Left to right: Kate Rogers, Matt Ferris, Mary Ashley Liu, Clarke Rahrig, Rebecca Tom, Hao Wu, Dean Sharon Wood, Farzad Yousefi. Unpictured awardees: Maria Jimenez and Reid Walker. Photo by Amelia Johnson, Cockrell School of Engineering.
Three Mechanical Engineering students, Kate Rogers (senior), Reid Walker (senior) and Hao Wu (Ph.D. student) were honored by Dean Sharon Wood recently for their service to the university and the community, their exemplary work and leadership. Walker received the Marvin Wright Engineering Athlete award.
The text below was used to introduce each one at the awards ceremony.
Kate Rogers, Undergraduate Student Leadership Award
Kate is from Magnolia, Texas, and will graduate in May, 2014 with her MECHANICAL Engineering degree. Kate’s primary leadership experiences have been as a Freshman Interest Group (FIG) Mentor, Student Engineering Council’s Co-director of the First-Year Engineering Committee and the Student Coordinator for LeaderShape-Texas.
Kate’s nominators described her impact on them personally, as follows: "As the lead coordinator for Leadershape-Texas, Kate Rogers has inspired many students to better themselves and lead with integrity. Every semester, 60 enlightened students graduate from this leadership camp thanks to her hard work and dedication to make Leadershape-Texas a life-changing experience. She directed and led an eight-member student staff and it was an art form. She got us from people who had never lead a group of more than three, to organizing and putting on a program for 60 students. She handled conflicts with diplomacy and grace, plus had a charisma that really influenced the group in a fantastic way. Personally, I learned more from her than from any other experience I have had in college. Rogers is a truly dedicated leader, as well as being a genuine and wonderful person. You can sense that she is really passionate about helping students become the great leaders of tomorrow. To most student leaders, she is a guiding light that helps out in times of need. To her family and friends, she is a force for good that uses her steadfast determination and caring heart to make the world a brighter place."
Following graduation, Kate will marry another UT graduate and move to Littleton, CO to work for Eaton as a Field Service Engineer in their Electrical Systems and Services Division. She looks forward to continuing her commitment to volunteerism and the community.
Reid Walker, 2013 Marvin Wright Engineering Athlete Award
Reid is from Seattle, Washington and is a senior majoring in Mechanical Engineering. He is a member of the UT Men’s Swimming Team, where he competes at various distances in freestyle. In addition to representing UT in regular meets, he competed in the Big 12 Championships and the 2012 U.S. OLYMPIC TRIALS.
Reid was selected to the 2012 Academic All-Big 12 (First Team) and is a three-time member of the Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll. His team was awarded the 2013 Scholar All-American status by The College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA). He was also individually named as an Honorable mention Scholar All-American Award recipient because his individual GPA was above 3.5.
Following graduation in May 2014, Reid will move to Columbus, Indiana to be a Test Engineer for Cummins, Inc.
Due to NCAA requirements he is unable to accept the monetary award that goes with this honor so it will be donated to the general fund in Mechanical Engineering.
Hao Wu, Graduate Student Leadership Award
Hao is from China and is currently a doctoral candidate, supervised by Dr. Joseph Koo, in the department of Mechanical Engineering, studying MATERIALS SCIENCE AND Engineering, and he expects to graduate in May 2015. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in Materials Science and Engineering from Donghua University, Shanghai, China.
Hao serves as the president of The Society for the Advancement of Material and Process Engineering (SAMPE), which is an international professional member society that provides information on new materials and processing technology. The purpose of the UT student chapter is to get students who are interested in the field of composite materials connected to the world of professional engineers in the related field. He has enjoyed being on the Engineering Leadership Team through the Engineering Student Life office, which provide an opportunity develop a stronger understanding of leadership, ethics, communication and team-work, while practicing facilitation and mentoring skills.
After completing his Ph.D., Hao hopes to work in industry as an Research and Development Engineer in the field of polymer nano-composites.
