[Faculty] Engineering Valedictorian Vote Deadline: April 12th

Wed Apr 12 14:53:49 PDT 2017

I just received a comment from a faculty member (who wishes to remain
anonymous) on why he/she voted for Victor Ortega despite having the lowest
GPA:

*"The rationale why I cast my vote to Victor Ortega is that Victor is the
only one among all other candidates who received admission and fellowship
to the JDP program. This highlighted item allows Victor distinguishes
himself from others."*

Thanks,
Donovan

On Wed, Apr 12, 2017 at 2:46 PM, Donovan Geiger <dgeiger at mail.sdsu.edu>
wrote:

> Hello Ashkan,
>
> I'm always interested to hear recommendations on ways to increase
> participation in this voting process as it has been a reoccurring issue. As
> for the faculty selecting the candidate with the lowest GPA, I cannot
> comment on that.
>
> Best,
> Donovan
>
>
>
>
> On Wed, Apr 12, 2017 at 1:51 PM, Ashkan Ashrafi <ashrafi at mail.sdsu.edu>
> wrote:
>
>> Hi Donovan,
>>
>> It is interesting that the student with the lowest GPA among others has
>> been selected as the valedictorian by the vote of less than 1/3 of the CoE
>> faculty. This raises a lot of question marks above the whole process.
>>
>>
>> Best,
>> Ashkan
>>
>>
>>
>> Ashkan Ashrafi, Ph.D.
>> Associate Professor and Graduate Advisor
>> Director, Signal Processing Research Laboratory
>>
>> Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering
>> San Diego State University
>> 5500 Campanile Dr., E-410A
>> San Diego, CA 92182-1309
>> Tel: (619)594-3703 <(619)%20594-3703>
>> Fax: (619)594-2654 <(619)%20594-2654>
>> email: ashrafi at mail.sdsu.edu
>> URL: http://jason.sdsu.edu/~ashrafi
>>
>> On 4/12/17 1:33 PM, Donovan Geiger wrote:
>>
>> 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 Akers Major GPA 3.93, SDSU GPA 3.95 Environmental 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 Ortega Major GPA 3.81, SDSU GPA 3.91 Aerospace 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 Reyes Major 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>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>> Faculty mailing list
>>>> Faculty at engineering.sdsu.edu
>>>> http://engineering.sdsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/faculty
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> 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 <%28619%29%20594-5723> - voice   619-594-2654
>>> <%28619%29%20594-2654> - FAX
>>>
>>
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Faculty mailing listFaculty at engineering.sdsu.eduhttp://engineering.sdsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/faculty
>>
>>
>>
>
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