[Faculty] Engineering Valedictorian Vote Deadline: April 12th

Wed Apr 12 13:33:21 PDT 2017

Hi Andy,

This honor is the College Outstanding Graduate, but we internally use the
term Valedictorian as a more recognizable label for students and to
differentiate it as a higher honor than the Outstanding Graduates at the
departmental level.

Thanks,
Donovan

On Wed, Apr 12, 2017 at 12:58 PM, Andrew Szeto <aszeto at mail.sdsu.edu> wrote:

> Dear Donovan:
>
> Can you please clarify?  To most people, the honor of being the
> Valedictorian is different from being the "Outstanding Engineering
> Graduate."  What exactly is this honor?  Thanks.
>
> Andy Szeto
>
> On Wed, Apr 12, 2017 at 12:41 PM, Donovan Geiger <dgeiger at mail.sdsu.edu>
> wrote:
>
>> 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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>>
>
>
> --
> Andrew Y. J. Szeto, Ph.D., P.E.
> Professor and IEEE Fellow
> Dept. of Electrical & Computer Engineering
> San Diego State University
> 5500 Campanile Drive  MC 1309
> San Diego, CA. 92182-1309
> 619-594-5723 <(619)%20594-5723> - voice   619-594-2654 <(619)%20594-2654>
> - FAX
>
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