SHPE - Fall 2007 - (Page 70) LeaderSHPE 2007-2008 Photography by Manuel Hernandez Regional Student Representatives Linda Mercedes Murillo S Region I inda Murillo is a mechanical engineering senior at the University of Nevada, Reno, where she recently completed a term as president of the three-year old SHPE chapter. Over the past two years, she has served as chairwoman to the Region I Leadership Conference, which the chapter proudly hosted both years. “Becoming a leader within SHPE has truly changed my life and has showed me the impact that one can have on his or her community,” Murillo said. “I just want to give all students the SHPE experience, provide them with the best educational opportunities and promote professional and personal growth.” During her tenure, Murillo said that she will strive to motivate her peers academically and professionally to fulfill SHPE’s mission and encourage them to establish lasting relationships through the organization. Joel Guajardo S Region V oel Guajardo is a mechanical engineering senior at The University of Texas at Austin, where he recently completed a term as SHPE chapter treasurer. Previously, he served as a liaison between the chapter and the university’s Hispanic Businesses Student Association, coordinating various activities. Guajardo has also contributed to the chapter’s membership growth by helping organize various engineering community outreach events, such as SHPE Jr. Shadow Day, Engineering Day at the Mall and IBM La Familia. In addition, he has secured two summer internships with General Motors. According to Guajardo, such leadership experience and a future M.B.A. will enable him to become a successful professional engineer and fulfill SHPE’s mission. His tenure goals include appointing sub regional officers, increasing professional membership, helping the emerging SHPE Jr. chapters and creating a Regional Professional and Student Affairs Council. L J Samantha J. Kilroy S Region III ver the past two years, Samantha Kilroy has been an active SHPE member at New Mexico State University, Las Cruces. The chemical engineering senior most recently held the position of secretary for the student chapter and helped increase its membership, improving the chapter’s credibility both on and off campus. In fact, this spring it was the proud host of the Regional Science Bowl for local schools. “So many people have helped me along the way, and now it is my turn to help others,” explained Kilory as to why being RSR is significant to her. To ensure the continued success of the region, she plans to increase communication among chapters and promote the formation of SHPE Jr. chapters. Moreover, she hopes to help other members improve their communication skills so as to promote their personal and professional growth. O Jonathan Gomez S Region VI fourth year civil engineering student at The Ohio State University, Jonathan Gomez has been an active SHPE member since his freshman year. As student chapter treasurer, he was part of the winning case study team at NILA 2005. The following year he served as vice president and helped organize the 2006 SHPE Symposium, which provided a more diverse career fair for minority students at the university. According to Gomez, this leadership experience helped him secure two internships with Honda and Cummins and prepared him well to serve Region VI. “My goal as the RSR is to maximize fundraising and increase financial support for local chapters,” he said. “I am very excited to work on behalf of this organization and to help impact the lives of members as they attend professional development conferences and other events.” A Francisco Rivera S Region IV n industrial engineering senior at the University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez, Francisco Rivera began his leadership experience with the chapter’s monthly newsletter, eventually serving as its editor in chief. Most recently he completed his tenure as vice president of internal affairs which oversees the Student Affairs, Marketing and Recruiting Teams, the Community Adoption Program (which he initiated), the Big Brother Program and the FellowSHPE Program. Overall, the Internal Affairs Division created more than 50 activities for the 650-member chapter and was recognized as a SHPE National Blue Chip Chapter. Also, Rivera was finance chairman for the 2007 Regional Leadership Development Conference held in Puerto Rico. “As RSR, I want to accomplish what is needed to surpass and strengthen our current status as The Source for Quality Hispanic Engineers and Technical Talent by always leaving the ordinary behind,” he said. A Jordan Gorrochotegui S Region VII ince enrolling as a computer science student in 2004 at the University of South Florida, Jordan Gorrochotegui has served as webmaster and, most recently, president of the SHPE student chapter. In this role he initiated community service events, networking socials and other activities, which positively affected the chapter as well as the local community. As RSR, he’ll continue the efforts of his predecessors to create and expand chapters toward increasing membership and making Region VII the largest region in the nation. To achieve this, Gorrochotegui will provide resources to create stronger connections among chapters, encourage more corporate partnerships and facilitate greater financial involvement from professional chapters. “My experience and involvement in my local chapter as well as with our past regional representatives have prepared me for the challenges,” he said. S Editor’s Note: Information for the Region II student representative was not available at time of publication. 70 SHPE R Fall 2007
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