Student Transition Engineering Program at University Park

The Student Transition Engineering Program at University Park (STEP-UP) is a collaborative effort between the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE), the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE), the Society of Women Engineers (SWE), and Society of Asian Scientists and Engineers (SASE) to aid students in their transitions from Penn State Commonwealth Campuses to Penn State University Park. As a free program aimed at welcoming engineering students to University Park, STEP-UP provides students with opportunities to:

• Get to know students who are also transitioning from Commonwealth Campuses to University Park
• Meet successful upper-division students already in their majors
• Network with companies at corporate events
• Develop professional skills through various program workshops
• Explore the University Park Campus

Students who attend STEP-UP gain valuable skills in navigating a large campus, building meaningful relationships, and thriving both academically and professionally.

Why participate?

The benefits of participating in STEP-UP include the following opportunities:

• Create a community you can connect with from the start
• Corporate networking
• Breakout sessions with corporate sponsors
• Mentoring to help you get involved on campus and help with the transition to University Park

Participants will attend team-building activities and professional development breakout sessions. This program gives a unique opportunity to meet other students who are transitioning to University Park with similar majors in engineering. It will also provide you with a mentor who will help guide you to get more comfortable with the campus and show you what it has to offer.

Get Involved

• NSBE: Founded in 1975 at Purdue University, the National Society of Black Engineers is one of the nation’s largest student-run organizations supporting Black and minority engineers.
• SASE: Founded in 2007 by Procter and Gamble, the Society of Asian Scientists and Engineers supports Asian students academically and professionally while creating community.
• SHPE: Founded in Los Angeles in 1974, the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers empowers the Hispanic community through STEM awareness, support, access, and development.
• SWE: Founded in 1950 in New Jersey, the Society of Woman Engineers empowers women to become engineers and leaders, with 37,000+ members across nearly 100 professional sections and 300 student chapters.

Participant Highlights

“STEP-UP was fun and exciting! It helped me to familiarize myself with the buildings and areas I will soon be around, as well as connect with peers in my major that showed me how classes and life would be at University Park. I would highly recommend for every change-of-campus student to try STEP-UP!”

— Nicole Luna, third-year student majoring in architectural engineering

“As a transfer student from Penn State Wilkes-Barre, I really wish I had done the STEP-UP program before coming to University Park. STEP-UP is not just about getting ready for classes and touring campus, it’s meant to show you what your future opportunities are!”

— Kaleah Moran, fourth-year student majoring in environmental systems engineering and energy and mineral engineering

Event Descriptions

Extreme Engineering Competition

As engineers, being able to solve a task by implementing fundamental skills from the classroom is key. The Extreme Engineering Competition allows participants to work in teams to strengthen their communication skills with individuals of different backgrounds. This is a great way to develop problem-solving skills and gain interpersonal connections with other students. This event will also involve the participation of program mentors to support the teams and company representatives that will judge and provide feedback to the teams.

Résumé Workshop

Professional development is a stepping stone to becoming a future leader in industry. In an effort to produce the best candidates for any engineering position, we start with the résumé. The Résumé Workshop is an hour-long event held on the second day of the program. First, participants will be advised by upper-division students on the basics of a résumé. Then, company representatives will have the opportunity to interact one-on-one with students and give additional feedback on their résumés.

Cost

There is no cost associated with this program for participants.

Become a sponsor

Sponsorship through STEP-UP is available as three tiers. A more detailed description is available in the STEP-UP sponsorship brochure.