2024 Dallas SWE High School Scholarship Recipients
Dallas SWE is excited to award scholarships to each of these seven extraordinary high school seniors from the Dallas area – Akanksha Subbarao, Quincy Cobb, Allison Johanson, Asheni Agarwal, Ashi Sharma, Lauren Guillory, Margaret Bryant and Julie Jung. Applicants were evaluated based on need, academics, school and community involvement and plans to become engineers. Thanks to the Dallas SWE Scholarship Committee for taking the time to review a wonderful group of applicants! Congratulations to this year’s recipients: we wish you all the best!
Akanksha Subbarao – Coppell High School
Akanksha Subbarao will attend Stanford University where she will major in Mechanical Engineering. Akanksha is the President of the Coppell High School SWENext chapter. She was instrumental in restarting the chapter after Covid. In support of the SWENext chapter, she has organized discussions with engineers from Dallas SWE, Texas A&M SWE and University of Michigan SWE. She also started the “Little Sister” program with ‘Ladies in Tech’ from UT Dallas, and arranged many competitions for club members. Personally, Akanksha has spent the last 3 years as a research intern at the University of Texas Arlington, focused on studying brain waves. She was also an intern with the New York Association for Biomedical Innovations where her team stood 1st at the BMES Medtronic Student Design Competition (2023). Their project focused on redesigning the modern speculum. In addition to SWENext, Akanksha is a leader in the Coppell Varsity Band and drumline, Notelove DFW, and the Red Jackets Student Ambassador program. Akanksha is a passionate volunteer and supports the community through the Coppell Library, Coppell Assisteens, and VIBHA Dallas. Her ultimate goal is to specialize in prosthetics to connect the intricacies of the human body with the automatic processes of a machine.
Quincy Cobb – JJ Pearce High School
Quincy Cobb will attend the University of Texas at Austin where she will major in Aerospace Engineering. Quincy is a captain of the varsity cross country team and the varsity softball team. Quincy is a Girl Scout Juliette Ambassador who has earned both her Gold and Silver Awards. Her participation in Girl Scouts has enabled her attendance at the National Convention in Florida, the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts Center in India, Space Camp, and Biomedical Engineering Camp. Quincy was also a NASA High School Aerospace Scholar through Johnson Space Center and a Congressional STEM Scholar for Congressman Colin Allred. Quincy is an AP Scholar with Distinction as well as All-District and All-State Academic Athlete in Cross Country and Softball. In the future, Quincy wants to make a difference for the future of space by merging her two interests of engineering and space exploration as well as being a role model for younger girls.
Allison Johanson – Forney High School
Allison Johanson will attend Brigham Young University where she will major in Computer Science. Allison is a key competitor for the Academics UIL team Current Events, Math, and Science teams and President of the Computer Science Team. In these competitions, Allison has won 2 awards. Allison is also co-founder and President of the Forney High School Robotics Club. With a strong academic background, Allison is a National Merit Scholar Semifinalist and an AP Merit Scholar with Distinction. Because of her love of computer science, Allison has taught herself a variety of languages including Java, ReactJS, JavaScript, CSS, HTML, and Python. To further her experience in Computer Science, Allison has an internship at ScootPad, an adaptive online learning platform, where her efforts improve the appearance and function of the website. Allison has been in love with Computer Science for a long time and is excited that you can code something on a computer and get a real product that one can interact with.
Asheni Agarwal – Reedy High School
Asheni Agarwal will attend the University of Texas Austin, where she will major in Computer Science. Asheni has been a student-athlete for all of high school while planning to pursue Computer Science in college. She is Co-President of Girls Who Code club and has hosted various workshops for middle school girls to involve them in STEM-related concepts. Asheni is in her district’s SWENext chapter where she organizes discussion panels for the members and was the lead organizer for the first-ever annual SWENext summer camp for middle school students. Asheni has interned at Citibank and has participated in the Georgia Tech Data Science Program as well as the University of Maryland’s RISE Summer Research Program. At school, Asheni is participates in the National Honor Society, Chess Club, Art Club and Red Cross Club. She is a National Center for Women & Information Technology Regional Honorable Mention and is a regionally recognized gymnast. In the future, she hopes to continue to advance her computer science career to dive deeper into Artificial Intelligence and bridge the gender gap in STEM.
Ashi Sharma – Plano West Senior High School
Ashi Sharma will attend the University of Texas at Austin, where she will major in Computer Science. Ashi is a UI/UX intern at MIT ADT University, where she has developed her own mobile app to connect and promote business between global buyers and female Indian artists, working to help close the opportunity gap in the art industry. Additionally, she was a 2nd Place National Winner in SQL Database Fundamentals Event for Business Professionals of America. In her role as Director of Outreach for AI (Artificial Intelligence) For All Foundation and her involvement in business and outreach in FTC robotics, Ashi has helped to educate her community on concepts such as AI and further STEM education to several youth, facilitating a hackathon directed towards social good and winning awards at the state level for FTC. Over the summer, Ashi has participated in the UT Computer Science academy, attended the scholarship-based Kode with Klossy program for web development, and developed proficiency in Linux at UT Dallas’s research internship. In school, Ashi is also involved in the Bollywood dance club, computer club, Science National Honor Society, and varsity choir. In the future, she hopes to devise breakthrough solutions to world issues in fields such as AI/machine learning or data science.
Lauren Guillory – Sachse High School
Lauren Guillory will attend University of North Texas where she will major in Mechanical Engineering. She currently serves as Key Club Webmaster and Beta Club Officer, while actively participating in the National Honor Society, Mu Alpha Theta, and Black Student Association at Sachse High School. Through these roles, she has developed strong leadership skills and contributed to her school and community through volunteering. Lauren is a National African American Recognition Program Awardee and a 21st Century Scholar. She has expanded her interest in technology by attending the NASA High school Aerospace Scholars Program, UNT GenCyber Camp, and UT’s Computer Science Academy for All and by enrolling in a STEM-driven Video Game Programming course. In her free time, Lauren tutors students in STEM subjects and volunteers at her church. With a passion for understanding how things work and solving problems, she is eager to embark on her mechanical engineering journey.
Margaret Bryant – Garland High School
Margaret Bryant will attend Oklahoma State University where she will major in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. Margaret is a full International Baccalaureate graduate completing multiple independent explorations as well as a service project for the community. Margaret is President of the National Honor Society and two-time Captain of the Academic Decathlon team, where she has placed 1st in her division for three consecutive years. She is also a member of her school’s orchestra in which she plays the viola. As a life-long Girl Scout, Margaret has earned her silver and bronze awards and participates as a Program Aide for a local summer camp. She is also a National Merit finalist and has been recognized with PSAT and AP Honors. To further her interest in aerospace engineering, Margaret participated in NASA’s High School Aerospace Scholars program and competed in the Moonshot Competition. Margaret hopes to combine her creativity and problem solving skills with a future career in engineering to help solve community issues.
Julie Jung – Plano West Senior High
Julie Jung will attend the University of Texas Austin where she will major in Biomedical Engineering. Julie is a National Merit Commended Scholar and an AP Scholar with Distinction. As a member of the school’s orchestra, Julie has not only honed her musical talents but also served as an officer of the school’s orchestra, actively leading the group with passion and dedication. Julie’s commitment to service and leadership is reflected in her Presidential Volunteer Service Award from the National Honor Society and in her Director of Finance & Management in Project Stitch-Up. As founder and Captain of the Plano West Student Volunteering Union, Julie led the organization to fundraise and donate 1,500+ meals to the North Texas Food Bank. Julie’s future goal is to leverage her skills and experiences to develop impactful technologies for healthcare through her biomedical engineering degree.
2024 Dallas SWE Annie Colaço Scholarship Recipients – Collegiate Leaders
The Dallas Society of Women Engineers (SWE) is delighted to announce the recipients of the Annie Colaço Scholarship for local college students. The scholarship is named in honor of Annie Colaço (1899-1991), the grandmother to SWE lifetime member Nandika D’Souza. Annie Colaço epitomized selfless service and lifelong learning, which is reflected in the SWE mission.
Dallas SWE is excited to recognize these outstanding SWE collegiate leaders and encourages each recipient to continue to be a SWE member upon graduation. The Society of Women Engineers, founded in 1950, is a not-for- profit educational and service organization. SWE is the driving force that establishes engineering as a highly desirable career aspiration for women. SWE empowers women to succeed and advance in those aspirations and be recognized for their life-changing contributions and achievements as engineers and leaders.
Teresa Le – UTA Treasurer
Teresa Le is a student at the University of Texas Arlington where she will earn her B.S. in Biomedical Engineering this May and will continue working toward her M.S. in Biomedical Engineering. As the Treasurer for the UTA SWE section, Teresa is working to restore the organization to its former membership and fundraising levels after COVID caused a decline in both. As an officer, she has focused on organizing events, fundraising, and promoting awareness. Teresa strives to foster a safe, supportive environment for women in STEM at UTA. After graduation, Teresa will continue her research as she completes her graduate degree and extend her support to other women in STEM, just as SWE has supported her.
Neha Sapre – UTD Vice President of Programs
Neha Sapre is a student at the University of Texas Dallas working towards her M.S. in Computer Science. As the Vice President of Programs for the UTD SWE section for the last 2 academic years, Neha has helped LITMP (freshman mentorship program), SWE Match (engineering project program), and SWE UTD’s partnerships with other engineering organizations grow and thrive. Early in her SWE participation, Neha co-founded the Education Outreach committee, focused on providing free engineering education opportunities for K-12 students in the DFW area, through partnerships with local libraries and nonprofits. After graduating with her masters, Neha hopes to pursue research-oriented positions in computer science, especially those focused on pioneering novel artificiaI intelligence and machine learning techniques.
Aparna Sridhar – SMU President
Aparna Sridhar is a student at Southern Methodist University where she will earn her B.S. in Electrical Engineering this May and will continue working toward her masters in Data Analytics. As President for the SMU SWE section for the past two academic years, Aparna has worked diligently to cultivate community through various events and programs. Through events such as mentorship, community service, and general meetings, she has excelled at leading and planning these events to cater to all engineering disciplines at the Lyle School of Engineering. Her leadership has resulted in financial growth for the organization and an increase in corporate connections. As she works toward her masters, she will continue to be a part of Society of Women Engineers (SWE) and serve as a mentor and ambassador for students wanting to combine their technical background with business skills.
Isabel Wetegrove – UNT Director of Networking
Isabel Wetegrove is a student at the University of North Texas working towards her B.S. in Mechanical and Energy Engineering. As the Director of Networking for the UNT SWE section, Isabel embraced her role, driven by her passion for teaching members about networking, resume building, and interview skills. Through her dedication, she expanded the organization’s network by connecting with numerous industry professionals, benefiting both the organization and its members. Isabel also provided unique opportunities like tours of facilities normally inaccessible to students. UNT SWE members benefited from interactions with corporations such as Peterbilt, CoreLogic, Vilbig & Associates, Lockheed Martin and Medtronic. After graduation, Isabel hopes to enter the renewable energy industry, driven by her dedication to environmental sustainability and plans to stay engaged with SWE and UNT SWE as an alumna.