11 years of the SHPE UA Alumni Scholarship!

This scholarship was started with the intention that no matter anyone’s financial situation, SHPE UA students would always have the opportunity to attend SHPE National Convention. What started as a small effort to sponsor a few students turned into a campaign that seeks to make an impact annually.

This year, we raised $12,002 towards our scholarship goal with the help of 74 donors, breaking our goal of $11,000 at 109%. Thanks to your generosity, we are pleased to send 36 students to National Convention this fall for valuable professional experience, networking opportunities, and representation of SHPE UA at the national level.

In total, over the past 11 years, alumni and friends have helped raise $79,021.56, and we have collectively sent 279 students to convention. That’s 279 future engineers who now had the opportunity to interface with company recruiters, lock in summer internships, and gain confidence as emerging STEM leaders.

Thank you to every single alumnus and friend who donated, shared, or supported this campaign. Your investment in our students creates far-reaching impact, which extends beyond convention—creates confidence, opens careers, and strengthens community.

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for believing in us. Here’s to 11 years of impact and many more years of continued support for our future engineers! ???? 

Thanks to your support, we are already past $8k! THANK YOU to our latest donors Anonymous, Azahel Cordova Arvizu, Anthony Encinas, Yixel Quevedo, Brian Nguyen, Kevin Gutierrez, Carissa Moreno, Andrea Torres, Fernando Lopez, Jennifer Galvan Garcia, Kim Criddle, Celeste Cortez, Ricardo Valerdi, Anonymous and Domenic Telles! 

Your generous donations are directly helping students just like Leo find the internship/full time job of their dreams.

Thanks to your support, we are already 50% of the way to our goal! THANK YOU to our latest donors Anonymous, Humberto Rojas, Harry Chhieu, Zach Florez, Jessica Reynoso, Michel Mora, Francisco Brown-Munoz, Ana Soto, Melanie Herda, Nayleth Ramirez, Carlos Urrea De La Puerta, Andrea Ramirez and Anonymous! 

Your generous donations are directly helping students just like Brian and Michelle find the internship/full time job of their dreams. 

Brian Nguyen

Brian is a recent graduate from the University of Arizona who received his degree in Computer Science in 2025.

He received the SHPE UA Alumni Scholarship last year and was able to attend his first SHPE Convention thanks to alumni.

This summer, Brian started his full time job at Rippling. His favorite SHPE convention memory was meeting and networking with so many people from across the country in line for the hospitality suites. It was nice because they were all in the same boat so it gave him a sense of community.

Brian says: Although I didn’t secure a full time job, I did make many professional connections. I also gained many fundamental skills like interviewing and overall resume writing.

Carolina Ferreira Silva 

Thanks to your support, we are already 37% of the way to our goal! THANK YOU to our latest donors Alejandra Munoz,  Alex Valencia, Ramon Driesen, Humberto Fierro-Laredo, Irbis Martinez Torres, Jaime Goytia, Sandra Grijalva, Juan Guerrero, Renatto Ramos, Alejandro Soto, Sara Seitz, Marla Peterson, Brian Nguyen, Karla Togawa, Nico Cornejo-Lopez, Rosa Rodriguez, Juan Sandoval and Anonymous!

Your generous donations are directly helping students just like Humberto find the internship/full time job of their dreams. 

Humberto Rojas

Humberto is a senior studying Systems Engineering at the University of Arizona. He received the SHPE UA Alumni Scholarship last year and was able to attend his second SHPE Convention thanks to alumni.

This summer, Humberto had a Honeywell Phoenix - Internship. His favorite SHPE convention memory included going to get chicken and waffles with friends after a long yet great morning in Anaheim on the first day of the SHPE convention career day!

Humberto says: The scholarship allowed me to bring my networking, interviewing, and professional skills to the next level. It was a life-changing opportunity that set me up for career success unlike any other!

Michelle Mendivil Cabral 

Michelle is a junior studying Mechanical Engineering at the University of Arizona. She received the SHPE UA Alumni Scholarship last year and was able to attend her first SHPE Convention thanks to alumni.

This summer, Michelle worked on Research for UROC McNair Program at the ‘Boundary Layer Stability and Transition’ laboratory. Her favorite SHPE Convention memory was getting to know other people from SHPE!! It was really great and she also really like how the convention also helped her figure out what she is actually interested in for careers.

Michelle says: Attending the SHPE Convention was an opportunity for me to grow. This was my first convention and I would have never been able to go without this scholarship. It showed me how much support and willingness there is to help us grow and experience something new.

Thanks to your support, we are already 15% of the way to our goal! THANK YOU to Maira Garcia, Erick Leon, Anonymous, Valarie Phillips, Fernando Lopez, Sarina Grijalva, Lijun Shan, Erasmo Quijada, Anthony Encinas, Danielle Rushford, and Mildred Curran! 

Your generous donations are directly helping students just like Julianna, Marcel and Ramon find the internship/full time job of their dreams. 

Julianna is a senior studying Ecology & Evolutionary Biology at the University of Arizona. She received the SHPE UA Alumni Scholarship last year and was able to attend her first SHPE Convention thanks to alumni.

During the Spring 2025 semester she was able to complete her senior capstone project as a specimen curator which eventually turned into a part time job during this summer!  

Additionally, she was also selected for a scholarship by the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy to take a two week course at Shoals Marine Laboratory at the University of New Hampshire this summer! 

Her favorite SHPE Convention memory was being able to meet new people and network with other SHPE members in her chapter at UA and other chapters across the country.  

It was extremely exciting getting to meet and make connections with new people! 

It helped her gain so much confidence, after convention she was able to secure multiple opportunities. 

Marcel Lopez is a junior studying Aerospace Engineering at the University of Arizona. He received the SHPE UA Alumni Scholarship last year and was able to attend his first SHPE Convention thanks to alumni.

This summer, Marcel completed an internship at GE Aerospace in Cincinnati, Ohio. 

His favorite SHPE Convention memory was meeting new friends from across the country and bonding over forging an invitation to the Lockheed Martin hospitality suite. (We had to do what we had to do!)

Marcel says: The scholarship meant so much to me, but it meant way more to my mom. I have divorced parents so I live at home with my mom (disclaimer: my dad still loves and supports me) and when I told her about the scholarship she told me she was proud. I remember leaving the paper on the table and the next day I saw it hung up on our fridge. I didn’t know it yet, but going to the convention would seriously change my life. I didn’t even know what SHPE was until September but I quickly fell in love with the atmosphere and gained so many lifelong friends. I bonded with everyone I could and showed out at the convention by earning 4 interviews. I received two verbal offers that never materialized into a real offer, but I got a call from GE Aerospace saying that they wanted to offer me. I couldn’t believe it as I had been rejected so many times before. I remember calling my mom and telling her that I’m really doing it and that I will take care of her. Now I find myself in Cincinnati, working for GE, and excited to lead SHPEUA to the next convention as president. Thank you to all the alumni who support our chapter. I can’t wait to join the ranks once I graduate. 

Ramon is a junior studying Software Engineering at the University of Arizona. He received the SHPE UA Alumni Scholarship last year and was able to attend his first SHPE Convention thanks to alumni.

This summer, Ranonl completed an internship at 309th Software Engineering Group, Hill AFB.

His favorite SHPE Convention memory was working with friends and competing in the capture the flag event. It was fun to be able to compete and represent UA. He learned a lot from his friends and other teams on how to solve cybersecurity and software problems.

Ramon says: This scholarship gave me my first experience in a big career fair and helped me develop my professional skills. I was able to connect with recruiters, national and local chapter shpe members. This experience helped me be able to practice interviewing and networking which helped when I interviewed with my current internship with the 309th.