University Engineering students now have a national voice after the recent election of third-year Engineering student Rebecca Um as a regional representative to the National Association of Engineering Student Councils.
NAESC aims to represent the concerns of engineering students across the country and to work with the National Accreditation Board for Engineering Schools.
The NAESC conference took place Oct. 11-14 in Aimes, Iowa, and consisted of different engineering schools from colleges and universities around the United States and Canada.
After presenting a speech before the delegation, Um won the election for a position on the executive board on Oct. 13.
"The potential that NAESC has made me want to run for a national position to see new things get done," Um said.
Her responsibilities as a board member include recruitment issues; working with companies such as Boeing Co., Lockheed Martin Corp., Microsoft Corp. and Dell Computer Corp. fundraising, networking, providing the basis for council and professional development; and making schools are aware of NAESC.
As a regional representative, Um's goals include beginning new regional projects, starting a first-year council for the University Engineering School and creating a president's council.
Sessions at the NAESC conference included council chats and professional development workshops. The chats focused on discussions about different problems within the council and the exchange of ideas.
Um and her fellow University delegates presented the University's honor system to the conference as a model for other engineering schools to use across the country.
The conference also provided an opportunity for participants to voice their concerns, one concern including community outreach. Um said one of her goals is "to get U.Va. more involved with NAESC."
In addition to her new duties through NAESC, Um is also the vice president of the Engineering Student Council for third-year students. In that capacity, she works to promote social interaction between engineering professors and students outside of the classroom, and to address academic concerns.
Ginger Moored, Engineering School fourth-year class president, served as a co-director with Um for last year's NAESC conference for the mid-Atlantic region, which was held in Seattle.
"Rebecca's a really enthusiastic leader and she'll do well as a regional representative," Moored said.
She added "the importance of being a member of NAESC is to get an idea of what engineering schools in the country are doing" and to create a sense of community among engineering schools within the region.
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