[Faculty] Engineering Valedictorian Vote Deadline: April 12th

[Donovan Geiger]

COE Faculty:

Please join me in congratulating Victor Ortega as our Engineering Class of
2017 Valedictorian!

The vote tally was:

10 Ortega
6 West
2 Reyes
1 Akers

Thank you,
Donovan





On Mon, Apr 10, 2017 at 5:35 PM, Donovan Geiger <dgeiger at mail.sdsu.edu>
wrote:

> Engineering Faculty and Staff:
>
> As the departmental outstanding graduates have been selected, voting for
> Engineering Valedictorian will now take place. Please select one and
> email your choice to me by* 12:00pm, Wednesday April, 12th.*
>
> The candidates are:
>
> __________________________________________
>
>
>
>
>
> *Joseph AkersMajor GPA 3.93, SDSU GPA 3.95Environmental Engineering*
>
> I am a Marine Corps Veteran. I was living in San Diego since 2010 at
> MCAS Miramar. I chose the major I wanted about a year before I left the
> military. During my research, I learned that an ABET accredited school was
> going to be as important to me as an Environmental Engineer as learning how
> to be an Environmental Engineer. I found several schools that fit the bill
> but after a few searches where google filled in the blank after SDSU with
> "best party schools" I knew that I would at least have a few years of fun
> if I couldn't cut it. San Diego State actually became my favorite choice
> really quickly. Everything about it just made sense such as the location
> and the teacher reviews. But it was February. Admissions were full and I
> was going to be stuck waiting a year or so to get a spot. Looked like I was
> going to Ohio State.
>
>
> There was a Marine Corps Program called the Leadership Scholar Program
> that allowed me to get into SDSU where my only competition for admission
> was other Marines. The spots were actually filled but through sheer luck of
> someone dropping out of going to SDSU and with my Marine Corps
> accomplishments, I was able to get a spot to start school in fall 2013. I
> quickly joined the Student Veterans Organization and even helped start
> their intramural sports teams. I met some good friends through there but
> decided to try more professional organizations like Engineers Without
> Borders and American Water Works Association.
>
>
>
> School was challenging but I benefited greatly from the GI Bill which paid
> for my schooling and gave me the freedom to keep my grades up.
> Unfortunately for me, I had to start with classes like Precalculus and
> would be playing catch up to My Map. Engineering requires a couple more
> credits than other degrees so I would be here for a few summer sessions as
> well. There were some challenging teachers, some unorganized ones and some
> amazing ones like Professor Smith and Professional Mladenov. Overall it was
> a great experience.
>
>
>
> During my time at SDSU I have become a Big Brother volunteer for Bigs of
> San Diego and I have been the recipient of several scholarships, including
> the Sinegal Veterans Scholarship. I am currently working with SPAWAR
> because of San Diego State's veteran's programs in a research fellowship. I
> can only look back and thank SDSU for the experience granted.
>
> _________________________________________
>
>
>
> *Victor OrtegaMajor GPA 3.81, SDSU GPA 3.91Aerospace Engineering*
>
> Victor Ortega graduated valedictorian from Monte Vista High School in
> Spring Valley before being admitted to SDSU’s Aerospace Engineering program
> in the Fall of 2013. He will be earning his B.S. in Aerospace Engineering
> with a 3.919 cumulative GPA this May. He has shown a dedication to helping
> other students succeed through being one of the first to participate in
> Monte Vista’s peer tutoring program as a math tutor and later working as a
> college advisor at an inner city high school in City Heights. As a
> first-generation college student and son of immigrants who originally
> attended school in City Heights.  Since 2016, he has been working as an
> undergraduate research assistant looking at resin injection methods of
> repairing internal delamination in carbon fiber laminates in the Aerospace
> Engineering Department. He has been accepted to the SDSU-UCSD Joint
> Doctoral Program in Structural Engineering and awarded a 5-year fellowship
> by UCSD.
>
> _______________________________________
>
>
>
> *Karl ReyesMajor GPA 3.87, SDSU GPA 3.93*
>
> *Mechanical Engineering *
>
> Karl is a senior mechanical engineering student, and will be graduating in
> May 2017. As a student at SDSU, he was a member of numerous organizations,
> including the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME),
> Design/Build/Fly (DBF), and Tau Beta Pi – The Engineering Honor Society. In
> Spring 2015, Karl worked with a team to design and manufacture a
> wall-mounting mechanism of an all-terrain vehicle for the ASME Student
> Professional Development Conference (SPDC) student design competition. In
> Spring 2016, he contributed to the manufacturing of a prototype aircraft as
> a manufacturing team member for the American Institute of Aeronautics and
> Astronautics (AIAA) Design/Build/Fly competition. Currently, he is an
> officer in Tau Beta Pi California Xi. Outside of his extracurricular
> activities, Karl has also had internship experience with Solar Turbines
> Incorporated, where he was a Mechanical Engineering Intern in the
> Combustion Department. He has accepted a position with Northrop Grumman,
> and will be working as a Mechanical Engineer in the Vehicle Engineering
> Department after graduating in May.
>
> _________________________________________
>
>
> *Stephen West Major GPA 3.97, SDSU GPA 3.94*
> *Electrical Engineering *
> We nominate Stephen West as our outstanding graduate for his top 3.94 GPA
> that includes 97 units taken at SDSU.  Faculty who had the privilege to
> teach him in EE430 and other courses recall West to be a quiet studious,
> smart, and respectful student. He has involved in student organizations and
> extracurricular activities.
>
> __________________________________________
>
>
> Once again, the deadline to vote is this Wednesday, April 12, at noon.
>
> Best regards,
>
> *Donovan Geiger, MBA*
> Student Affairs Officer
> College of Engineering
> San Diego State University
> 619.594.6079 <%28619%29%20594-6079>
>
>
>
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