2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

In this presentation, engineering librarians will discuss the creation and implementation of the Emerging Engineers speaker and workshop series, which they started in Fall 2023 and remains ongoing. This program invites local engineering alumni back to campus to discuss their career journeys, their transition from student to professional life, and lessons they learned along the way. Speakers are encouraged to share frankly about their experiences, so students can see how their future paths are shaped by the choices, challenges, and adaptations they make throughout their academic careers.

The speaker sessions are complemented by workshops that provide students with opportunities to engage in hands-on group projects in a relaxed setting. These projects are designed to be social, typically involving constructing models or kits, so attendees have a chance to connect with their peers while working on a shared objective. The goals of these events are twofold: to equip students with valuable insights for their transition into the engineering field by offering firsthand perspectives from recent alumni, and to foster a sense of community and belonging among a population that has faced mental health challenges in recent years.

Presenters will discuss how they secured funding, identified potential speakers, and collaborated with faculty & campus offices to make the series successful and consistently well-attended, as well as specific strategies for marketing the events, garnering student feedback, and lessons learned throughout the process. Attendees will leave with an understanding of why it’s impactful for students to hear from alumni (particularly alumni from groups that are underrepresented in STEM), the value of creating space that allows for informal connection, and tips for hosting similar events within their own libraries across a range of budgets.