Students gain valuable career insights at SHPE convention

Fifty members of the University of Arizona’s Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers chapter attended the annual SHPE National Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from Oct. 29 to Nov. 1, 2025. Students heard more than 200 speakers and met 250 exhibitors, exploring a wide range of careers, and several left with job and internship offers.

U of A SHPE vice president Ernesto Martinez, a junior majoring in software engineering, said one of the benefits of the conference was networking with fellow engineers from all over the country.

“It’s a really good event for meeting people and figuring out what you want to do,” said Martinez.

Career opportunity abounds

The convention is also a venue for professional development. Workshops provided students with insights on leadership, career development, skill building, negotiation and financial literacy.

Sessions were followed by a job and internship fair. Students accessed representatives from more than 100 companies, including industry leaders like Honeywell, Microsoft and General Motors.

“If you can think of a company, they were going to be there,” said Martinez.

Each year U of A sends students to the annual conference thanks to support from the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, the College of Engineering and alumni donors, who raised more than $11,000 for this year’s attendees. For almost a decade, alumni have raised nearly $80,000 to help hundreds of students benefit from SHPE convention attendance.

SHPE was founded in 1974, and the U of A chapter started in 1982. Since then, students and alumni have contributed to the organization's goal of promoting Hispanic leadership in science and engineering fields. The student chapter also hosts social events and is open to all majors and ethnicities.

The 2026 SHPE National Convention will take place from Oct. 28 to Oct. 31 in Indianapolis, Indiana.