DEARBORN, Mich., Aug. 15, 2006 — The Society of Manufacturing Engineering (SME) Education Foundation has announced that two of its scholarship award winners recently graduated with honors (May, 2006) from Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) in Rochester, N.Y. Joshua Dennie and Sarah Ballard both earned bachelor of science and master of science degrees in industrial and systems engineering from RIT and were members of the university’s honors program.

Dennie received the E. Wayne Kay Scholarship Award from the SME Education Foundation and Ballard received the Lucille B. Kaufman Women’s Scholarship Award. In addition, both students also were awarded the Albert E. Wischmeyer Memorial Scholarship. Dennie, who graduated with highest honors and a perfect 4.0 GPA, said the scholarships provided an important source of inspiration to perform his best.

“What’s really nice about the SME Education Foundation scholarships is that students can re-apply for them year after year,” Dennie said. “This was a huge motivator for me to stay focused and earn good grades so I would have the opportunity to apply for them again the following year.”

Ballard, who graduated with high honors and a 3.95 GPA, said the scholarships also played an important role in her academic success.

“Just knowing these scholarships were available provided a tremendous source of motivation and encouragement,” Ballard said. “You always have in the back of your mind that you want to be able to apply for scholarships in the future so it’s motivation to do well and to get yourself involved in as many activities as you can.”

Dennie recently accepted a position as supply chain manager at Optimax Systems, Inc., a leading manufacturer of precision optics based in Ontario, NY. Ballard plans to attend the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor to pursue a PhD. in the university’s industrial and operations engineering program. After that, she plans to stay in academia and teach.

“I had professors who had such a profound impact on me,” Ballard said. “I’ll consider myself successful if I can have that same impact on younger students.”

Media Contact:
Theresa Skillrud
Padilla Speer Beardsley, Inc.
(612) 455-1753

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No. 20060029

If you have any questions or comments, please contact the SME Education Foundation by phone (313) 425-3300, e-mail foundation@sme.org, or Fax: (313) 425-3411