The SWENext High School Leadership Academy (SHLA) is an engaging virtual program that builds self-confidence and resilience among pre-college students interested in engineering and technology degrees and provides multiple opportunities to network with peers, mentors, role models, and industry professionals. The program includes five essential core content tracks:
- Leadership development
- College preparation
- STEM pathway opportunities
- Self-development
- Diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging
Have questions about SHLA? Email us at [email protected].
How to Participate
Join the FY25 SHLA program now! We’re excited to make this FREE webinar series available to all SWENexters ages 14-18. To participate, click the button below.
Upcoming SHLA Virtual Sessions
Discovering Your STEM Identity with Elizabeth Nyamwange on Monday, July 15, 2024 from 6:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. CT
Join us for the first session of the FY25 SHLA program. In this session Elizabeth Nyamwange will discuss the process of how she figured out what specific career in STEM was right for her. This session will end with a Q&A session between participants and the speaker.
Elizabeth Nyamwange is an 18-y/o Kenyan-American developer, researcher, and gender-equality activist. She is most commonly known for her invention of a device, Etana, that uses blockchain technology to provide women, climate migrants, and refugees in low-infrastructure environments with identification.
Elizabeth currently serves as a youth advisor to the United Nations on Gender and Education. She has worked with companies such as Safaricom and Visa and was awarded the Pozen Social Innovation Prize, HP Girls Save the World Prize, and MIT Solv[ed] Youth Award and has been featured in Yahoo Business, Afrotech, Forbes, Tech Crunch and more.
SHLA Meet-up: Collegiate Engineers on Monday, August 12, 2024 from 6:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. CT
In this networking session, SWE collegiate members and SHLA students will be split into rotating breakout rooms where they can network. Collegiate engineers will provide insight into their college experience and the benefits of being a SWE member in college.
A Day in the Life of an Engineer on Monday, September 16, 2024 from 6:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. CT
In the third SHLA session of the FY25 program, students will be joined by a professional engineer. The speaker will deliver an interactive session that takes students through the daily responsibilities and tasks of their job. This session will end with a Q&A between SHLA participants and the speaker.
SHLA Meet-up: SWENext Influencers on Monday, October 7, 2024 from 6:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. CT
In the second networking session of the FY25 SHLA program, participants will have an opportunity to connect with SWENext Influencers in breakout rooms. This session will focus on conversation around leadership experiences.
Engineering Panel on Monday, November 11, 2024 from 6:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. CT
Join us for SHLA’s Engineering Panel session. In this session a panel of 3-4 engineers will discuss any misconceptions about their jobs, training, the experience needed to enter their career field, and their educational journeys. At the end of the session there will be a Q&A between participants and panelists.
SHLA Meet-up: Create Your Dream Job on Monday, December 9, 2024 from 6:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. CT
In this SHLA meet-up students will draft the traits and details of their dream job. The job doesn’t have to exist, and the point of this exercise is to help students pinpoint they value most in their future career. After creating their dream jobs, students will search for jobs on the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics website that are similar to the dream jobs they wrote down.
Are you interested in attending any of the sessions above? Please join the SHLA program to receive session information!
Why Join SWE as a Collegiate Member?
Getting an engineering degree can be isolating, but with a SWE membership you are not alone. Joining SWE
gives you an automatic network of colleagues with similar experiences, challenges, and goals. Many current SWE
members credit joining SWE in college as the reason they stuck with—and succeeded in—their STEM programs.
You’ll also have the opportunity to meet and network with practicing engineers who can provide advice, guidance, and real world career connections.
The Collegiate-to-Career membership at SWE offers many benefits. Individuals who participate in the SHLA program will have the chance to receive a Collegiate-to-Career membership free of charge. Learn more about the Collegiate-to-Career (C2C) program here.
Here’s what past participants have said of their SHLA experience!
SWENext TV provides access to past on-demand sessions. View past sessions today!
