000 scholarship for her outstanding academic performance in engineering and her passion the help better the lives of others.
Colleen is entering her senior year at the University of Iowa majoring in electrical and computer engineering with minors in mathematics and computer science. At school, she is involved in the Society of Women Engineers, Dance Marathon, Running Club, and the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics volunteer program. Colleen said she “wants to be an engineer to change the feeling of defeat [of hospitalized people] to one of hope”. She is also involved with the Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership Program. She is currently working as a software engineering intern in the aviation department at Garmin in Olathe, KS. Outside of school, she enjoys running, spending time with friends, and exploring events in Iowa City.
The Quad Cities/Muscatine Society of Women Engineers (SWE) is one of the Heartland SWE Professional Sections, located along the Mississippi, stretching from Muscatine to Le Claire. This local SWE chapter was chartered in 2002 by women working in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and has more than 120 active members. SWE QuadCities/Muscatine has awarded over $7000 in scholarships to female engineering students from the area in recent years.
SWE Quad Cities/Muscatine section shares the mission and vision of the Society of Women Engineers, to stimulate women to achieve full potential in careers as engineers and leaders, expand the image of the engineering profession as a positive force in improving the quality of life, and demonstrate the value of diversity.
Colleen showed through her work that she shares the vision of SWE and is a worthy recipient of the 2017 SWE scholarship.
