Tina Hilding, communications coordinator, College of Engineering and Architecture, (509) 335-5095, thilding@wsu.edu

PULLMAN, Wash. - The Washington State University College of Engineering and Architecture announced the names of outstanding students at its annual convocation ceremony last week:

 

Outstanding Sophomore: Sydnee Dieckman, a civil engineering major from Olympia, Washington, has maintained a 4.0 GPA while working toward a double minor in Japanese and mathematics. She was ranked first in her high school class and is a National Merit Scholar and a Washington Scholar. She was also named last year’s outstanding sophomore-level Japanese student and outstanding sophomore civil engineering student. While she maintains stellar grades, Dieckmanis also active in several extra-curricular activities, including WSU’s residence hall government and the student chapter of the Society of Women Engineers.  She also performs with the WSU Wind Ensemble and several other campus music groups. During school breaks, she is a member of the White Pass Volunteer Ski Patrol. During the summer of 2011, she participated in a study abroad program in Japan and hopes to return there when she begins her engineering career.

 

Outstanding Junior: Originally from Stanwood, Washington, Civil Engineering Student Gage Lee Pepin has maintained a 4.0 GPA. He is a Boeing Scholar and was last year’s Outstanding Sophomore for the College of Engineering and Architecture. He’s active in the WSU community, where he is a peer mentor for the Innovation in Design (Engineering 120) course and assists students who are starting their engineering studies. He’s recording secretary for the WSU chapter of Tau Beta Pi and has also been active in the WSU student chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers. He participates in and organizes many volunteer activities for these groups, such as stream cleanups, food drives, and activities to introduce young people to engineering. In his spare time, he is a DJ for KZUU 90.7 FM and participates in recreational sports. 

 

Outstanding Senior: Originally from Bonney Lake, Washington, Civil Engineering Student Heather Dewitz has maintained a 4.0 GPA while also pursuing minors in mathematics and Spanish. A member of the WSU Honors College, she serves as an officer in the WSU student chapter of the Society of Women Engineers, Tau Beta Pi, and the College of Engineering and Architecture Coordinating Council. She also served on the Global Case Study Competition planning committee through the Office of International Programs. Dewitz participated in a study abroad program in Lima Peru during the summer of 2010. She has received numerous awards, including Distinguished Regents Scholar, Washington Scholar, last year’s outstanding junior for the College of Engineering and Architecture, and outstanding first-year Spanish student in 2009. During her time at WSU, she helped to plan the first-ever WSU Global Case Study competition, which served to encourage WSU students from across campus to solve a global issue. She has been a peer mentor for Engineering 120, where she encouraged prospective engineering students and helped them develop some of the basic skills they need to be successful in engineering. As a SWE officer, she organized and participated in activities that target youth in elementary and middle school to encourage their interest in engineering. This summer, she was selected to work as an intern for the Boeing Company.

 

Outstanding Teaching Assistant: Bryant Hawthorne. Originally from Vancouver, Washington, Hawthorne, a graduate student in mechanical engineering, has been a teaching assistant in a several engineering courses, including Innovation in Design (engineering 120), Fundamentals of Thermodynamics (ME301), Machine Design (ME 414), and Dynamic Systems (ME 348).  Hawthorne successfully conducted recitation sessions that were greatly appreciated by the students. He was also prompt with grading – "and there was a lot of it,’’ wrote his nominator. In one class, for instance, 85 students would each turn in approximately 5-6 pages per assignment three times per week for a total of 255 homework assignments and around 1500 pages of homework per week. In spite of the workload, Hawthorne managed to keep up with grading, returning assignments during the next class period. The experience, he wrote, taught him the pitfalls of procrastination. In support of Hawthorne’s nomination, one student wrote that he was "by far the best TA I have had in my five years here at WSU.’’