It has been almost four months since I got an email from Professor Stottrup inquiring if I was interested in attending CUWiP, and it didn't take long for me to reply that I wanted to go. The next day he asked me if I wanted to advertise this conference to other female physics majors and organize our attendance. I agreed and quickly started tracking people down and everyone seemed eager to attend. With this excitement, the Augsburg Women in Physics group was created. We held a few informal meeting to get to know each other and discuss the conference. These were all successful and were a great opportunity to form bonds between female first years and upperclassmen in a major that is male dominated.
Acceptance to the conference was not guaranteed because they often have more applicants than space. We all filled out our applications which included a 200 word essay on why we wanted to attend and the impact it would have on us, and waited for an answer. In early December, we received our acceptances and booked our airline tickets. One of the things that makes this conference special is that the conference provides all of the lodging and meals which greatly reduces the cost of participation. As for travel, we give a big thank you to the Augsburg physics department for funding us and thus making the conference cost free to the Augsburg attendees.
This conference is especially important to us because there are currently no female physics professors at Augsburg. This is an amazing chance to interact with successful female physicists, interact with peers from across the Midwest, and hear about current research. I am thrilled to be attending this conference with the other Augsburg Women in Physics and sharing in the excitement, and experience this conference will provide.
--Elianna Bier
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