We established the Women in Science and Engineering Essay Contest in 1997, and using lessons learned from the first year, we continued it again in 1998. Informational flyers and letters were sent to schools at the beginning of the school year, encouraging students in the 5th through the 8th grades to compete for savings bonds and SWE-NESS T-shirt. In 1998, we managed to get the information out earlier than the year before, and more teachers were able to include the contest in their curriculum. We also changed the entry deadline from January to the end of March, so that the essays could be used in class for Women in History month, which the majority of schools have in their March programs.
We received fifteen essays in 1998, which grew to 54 essays in 1999. However, only 11 essays were received in 2000. It was discovered that the school principals were not forwarding the information to the appropriate teachers, so the essay information was then sent directly to the science department of the 86 schools in the SWE-NESS area.
Two copies of each essay were distributed to SWE-NESS members who volunteered to serve as judges. The scores were averaged for each essay and winners for each grade were selected based on the highest average score.
The first place winners were awarded a U.S. savings bond, and both first and second place winners were awarded a SWE-NESS T-shirt, usually presented by a SWE-NESS member at the winners' schools. This has been done either during a special assembly of their grade or in their classroom, depending on the school administration's preference.
We have had success with this program in the few years we held the contest, but have opted to conduct another form of outreach for middle school students which is more interactive and informative about women in engineering.
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