<div dir="ltr"><div><div><div></div>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:<br><b><br>"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."</b><br><br></div>Thanks, <br></div>Donovan <span style="color:rgb(102,51,0)"></span><br style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0)"><div><div><span style="color:rgb(102,51,0)"></span><div><div class="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><br></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><div class="gmail_extra"><span style="color:rgb(102,51,0)"></span><br style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0)"><span style="color:rgb(102,51,0)"></span><div><div class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><br></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>
<br><div class="gmail_quote">On Wed, Apr 12, 2017 at 2:46 PM, Donovan Geiger <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:dgeiger@mail.sdsu.edu" target="_blank">dgeiger@mail.sdsu.edu</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex"><div dir="ltr"><div><div><div>Hello Ashkan, <br><br></div>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. <br><br></div>Best, <br></div>Donovan <br><div><div class="gmail_extra"><span style="color:rgb(102,51,0)"></span><br><span style="color:rgb(102,51,0)"></span><div><div class="m_-1052007887004736261gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><span style="color:rgb(102,51,0)"><br style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0)"></span><br></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>
<br><div class="gmail_quote">On Wed, Apr 12, 2017 at 1:51 PM, Ashkan Ashrafi <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:ashrafi@mail.sdsu.edu" target="_blank">ashrafi@mail.sdsu.edu</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
<div bgcolor="#FFFFFF" text="#000000">
Hi Donovan,<br>
<br>
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.<br>
<br>
<br>
Best,<br>
Ashkan<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<pre class="m_-1052007887004736261m_1757997921480475058moz-signature" cols="72">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: <a href="tel:(619)%20594-3703" value="+16195943703" target="_blank">(619)594-3703</a>
Fax: <a href="tel:(619)%20594-2654" value="+16195942654" target="_blank">(619)594-2654</a>
email: <a class="m_-1052007887004736261m_1757997921480475058moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:ashrafi@mail.sdsu.edu" target="_blank">ashrafi@mail.sdsu.edu</a>
URL: <a class="m_-1052007887004736261m_1757997921480475058moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://jason.sdsu.edu/~ashrafi" target="_blank">http://jason.sdsu.edu/~ashrafi</a>
</pre>
<div class="m_-1052007887004736261m_1757997921480475058moz-cite-prefix">On 4/12/17 1:33 PM, Donovan Geiger
wrote:<br>
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<blockquote type="cite">
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<div>
<div>
<div>Hi Andy, <br>
<br>
</div>
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.<br>
<br>
</div>
Thanks, <br>
</div>
Donovan <br>
<div>
<div>
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<br>
<div class="gmail_quote">On Wed, Apr 12, 2017 at
12:58 PM, Andrew Szeto <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:aszeto@mail.sdsu.edu" target="_blank">aszeto@mail.sdsu.edu</a>></span>
wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
<div dir="ltr">
<div>
<div>Dear Donovan:<br>
<br>
</div>
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.<br>
<br>
</div>
Andy Szeto<br>
</div>
<div class="gmail_extra"><br>
<div class="gmail_quote">On Wed, Apr 12, 2017
at 12:41 PM, Donovan Geiger <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:dgeiger@mail.sdsu.edu" target="_blank">dgeiger@mail.sdsu.edu</a>></span>
wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
<div dir="ltr">
<div>
<div>
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<div>
<div>COE Faculty: <br>
<br>
</div>
Please join me in
congratulating Victor
Ortega as our Engineering
Class of 2017
Valedictorian! <br>
<br>
</div>
The vote tally was: <br>
<br>
</div>
10 Ortega<br>
</div>
6 West<br>
</div>
2 Reyes<br>
</div>
1 Akers<br>
<br>
</div>
Thank you, <br>
</div>
Donovan <br>
<div>
<div>
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<div class="gmail_quote"><span>On
Mon, Apr 10,
2017 at 5:35 PM,
Donovan Geiger <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:dgeiger@mail.sdsu.edu" target="_blank">dgeiger@mail.sdsu.edu</a>></span>
wrote:<br>
</span>
<div>
<div class="m_-1052007887004736261m_1757997921480475058m_4252802314814537380h5">
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
<div dir="ltr">
<div>
<div>
<div>Engineering
Faculty and
Staff: <br>
<br>
</div>
As the
departmental
outstanding
graduates have
been selected,
voting for
Engineering <span><span class="m_-1052007887004736261m_1757997921480475058m_4252802314814537380m_-4917528076557377506m_-6157320070498995471gmail-m_1263097075174002923gmail-il">Valedictorian</span></span>
will now take
place. Please
select one and
email your
choice to me
by<b> <span style="color:rgb(255,0,0)"><span style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255)"><u>12:00pm, Wednesday April,
12th.</u></span></span></b><br>
<br>
The candidates
are:<br>
</div>
<br>
______________________________<wbr>____________<br>
<br>
<b>Joseph
Akers<br>
Major GPA
3.93, SDSU GPA
3.95<br>
Environmental
Engineering<br>
<br>
</b>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:9.5pt;line-height:107%;font-family:"arial","sans-serif";color:rgb(34,34,34);background:white none repeat scroll 0% 0%">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.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:9.5pt;line-height:107%;font-family:"arial","sans-serif";color:rgb(34,34,34);background:white none repeat scroll 0% 0%"><br>
</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;text-align:justify;line-height:normal;background:white none repeat scroll 0% 0%"><span style="font-size:9.5pt;font-family:"arial","sans-serif";color:rgb(34,34,34)">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. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;text-align:justify;line-height:normal;background:white none repeat scroll 0% 0%"><span style="font-size:9.5pt;font-family:"arial","sans-serif";color:rgb(34,34,34)"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;text-align:justify;line-height:normal;background:white none repeat scroll 0% 0%"><span style="font-size:9.5pt;font-family:"arial","sans-serif";color:rgb(34,34,34)">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.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;text-align:justify;line-height:normal;background:white none repeat scroll 0% 0%"><span style="font-size:9.5pt;font-family:"arial","sans-serif";color:rgb(34,34,34)"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;text-align:justify;line-height:normal;background:white none repeat scroll 0% 0%"><span style="font-size:9.5pt;font-family:"arial","sans-serif";color:rgb(34,34,34)">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.</span></p>
<br>
______________________________<wbr>___________<br>
<b><br>
Victor Ortega<br>
Major GPA
3.81, SDSU GPA
3.91<br>
Aerospace
Engineering</b><br>
</div>
<div><br>
<span>Victor
Ortega
graduated <span class="m_-1052007887004736261m_1757997921480475058m_4252802314814537380m_-4917528076557377506m_-6157320070498995471gmail-m_1263097075174002923gmail-il">valedictorian</span>
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. </span><span style="font-family:"times new roman",serif;font-size:12pt">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.</span><b><br>
</b><br>
______________________________<wbr>_________<br>
<b><br>
Karl Reyes<br>
Major GPA
3.87, SDSU GPA
3.93<br>
</b></div>
<div><b>Mechanical
Engineering <br>
</b></div>
<div><br>
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.
<p>______________________________<wbr>___________<b><br>
<br>
Stephen West <br>
Major GPA
3.97, SDSU GPA
3.94</b><b><br>
Electrical
Engineering </b><br>
</p>
<div><span style="font-size:12.8px">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.
<br>
</span></div>
<br>
______________________________<wbr>____________<br>
<br>
<br>
</div>
<div>Once
again, the
deadline to
vote is this
Wednesday,
April 12, at
noon. <br>
<br>
</div>
<div>Best
regards, <br>
<br clear="all">
<div>
<div class="m_-1052007887004736261m_1757997921480475058m_4252802314814537380m_-4917528076557377506m_-6157320070498995471gmail-m_1263097075174002923gmail_signature">
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<div dir="ltr">
<div><span style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif"><font size="2"><span style="color:rgb(7,55,99)"><b>Donovan Geiger, MBA</b></span><br style="color:rgb(153,0,0)">
<span style="color:rgb(0,0,0)">Student
Affairs</span>
Officer<br style="color:rgb(0,0,0)">
<span style="color:rgb(0,0,0)">College
of Engineering</span><br style="color:rgb(0,0,0)">
</font></span><span style="color:rgb(102,51,0)"><span style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif"><font size="2"><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0)">San Diego State University</span><br style="color:rgb(0,0,0)">
<span style="color:rgb(0,0,0)"><a href="tel:%28619%29%20594-6079" value="+16195946079" target="_blank">619.594.6079</a></span></font></span><br>
<br style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0)">
</span><br>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</blockquote>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<br>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<br>
______________________________<wbr>_________________<br>
Faculty mailing list<br>
<a href="mailto:Faculty@engineering.sdsu.edu" target="_blank">Faculty@engineering.sdsu.edu</a><br>
<a href="http://engineering.sdsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/faculty" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">http://engineering.sdsu.edu/ma<wbr>ilman/listinfo/faculty</a><br>
<br>
</blockquote>
</div>
<span class="m_-1052007887004736261m_1757997921480475058HOEnZb"><font color="#888888"><br>
<br clear="all">
<br>
-- <br>
<div class="m_-1052007887004736261m_1757997921480475058m_4252802314814537380gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature">Andrew
Y. J. Szeto, Ph.D., P.E.<br>
Professor and IEEE Fellow<br>
Dept. of Electrical & Computer
Engineering<br>
San Diego State University<br>
5500 Campanile Drive MC 1309<br>
San Diego, CA. 92182-1309<br>
<a href="tel:%28619%29%20594-5723" value="+16195945723" target="_blank">619-594-5723</a>
- voice <a href="tel:%28619%29%20594-2654" value="+16195942654" target="_blank">619-594-2654</a>
- FAX<br>
</div>
</font></span></div>
</blockquote>
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</div>
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<br>
<fieldset class="m_-1052007887004736261m_1757997921480475058mimeAttachmentHeader"></fieldset>
<br>
<pre>______________________________<wbr>_________________
Faculty mailing list
<a class="m_-1052007887004736261m_1757997921480475058moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:Faculty@engineering.sdsu.edu" target="_blank">Faculty@engineering.sdsu.edu</a>
<a class="m_-1052007887004736261m_1757997921480475058moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://engineering.sdsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/faculty" target="_blank">http://engineering.sdsu.edu/ma<wbr>ilman/listinfo/faculty</a>
</pre>
</blockquote>
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