Engineering Clubs Cultivate Community, Infuse Fun

Elizabeth Wilson felt like an outsider when she first joined the College of Engineering in 2020. Coming from the School of Art, she had a different backstory than most of her fellow undergraduates.

“I didn’t plan on going to school for engineering originally, so I was actually very intimidated,” said Wilson.

Since then, the environmental engineering junior has found her way and is focused on welcoming others into the college. 

“For me, it was about being able to have a community from all these different backgrounds in engineering and seeing how they were making their own path.”

Now president of the Society of Women Engineers (SWE), Wilson was among leaders from 45 clubs greeting hundreds of engineering students who piled into the Student Union Memorial Ballroom at the start of the fall 2023 semester. Many of the students were getting their first look at the college’s far-reaching clubs.

From racing vehicles and building airwave communications to brewing and welding, clubs are not just places for students to try out skills, they also are avenues to serving their communities, making a difference and laying the groundwork for careers in engineering.

Most engineering students at the University of Arizona do not declare their majors until after the first year of studies. They have the freedom to explore the college’s 17 majors. Clubs and organizations are a big part of their journey. 

Civil engineering junior Jwliannah Ortega joined the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) in her first year at the college, like many others, initially to learn welding.

“I hang out with these guys all the time,” said Ortega, who is now president of the student organization. “We all do homework, help each other out with projects and have game socials.”

Club members also bond around national competitions. The UA team placed second in ASCE’s regional Intermountain Southwest Student Symposium at the University of Nevada, Reno, in April 2023.

The competitions and other club events not only test the mettle of up-and-coming engineers, they also provide a forum with professionals.

“Every other week we have companies talk to students,” Ortega said, explaining that members can apply for internships and even land jobs during the club meetings.

Locally, the society builds house frames with Habitat for Humanity, an organization that constructs safe homes for low-income and underserved populations.

Find your club match on the UA College of Engineering’s list of engineering clubs.