November 05, 2009

Contact: Amy Hewes
Cal Poly Engineering
805-756-6402
ahewes@calpoly.edu

Cal Poly SHPE Named National Chapter of the Year

Cal Poly's Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) received top honors as the best chapter in the country at the SHPE National Conference held Oct. 28 to Nov. 1 in Washington, D.C.

The award is based on chapter reports documenting yearly activities that advance members' professional, leadership, and academic development. In addition, the national body considers the impact of chapters on their own campuses and how they contribute to their local communities through outreach.

At more than 140 members, Cal Poly SHPE is one of the nation's largest chapters. On-campus, SHPE supports members with study sessions and tutoring, and the group recognizes academic achievement with cash awards and corporate-funded scholarships.

SHPE also serves local schools, according to former president, Jaime Sanchez. "We have established strong tutoring and mentoring programs at both the middle school and at several elementary schools," he says. "This year, we sponsored a mousetrap car competition and we brought the contestants to campus to work alongside SHPE mentors in our lab. They loved it."

To provide support and inspiration to area high school students, SHPE held workshops for first generation parents. "We think that if parents have more information about how higher education works, they'll be better able to encourage their children to attend college," Sanchez explained.

Established at Cal Poly in 1978 to recruit and retain Hispanic engineering students, the campus chapter was last recognized as number one in the nation in the 1980s. Since then, the national organization has expanded significantly and now encompasses over 1,500 chapters.

"As SHPE has grown, so has competition for the National Chapter of the Year Award," says Sanchez. "We are extremely proud to bring this meaningful honor back to Cal Poly."

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