I decided it would be a great opportunity to introduce, congratulate, and thank the inaugural Self Engineering Alumni Board. These individuals have graciously volunteered their time and energy to continue to develop the SELF program.
Mary Adams Camille Fittell Greg Loving Sarah Elizabeth McCandless Steven Qiu Drew Robinson Gelareh Samandi I am confident that with your support the SEA Board will have a lasting impact on the SELF Program and the School of Engineering as a whole. You are all invited to the first meeting which is set for Friday, April 25th at 1 PM in the Dean’s conference room. The Ovation Banquet follows that evening at Maceli’s at 6:30 PM to honor and welcome the graduating SELF fellows as alumni. - Brian Blackwell, '11 If you would like to follow their travels, you can do so several ways: their website (http://tinyurl.com/indiaimpact), Twitter (http://twitter.com/TheIndiaImpact), and Facebook (http://facebook.com/634107423272807).
From The University of Kansas School of Engineering Website:
An expanded study abroad opportunity could soon be available to engineering students at the University of Kansas. As part of their capstone experience, seniors in the SELF Engineering Leadership Fellows Program will travel in August to four cities in India where they will visit several universities in hopes of finding the right academic match for Jayhawk engineers. “We will meet with faculty at these colleges and evaluate course materials to see what our program and our students can offer them and how we could benefit from the experience,” said Kathryn Scherich, Emporia, a senior in chemical engineering and project leader of the SELF capstone experience, known as The India Impact. The vision is for engineering students to spend two to three weeks in India over winter break, with an accompanying semester-long course at KU. “The Fellows would like this new course and study abroad program to fulfill the Global Awareness requirement of the new KU Core curriculum, which every engineering student must complete to graduate,” said Heidie Grove-Tosaka, SELF program director. Grove-Tosaka is one of two staff members from the School of Engineering traveling with the 15 seniors in the SELF Program. The group leaves Aug. 10 for the 14-day trip to India that will take them to the cities of Thiruvananthapuram, Alappuzha, Kochi and Bangalore. Their university visits include the Asian School of Business, Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology, Rajagiri School of Engineering and Technology, and IBS Business School. The group also will be accompanied by Kissan Joseph, associate professor in the School of Business, who leads a similar study abroad program between the Asian School of Business in Thiruvananthapuram and KU, and Michael Detamore, KU professor of chemical and petroleum engineering, who may serve as the lead instructor on the potential course that will be paired with the School of Engineering study abroad winter program. “We know global learning is important, and companies are certainly placing a greater emphasis on it,” said Scherich. “We’re hoping students will have study abroad opportunities they wouldn’t otherwise while fulfilling a credit requirement.” The SELF Fellows also will visit several businesses during their time in India, including Hindustan Lifecare, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of women’s health care products, and Infosys, a multinational provider of business consulting, information technology, software engineering and outsourcing services. They will also visit Google and Sabre Holdings in Bangalore. The group will experience Indian culture – the trip coincides with the country’s Independence Day on Aug. 15. The Fellows will also lead a discussion in Thiruvananthapuram about the history of Independence Day in the United States. The Fellows raised more than $60,000 to make the trip a reality. “Without our donors, none of this would be possible,” Scherich said. “We’re very thankful for all of their support. It really shows people care about global learning and that this is a valuable experience for college students today.” The trip sponsors are Bob and Susie Peebler, ION Geophysical Corporation; Scott and Betsy Coons; Allyn and Jill Risley; Linda and Russ Sims, ExxonMobil; the KU Honors Program; Pat and Brenda Oenbring; Frank and Barbara Becker; Mike and Joyce Shinn, the GE Foundation; Don and Kathleen Faught, Michael Branicky; Phil and Patricia Anderson; Stan and Phyllis Rolfe; and JoAnn Browning and Adolfo Matamoros. Follow the SELF students on their trip by clicking on the India Impact website. The SELF Alumni Group has some exciting new ideas for this fall. Interested in helping? Let us know. We can't share the details at this point, but we're working on putting together some fun student-alumni connections for this fall semester. Contact Joey at [email protected] if you're interested in learning more!
The man behind the creation of the SELF Program, Al Self, was featured in the latest edition of KU Giving, a publication by KU Endowment. Read both about Mr. Self as well as the program here.
If you have not already, be sure to check out the alumni Connections pieces. They are written by a different SELF Alum each month who is nominated to write about their experiences and pay-it-forward advice. Last month's (great) author was Matthew Williams, a 2012 graduate and current graduate student at the University of Illinois; May's author is 2012 SELF graduate Greg Loving, a chemical engineering alum who is now working in energy out of Houston, Texas. You can read all the posts on our Connections page.
Save the Date! The SELF 2013 Ovation Banquet is set for 6:30pm at Maceli's at 1031 New Hampshire in Lawrence. Invitations have been sent with RSVP by April 19th.
Prominent donor and the namesake behind the SELF Engineering Leadership Fellow Program passed away Sunday at the age of 91. On behalf of the SELF Alumni, we would like to send out our heartfelt thanks, thoughts, and prayers to the Self Family. The gifts and opportunities that both Al and Lila bestowed upon the University of Kansas as well as the students is truly immeasureable. Many of the projects, trips, and involvements that have shaped many of our careers and lives were made possible only through the generosity of Al and Lila Self. He was truly a successful leader, forward thinker, proud Kansan and inspiration for so many of us. He will be missed.
A memorial service for Mr. Self will take place at 10 a.m. January 26th at Rumsey-Yost Funeral Home, 601 Indiana Street in Lawrence. Self is feature in the Lawrence Journal-World, KU Endowment Article, KSHB News, and the Chicago Tribune. |