The SHPE Auburn University student chapter was founded in September 2010 to create an organization where Hispanics from engineering, math and science majors can come together. Under the leadership of the chapter’s first president Khristine Pizarro, the first step was to convince fifteen students to join the chapter in order to comply with the rules set by the Office of Student Involvement at Auburn University. This was done by sending emails to all the Hispanic students enrolled in engineering, posting flyers and speaking about SHPE in classes.
After the election of the officers, we worked hard to write the constitution and bylaws of our chapter. We received the approval of provisional student chapter status on November 19, 2010 from the Student Organizations Office. On November 27, 2012, the chapter received permanent student chapter status at the University and acquired a student office in the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering.
We would like to recognize the tremendous support we have received from Dr. Virginia A. Davis, who became our advisor and has volunteered guidance and support throughout this new journey. We also want to thank Dr. George Flowers, Dean of the Graduate School, for contributions and support.