IE Student Nikki Konley Elected as National Association of Engineering Students Councils President
More than 160 students traveled across the country to attend the National Association of Engineering Student Councils’ (NAESC) Engineering Leadership Summit at the University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering last weekend.
Nikki Konley, a junior majoring in industrial engineering and president of Pitt’s Engineering Student Council (ESC), was the driving force behind bringing the event to Benedum Hall. The event, mainly used for networking and professional development among engineering students, took over nine months of planning by Pitt’s ESC.
“I’ve never planned an event at this scale before and didn’t realize the amount of thought that goes into these things,” Konley said. “I’m still a student, so I could do a lot of the organizing, but I had to work with staff at the Swanson School to finalize every step.”
NAESC is a student-run nonprofit organization that seeks to empower and connect engineering students nationwide. Konley has been active in Pitt’s chapter since she was a first-year student – even when she left school for a gap year. When she first joined, participation numbers were low. Konley took it upon herself to engage and recruit other students to join. Her efforts led her to being elected president of Pitt ESC, and the North Atlantic Regional Ambassador for NAESC.
“I really care about the organization and wanted to be president to continue its progress,” she said.
Konley’s leadership is going one step further. Because of her work and dedication to hosting the recent conference at Pitt, she was elected to be the next president of NAESC. She will be joined by an executive board composed of students that she has worked with previously. She said she’s excited to be joining a crew of “go getters” and is honored to be leading the organization.
“Nikki’s abilities to balance academic success and professional development with leadership at the university level is impressive,” said Karen Bursic, professor of industrial engineering and undergraduate program director at the Swanson School. “I’m very confident that she will be highly successful in this new leadership role.”
The organization focuses on three pillars: advocacy, collaboration , and leadership.
“My biggest goal as president is to make improvements and expand these pillars,” Konley said. “I want to be a great president.”
