Buckeye Engineers ready to engage community as Sesquicentennial Scholars

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To honor The Ohio State University’s historic 150-year milestone, the Sesquicentennial Student Scholar Leadership Program has been established to develop current students into future leaders. Five exceptional students from the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering are among the 150 from across the university system who have been selected to participate in this distinguished program.

Vijay SankarTerra ForsytheRebekah KoehnRichie Wainio and Maxwell Weber will build the skills and fortitude essential to becoming engaged citizens through leadership development and ambassador opportunities. Scholars receive $2,500 for the first year of the program, and the scholarships are renewable for up to six additional semesters or completion of their current degree program, whichever comes first.

 

Maxwell Weber
Maxwell Weber
Vijay Sankar
Vijay Sankar

“Being a Sesquicentennial Scholar to me means being able to represent all the aspects of The Ohio State University that have made it such a great place of learning for 150 years,” commented Maxwell Weber, an undergraduate mechanical engineering student.

Graduate student and mechanical engineering major Vijay Sankar agrees. “[The program] connects me with fellow Buckeyes from diverse educational and cultural backgrounds, endowing me with broader perspectives on leadership, compassion and engagement, all of which contribute to a holistic educational experience.”

According to the university’s news release, beyond financial support, sesquicentennial scholars will receive leadership training and professional development support, and serve as sesquicentennial ambassadors at programs and events.

“I am very grateful to be able to represent Ohio State and serve as an ambassador for this great school,” commented undergraduate mechanical engineering student Richie Wainio.

Graduate Fellow Rebekah Koehn is grateful for the opportunity to give back to a community that she has benefited from so much.

 

Richie Wainio
Richie Wainio
Rebecca Koehn
Rebecca Koehn

“The support I received even as a prospective student showed me that there was something different about this place: Buckeyes support each other,” she said. “I knew that I wanted to be a part of a community like that, and I am so excited and honored to be able to support and celebrate this community through the Sesquicentennial Scholars program.”

While the program supports near-term objectives, it also fosters a lifelong commitment to leadership and service.

Weber recognizes “all of the opportunities and benefits Ohio State provides its students, faculty, alumni and the community,” and he hopes to “apply these lessons to my own career goals, so that I may become an engineer that makes a difference in the world.”

These Buckeye Engineers join a diverse group of students ready to enhance the university’s communities. They come from five continents, nine countries, 22 states in the U.S. and 42 counties across Ohio and represent every campus and college in the university.

Excerpts from Ohio State News.

Written by Holly Henley, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Categories: AwardsStudents