Dallas SWE is pleased to announce the recipients of the FY18 SWE High School Scholarships. This year, we award 9 scholarships ranging from $500 to $1500 to these extraordinary high school seniors from the Dallas area: Saumya Rawat, Jainita Chauhan, Hayleigh Crawford, Jenna Hines, Emily Peterson, Alexandra Philip, Julia Nguyen, Kayla Roberson, and Ashley Van Ausdale. These young women have demonstrated academic excellence, commitment to extracurriculars and community service, and a strong interest in engineering. Congratulations to these fine recipients! It will be very exciting to see where these bright young women take the future of engineering!

Thanks to the Dallas SWE Scholarship Committee for taking the time to review a record number of high-quality applications!

Saumya Rawat – School of Science and Engineering

Saumya Rawat will graduate from the School of Science and Engineering as a National AP Scholar and a National Merit Finalist. She will attend the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, majoring in Computer Science. In addition to being the Founder & CEO of IT Empowerment for Her, an organization that has impacted over 250 DFW middle school girls through free STEM programs, she is an avid leader in her school’s CS, Robotics, and entrepreneurship clubs. Saumya has been commended for her leadership with the 2017 NCWIT National Award for Aspirations in Computing and the 2017 SWENext Global Innovator Award. For the last 5 years, she has taught kids with special needs to swim. Saumya has received the Silver Presidential Service Award and is a distinguished finalist for the Prudential Spirit of the Community award. She is currently interning at Abbott and has previously interned at Baylor and Parkland Hospitals, conducted research at UT Dallas, and was a 2016 Siemens Competition Regional Finalist. Saumya hopes to develop a disease detecting system using computational analysis and form her own startup.

Jainita Chauhan – North Garland High School

Jainita Chauhan will attend Texas A&M University in the fall where she will major in Industrial Engineering. In addition to being a Presidential Scholar, Jainita is President of the P.A.L. Mentors, Treasurer of Mu Alpha Theta and a leader on the Raider Robotics team. Jainita has a passion for her family’s Indian culture and traditions and is dedicated to teaching and learning Bharatanatyam (Indian classical dance) in her free time. In addition to participating in various extracurricular activities such as National Honor Society and Beta Club, Jainita has held an engineering internship where she works in 3D modeling and printing as well as a multitude of other analysis activities.

 Hayleigh Crawford – Wylie High School

Hayleigh Crawford will graduate from Wylie High School and will attend the University of Texas at Dallas, where she will major in Mechanical Engineering. Throughout high school, she has been involved in numerous extracurricular activities including National Honor Society, National Technical Honor Society and most importantly, SkillsUSA, an organization that focuses on developing Career & Technical Education students’ personal, workplace and technical skills. In SkillsUSA, Hayleigh has qualified for the SkillsUSA Texas state competition since sophomore year. During her senior year, Hayleigh became the SkillsUSA Texas District 5 Historian and attended the Washington Leadership Training Institute in September of 2017. She recently became a National Center for Women & Information Technology DFW Affiliate Award Winner in March of 2018. Hayleigh enjoys supporting other girls in their STEM journey as a volunteer at SMARTGirls, an organization for middle school girls interested in engineering and robotics in her school district, and as an engineering intern at Wylie High School. Hayleigh is excited to pursue mechanical engineering as she takes on different real-world problems in order to improve others’ lives.

Jenna Hines – Marcus High School

Jenna Hines will attend Clemson University where she will major in Bioengineering. Jenna’s honors include serving as the Parliamentarian for National Honor Society, Treasurer for Mu Alpha Theta and being a member of the Science Honor Society. Jenna has been a member of the high school drill team for four years in addition to participating in studio dance. She has volunteered with local nursing home and hospitals, contributing to her interest in bioengineering. Jenna has tutored students from multiple grades in math and science. After attending a Biomedical Engineering camp, she found her passion in Bioengineering and plans to develop new types of prostheses in the future.

Emily Peterson – Centennial High School

Emily Peterson will graduate from Centennial High School, and she will go on to attend the University of Texas at Austin and major in Computer Science. She is currently the president of her school’s Computer Science Club where she leads and mentors other technology-oriented students for weekly meetings centered on learning algorithms and preparing for competitions. She is an avid competitive programmer, just recently advancing with her team to the Texas state meet for UIL Computer Science. Emily is also a coding instructor at The Coder School, where she teaches semiprivate lessons and camps in a myriad of programming languages. Emily’s honors include being a National Merit Finalist and Scholar, AP Scholar with Distinction and a two-time National Center for Women & Information Technology DFW Affiliate Award Winner. Emily can’t wait to see what a future in technology has to offer.

Alexandra Philip – Plano East High School

Alexandra Philip will attend Embry Riddle Aeronautical University this fall majoring in Aerospace Engineering. She has immersed herself in the International Baccalaureate curriculum and Project Lead the Way courses to prepare for an engineering career. In addition to being an Ambassador Girl Scout, Alexandra participates in the National Society of Black Engineers, Society of Manufacturing Engineers, Women in Aviation International, and Key Club International. She was lead programmer in several robotics competitions winning regional awards.   Alexandra was selected as a member of the NASA Texas High School Aerospace Scholars program which fueled her passion for aerospace engineering. Her career goal is to be an astronaut mission specialist; leading space missions and creating spacecraft innovations for interstellar space exploration.

Julia Nguyen – Plano Senior High School

Julia Nguyen will attend the University of Texas at Austin majoring in Mechanical Engineering. She competes with her school’s robotics team at FIRST Robotics competitions and volunteers with the National Honor Society and Key club. Outside of school, Julia enjoys dancing as a company member at Royal Ballet Dance Academy as well. With a close friend, Julia founded a student-run non-profit called For Engineering the Mind, encouraging more girls in and around their community to explore the STEM field. They have organized workshops for young girls to pursue their STEM interests. Julia’s own attendance at a STEM camp inspired her to both pursue engineering and support other girls in their pursuit of a STEM career.

 Kayla Roberson – Plano High School

Kayla Roberson will attend the University of Texas at Austin to pursue a degree in Architectural engineering with the goal to find new sustainable building methods to meet the demands of the future. During high school, she has been involved in Math Club, Book Club, Theater and the Student Diversity Leadership Council as the leader of the African-American Affinity Group. Outside of school, she is volunteers at the Dogwood Canyon Audubon Center, The chocolate Mind Foundation and the North Texas Food Bank. Kayla has served as the teen president of the Jack and Jill Southwest Suburban Dallas chapter and participated in Teens Helping Abused, Neglected Kids and the Ronald McDonald House of Dallas service board. Kayla is a Presidential Service Award recipient and has been selected to attend the National Student Diversity Leadership Conference. She is excited to pursue her Architectural Engineering degree to focus on the updating of older buildings while keeping their architectural beauty intact. 

Ashley Van Ausdale – Village Tech School

Ashley Van Ausdale will attend the University of Texas at Arlington to pursue a degree in Mechanical Engineering after graduating as the Valedictorian of her school. Ashley is a Girl Scout Gold Award recipient who volunteers many hours for the City of Cedar Hill and at Cedar Valley College as a mentor and tutor for the Pipeline and Pathways program, including innovation with the program’s 3D printer. In addition to leadership on both the school volleyball and softball teams, Ashley is a leader at her school and a role model for younger students. Within the city, she volunteers at the Zula B. Wylie Library storytelling events and is a member of the LEADs Council, a teen council that works with the police to create a better relationship between the police and the community. Ashley is excited to begin her college career and to see where her engineering passion is needed in the world.