SHPE User Analysis I

SHPE User Analysis I was the first research project where my findings had a direct monetary impact. As Marketing and Outreach Coordinator for SHPE Southwestern College, I designed and executed a user analysis that produced the demographic data and user personas leadership needed to secure a full $5,000 grant from the Associated Students, funding an entire academic year of events, workshops, and recruitment campaigns. 

Project Background

SHPE, the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, is a national organization dedicated to uplifting Hispanic-identified engineering students through scholarships, professional development, and community building. SHPE Southwestern College was a recently reactivated chapter facing a fundamental challenge: no data on who their students actually were. Without knowing their user base, leadership could not plan programming, justify funding requests, or make informed decisions about the direction of the chapter.

As the newly elected Marketing and Outreach Coordinator, I was tasked by the Faculty Advisor to change that. The goal was straightforward: gather demographic data, establish who the average SHPE member was, understand what they wanted from the chapter, and assess how effectively we were converting interested students into chapter members and junior members. As an optional extension, I also audited the chapter's social media presence to evaluate reach and engagement across platforms.

Challenges

Two challenges defined this project from the start.

The first was context. I was new to Southwestern College during a pandemic, with all coursework online and no existing connections to faculty or fellow SHPE members. Most of my peers had established relationships before COVID-19 hit. I was starting from zero, building rapport entirely through Zoom and Discord.

The second was reach. With campus under strict COVID-19 protocols, in-person outreach was not an option. Getting the survey in front of students required cold outreach to professors I had never met, pitching our research goals and asking them to share the survey with their classes. Some invited me to virtual office hours before agreeing. Others responded immediately. Each required a different approach, which gave me early experience adapting my communication style to different personalities and levels of institutional access.

Budget & Timeline 

The project operated with no budget. Participants were given two months to respond to the survey, with responses collected via institutional email to ensure accurate identification of enrolled students.

The timeline ran from the initial assignment shortly after my election to the position through the final presentation of findings to chapter leadership, roughly three months in total.

Research Methods

Given the COVID-19 restrictions still in place at the time, in-person research methods were not an option. After evaluating the available alternatives, I selected a 10-question Google Forms survey as the primary data collection method. The format was mostly multiple choice, designed to maximize response volume while keeping completion time low. The survey was reviewed and approved by the SHPE Faculty Advisor before distribution.

For the social media audit, I used Google Analytics and Facebook Insights. Both tools were already available as complementary business features for our website and Facebook-affiliated platforms, making them a practical choice for evaluating reach and engagement without additional cost.

Key Findings

The data revealed a clear primary user profile: the most common SHPE Southwestern College member was a Hispanic male between 20-25 years old, majoring in Electrical Engineering, and already a SHPE national member.

Beyond the primary user, the data surfaced important gaps. Female members showed a broader range of majors than their male counterparts and expressed interest in dedicated programming and space within the chapter. LGBTQ+ and disabled members represented less than 1% of the membership and indicated that meaningful structural reform would be necessary for them to remain active.

The social media audit revealed Instagram as the platform with the greatest reach, surpassing 500 followers with a healthy mix of alumni, current members, and SHPE affiliates across the U.S.

Impact 

The research had immediate and measurable impact across three areas.

First, the user personas produced from the data gave chapter leadership a concrete foundation for planning events, marketing campaigns, and programming for the academic year. Decisions that had previously been made on instinct could now be justified with data.

Second, the findings directly enabled a successful grant application. The Associated Students were offering up to $5,000 to campus organizations that could justify their proposed expenditures with evidence of user need and educational impact. Because we had detailed demographic data and a clear picture of what our members wanted, we were able to build a compelling allocations package. We received the full $5,000 grant, funding Arduino classes, Python workshops, Hackathon participation, guest speakers, and recruitment campaigns for the entire academic year.

Third, the social media audit clarified where to invest and where to cut. We discontinued TikTok and Twitter based on low engagement data and concentrated our efforts on Instagram and Facebook where traction was strongest. The audit also surfaced enough email contacts to launch a monthly newsletter, which quickly became a communication channel for both members and community supporters.

Lessons Learned 

This project taught me three things that have stayed with me.

The first was about majority data. Over 60% of SHPE SWC members identified as male, and there appeared to be a correlation between that majority status and satisfaction with the chapter as it existed. Correlation does not equal causation, but it was a pattern I could not ignore. It reinforced something I now apply to every research project: the data from your primary user is valuable, but the most actionable insights often come from the people who are not being adequately served. Minority voices surface pain points that majority data simply cannot.

The second was about the power of data in institutional contexts. Securing the full $5,000 grant was only possible because the research gave us something concrete to present. That experience made clear that in any organizational setting, data is not just informative, it is persuasive. A proposal without evidence is a request. A proposal with evidence is an argument.

The third was about collaboration under constraint. Reaching students during a pandemic meant cold outreach to professors I had never met, adapting my pitch to different personalities and levels of willingness. Some required office hour meetings before agreeing to help. Others responded immediately. Learning to meet each of them where they were giving me early experience navigating institutional relationships with flexibility and purpose.