Academics

Katie Kirsch to receive Penn State Alumni Association's recent alumna award

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Mechanical engineering graduate Katie Kirsch has been named the 2014 recipient of the Penn State Alumni Association's (PSAA) Joan M. McLane Recent Alumna Award.

The award recognizes a recent alumna or alumnus who has provided exemplary volunteer service to the PSAA. Eligibility is limited to individuals who have graduated from the University within the last 10 years.

Kirsch received her bachelor's and master's degrees in mechanical engineering in 2011 and 2013, respectively.

She is a member of the Penn State Engineering Alumni Society (PSEAS) and served on the society's 2012 committee to plan the college's first ever all-class alumni tailgate and chaired the silent auction committee, which raised funds for the PSEAS Scholarship.

Kirsch has represented PSEAS at the annual senior send-off event in the Hintz Family Alumni Center and at various networking events.

Mike Erdman, the Walter L. Robb Director of Engineering Leadership Development, said, "In my role as vice president of PSEAS, I have had the great pleasure of working with Katie. She epitomizes the tenets of what it means to be a world-class engineer."

An alumna of the Engineering Ambassadors (EA) program, Kirsch was instrumental in establishing the Engineering Ambassador Alumni Association (EAAA). She served on the first EAAA executive board and she mentors current EA students.

Melissa Marshall, director of the EA program, praised Kirsch, saying, "Through sharing her personal experiences, Katie has had a very positive impact on Ambassadors. I have been so impressed in my observations of how other students look up to her as a role model."

Kirsch is a mechanical engineering doctoral candidate working in the Experimental and Computational Convection Laboratory at Penn State.

She will receive her award at the PSAA Annual Volunteer Awards Dinner during the fall Alumni Council meeting on Oct. 24.

Last Updated May 28, 2014