UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE, KNOXVILLE

“Founded in 2019, SASE UTK is the first Asian-interest pre-professional organization on campus. Our chapter was the recipient of Outstanding New Chapter in the 2020- 2021 school year due to its resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic. We have greatly expanded this year, almost doubling our active membership. Our chapter has implemented internal opportunities like a mentoring program and executive board shadowing program, both of which could only exist due to this membership boost. 

Most of our members are first to third years, which means that we can continue to impact them and foster their cultural, professional, and philanthropic development during their collegiate years. This year, our ratio of maleto-female members is around 4:6, with a ratio of male-to-female officers at 2:5. Our recruitment conversion rate also greatly increased from the year prior. This was due to the enthusiastic marketing and programming efforts of the executive board, who planned almost four times the number of events. 

Despite being a historically engineering-centric student organization, approximately 30 percent of this year’s members are science majors, typically studying some biology-associated field. Our executive board has better representation as well, as there are double the number of officers majoring in science compared to last year. To accompany this, our chapter has also made a number of connections to provide better opportunities for science majors, including Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Eastman Chemical Company. 

Over the current year, the SASE UTK chapter has grown in size, diversity, and complexity. We hope to continue this development in the future and support our members as they pursue success in their fields. Our tip for other chapters is to go all out with event planning in the fall semester and to table loudly! Membership grows when your energy is high.”