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SWENext High School Leadership Academy (SHLA)

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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:

  1. Leadership development
  2. College preparation
  3. STEM pathway opportunities
  4. Self-development
  5. Diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging

Have questions about SHLA? Email us at outreach@swe.org.

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. 

How to Apply

SHLA registration for FY24 is now closed. Please check back for registration for the FY25 SHLA program in the spring. To stay up to date on STEM opportunities and resources, join the SWENext program (it’s free!)

Join SWENext

Here’s what past participants have said of their SHLA experience!

Because we had to be more socially distanced, I rarely ever saw anyone I liked or knew. Little by little, I started to have fun on my own and I had more confidence to speak to other people I didn't know. Near the end of the school year, distancing wasn't as much of a requirement but being away from people I knew and having to step out of my comfort has helped me gain more confidence than I had from even being a kid who was friends with everyone in the 4th grade. Now even when I don't have someone to talk to, I don't feel as bothered or left out. In fact I feel so free and light. Like I could do anything I want.
I plan on shaping my engineering career so that I can use it to help my community.
It was an inspiring session, especially since the guest speaker was someone of our own age. It really motivated me to work hard and not give up until I succeed in inventing a solution.
"Being able to connect with people, old and young outside my country, ethnicity and race was one of the most important and captivating things I gained from the program."
SWENext Connect sessions are always the highlight of my day! :-)
This was so fun, I loved being able to just get one on one conversation with mentors, to ask questions but also just to get inspiration and understanding on possible future paths. I loved the diversity in the different career paths and futures so you were able to find the right person to ask the right stuff to.
[Participating in the "Why Engineering is a Great Choice" session] was a great to start deciding what field of engineering I like.
I feel really comfortable here, and I am super thankful for everyone for making me feel at home <3
I love science (hoping to go into engineering in the future), but also love to play piano and perform. This has been my favorite session because it was one of the most relatable for me. I learned how to navigate these two passions of mine from the speaker.
I really loved the spot coaching because it made me feel like my thoughts were valid. It was amazing.
It was so encouraging! Even though I didn’t get a chance to talk to [the speaker, Dina Scippa] directly, listening to everyone’s stories made me feel so inclusive and comfortable with my story.
I learned that there are many positive engineering role models in the world that I didn't really knew existed! I hope that someday soon I will be able to have a great female mentor to be inspired from if I continue to study engineering when I attend college in two years!
John DoeCEO
I learned that we can make our origin stories whatever we need them to be in order to keep ourselves motivated. We can define ourselves in any way that we want to, not by the limitations that we think are already set on us.
[The speaker, Tamara Robertson,] is the female engineering figure that I never knew I needed. Her words of wisdom were so valuable!
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This project is based upon work partially supported by the generosity of a grant from Honda Foundation. 

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