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Renee Badilla, who expects to graduate from Cullen College with her Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Engineering in 2026, will be honored with the Cynthia Oliver Coleman, P.E. Rising Star Award at this year’s Women in Engineering Celebration on Wednesday, March 5 at the Hilton University of Houston.

For more information about the Women in Engineering Celebration, click here!

Having moved to the U.S. from Mexico City not long before starting at UH, Badilla’s involvement with the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) has been a steady source of support and engagement, as well as professional skill development, mentorship and networking opportunities over the last three years.

“The Society of Women Engineers was so welcoming and supportive,” she said. “I really liked that. I’ve met most of my friends here. It has given me a sense of community, and as an international student living on campus, I don’t have my family right next to me, so having this community and making these connections has really helped me.”

“I like to give back to that as well,” she added. “I like to talk to prospective members when we hold events and encourage people to join. I feel like SWE has helped me grow a lot in my leadership and speaking skills, because I’ve always been a very shy person, and this has put me in situations that help me get out of my comfort zone and put myself out there.”

Badilla began by contributing to SWE committees as a freshman, and she held the role of Event Coordinator as a sophomore. Now, as a junior, she serves as the organization’s Secretary. This role comes with greater responsibility and leadership opportunities than her previous position, which Badilla treasures as another way to give back to her community that “has given [her] so much.”

“I did not expect this award at all. It caught me off guard,” she said, laughing. “It was a big surprise, but I feel very honored to be receiving it.”

Badilla’s SWE peers state that she “has been an exceptional asset to SWE-UH and embodies the spirit of the Rising Star Award,” and that “her dedication to promoting women in STEM and her unwavering support for SWE’s initiatives make her an incredibly deserving candidate.”

“We’re making this community of women, and we’re also empowering the next generation of little girls who’d like to become engineers. I really like seeing young girls enjoy [STEM] at our chapter’s outreach events,” she said. “When I was a little girl, I wasn’t too sure about what I wanted to do. I feel like if I’d had this community or this introduction to science earlier on, it would’ve helped me a lot.”

Having long held an interest in medicine, she still wasn’t quite certain that medical school was the right fit. She thought that pursuing an education in biomedical engineering would allow her to “help in the healthcare industry — not necessarily hands-on, but in other ways.”

She particularly enjoys opportunities to make use of wet lab skills and is interested in going into a biomedical engineering field like genomics or genetic research, which would allow her to shine while enjoying her work at the bench.

Badilla is interested in pursuing a master’s or doctoral degree related to biomedical engineering after she completes her bachelor’s degree next year.

“Coming to a new country, I felt uncertain and alone,” she said. “SWE became my support system, helping me grow in ways I never expected. Now, as I look ahead to my career and future, I want to give that same support to others, so they feel they belong too, just as I did.”