Making a world of difference recruitment of undergraduate students at USU

This paper describes two creative methods that are used to recruit undergraduate students at Utah State University. The first is "Engineering State", a four-day hands-on immersement in a wide array of engineering disciplines, and the second is a slide show called "Making a World of Difference-Women in Engineering" that was created by a woman engineering student to provide an uplifting, upbeat look at the difference a woman can make in the world if she becomes an engineer, and to encourage young women to take a second look at the opportunities engineering presents for them. The Engineering State program has been inplace since 1992 and has had clear, measurable benefits in the recruitment of students to USU engineering programs. One of the goals of Engineering State is to attract women and minorities to consider an engineering career. The engineering students who have seen the preliminary portions of the new slide show have excited comments, smiles on their faces, and a renewed positive outlook. It is hoped that this exposure will provide much-needed role models, success stories, and a new look at engineering as the people-oriented profession that it can be. This slide show is available free to interested faculty, and is downloadable in Power Point format from the Web.