Bringing STEM Together: Inside the Society of Asian Scientists and Engineers at UC Davis
In their first year as an official club at University of California, Davis, the Society of Asian Scientists and Engineers, or SASE, has worked to build a community.
The club incorporates professional development and student-led networking for undergraduates navigating science and engineering fields. As SASE continues to grow on campus, its leadership board is shaping the chapter from the ground up, building both its current presence and legacy for future members.
Building SASE at UC Davis
Before it became a student organization at UC Davis, SASE began with a chance introduction on Instagram.
The SASE chapter at UC San Diego, and its simple Instagram post, were enough to motivate co-president Jamie Huynh, a fourth-year aerospace science and engineering major, to take a closer look at the national organization.
The leadership opportunities, national network and sense of representation he saw in SASE made the absence of a similar space at UC Davis all the more apparent.
Huynh then reached out to Doreen Trinh, also a fourth-year aerospace science and engineering major, to help bring a chapter to campus.
From there, the idea moved from possibility to reality through the planning and coordination needed to make SASE an official chapter at UC Davis.
“Our main goal is to provide a space for students of Asian heritage in STEM to build skills and create a network,” Trinh said.
For the club, that means serving as a resource where students can do both: grow professionally and build connections with peers navigating similar paths in STEM.
More Than a Professional Organization
Rather than focusing on one type of programming, the SASE leadership board works to create events that feel accessible across disciplines. Underlying that work is a larger effort to create a stronger sense of representation and belonging within STEM, making the club’s programming feel open to a wider range of students.
“We’re trying to cover all aspects of STEM as much as we can,” said Suvham Dhital, a fourth-year aerospace science and engineering major and event coordinator for SASE.
That range of engagement has also carried beyond the UC Davis campus. When some members of the SASE board touched down in New Mexico for the SASE Western Regional Conference in March. They were introduced to SASE beyond the chapter they were building at UC Davis.
The event brought together sister chapters, neighboring schools and career-focused programming, including sessions on LinkedIn, network-building and engineering research at the University of New Mexico.
The experience showed members how SASE operates beyond individual chapters, connecting career preparation with relationships that can continue after graduation.
“We aren’t necessarily only a social club, and we aren’t necessarily only a professional one,” Trinh said.
That mix is part of what the board hopes will define SASE at UC Davis. The club is not built around one version of STEM involvement, but around the different ways students want to learn, prepare for their careers and connect with one another.
Looking Ahead
As SASE looks ahead, the board is thinking about growth as more than campus presence. Attending regional and national conferences connect the UC Davis chapter to the broader SASE network while also giving members more chances to understand their place within the organization beyond UC Davis.
For the leadership board, that connection comes back to the kind of confidence SASE hopes to build in its members: the ability to lead with purpose, self-assurance and care for others.
“What we as a club advocate for is leadership as a trait, to be someone who isn’t afraid to speak their truth, present themselves with their best foot forward and has compassion for those who may and may not share their same experiences as a person of color,” Trinh said.
