NIU Society of Women Engineers (SWE) had
the honor of welcoming Karen Horting, Executive Director and CEO of SWE back to NIU’s Campus for our first Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Talk of the year! Karen graduated from NIU with a B.S. in Biology and we were so excited to welcome her back to campus to join us for this event! Karen’s talk was about "How Your Career Path is Not Always a Straight Line” and shared her career path from getting a degree in biology, earning her MBA, to now being the Executive Director and CEO of the Society of Women Engineers for just over 10 years!
NIU College of Engineering and Engineering Technology partners with SWE, SHPE, and NSBE to host a series of DEI Talks each year to promote and encourage Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion within our college and campus.
Here's a few of our SWE members takeaways from Karen’s Talk!
“Karen’s talk on “How Your Career Path is Not Always a Straight Line” was incredible! I loved her observations of successful women - TAB.
T - Take advantage of opportunities and don’t be afraid to take risks
A - Always be learning
B - Balance is key
Karen sharing TAB along with her own career path was beneficial in seeing how one opportunity that may seem “too hard” or “out of your comfort zone” may be the right decision. She also touched on taking advantage of opportunities regardless of if you meet 110% of the qualifications and you should be applying to positions you think you would be good at even without meeting 110% of the qualifications.
It was great to hear from someone who’s career path was not a straight line and get advice on how pivoting your career and taking a leap can be beneficial to your career path or goals.”
- Courtney
“Karen's journey was so inspiring! I was so appreciative of her being our first speaker to kick off DEI talks this semester as CEO of SWE National. Listening to her journey and all the experiences she's overtaken has encouraged me to be open to any opportunities that may arise. She also shared great advice for us future women engineers as we begin our careers!”
- Ashley C
“It was such an amazing opportunity for someone like Karen, who has so much experience, to talk with us and teach us some of the most valuable lessons she has learned in her career. Her talk was both inspirational and full of knowledge, and it was great to see how being a woman in STEM can be challenging but rewarding and even lead to high positions in companies.”
-Maria