GET TO KNOW HER
Valerie Washington was born in Virginia Beach but moved to Georgia when she was 5 years old and has been here ever since. She is actually a duel major in Industrial Engineering Technology and Systems Engineering along with a minor in Spanish. Valerie is a junior who sings while studying, which pays off in the end with her flawless 4.0 GPA.
Activities & Campus Involvement
Most of you may know her as being an RA and some of you may know her as the president of the Society of Women Engineers (SWE). But she does so much than just that. She is a teacher’s assistant for Systems Engineering Department, in the honors program, a member of the Institute of Industrial Engineers, which is a professional collegiate organization, and works with multiple professors to do research for IET. Here’s something you probably didn’t know about Valerie; she started playing guitar 4 years ago and she enjoys it very much.
Joining SWE
Every year SPSU has an organization fair during the welcome week events for freshman. This is how Valerie met Cassandra, one of the previous presidents of SWE. Cassandra was very energetic and positive about SWE. Valerie decided to join the organization. Her first position was Fundraising chair, where she came up with different fun events to raise money such as “pie a professor” for pi day in March. The success of this position moved Valerie up in the ranks to Vice President. From there she quickly became President when Victoria Knox stepped down.
Madame President
Valerie does a great job handling her hectic responsibilities as president. She manages her time to keep up with upcoming and future events, she stays organized so that everything runs smoothly, and she keeps up with the other people on the Executive Board to have open communication and successful meetings.
When I asked Valerie, “how do you manage to do so much? Where do you find the time?” She said, “You know, I overheard somebody in the J building one day saying ‘everything worth living for is worth working hard for.’ And I definitely agree with that because if it’s not worth the hard work then I wouldn’t be doing it.”
Inspirational Women
Me: What female leader inspires you? Why?
Valerie: Oh that’s a tough one. I wasn’t ready for that. […] I would have to say Ms. Moody because as an advisor she does a good job encouraging us, giving advice, and coming up with such creative ideas. Another person would be my mom. She is so supportive and wants me to be successful. I could do anything and she would support me with it as long as I’m happy and it’s within reason.
Views on Feminism
Me: So out of curiosity, what are your views on feminism?
Valerie: I completely support women’s rights and advancement of women in STEM fields, but not the radical moments.
Want to join SWE? Go to the membership tab at www.swe.org $20 for one collegiate year or $50 for entire collegiate membership (please note: membership rates may have changed since article was written).
