Glen H. Hiner Dean Pedro Mago presents checks to the WVU student organizations
American Institute of Chemical Engineers and American Society of Civil Engineers. First photo left to right: Pedro Mago, Rebecca Erwin, Kevin Donnelly and Ryan
Sigler. Second photo left to right: Pedro Mago, Nishil (Nishilkumar) Zalavadia, Israel
Torres and Ryan Sigler (WVU Photos/Paige Nesbit)
The
West Virginia University chapters of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers
(AIChE) and American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) were announced the winners
of the Statler College Day of Giving Student Organization Challenge.
Story by Adrianne Uphold,
Multi-Media Specialist
Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources
MORGANTOWN, W.Va.—
AIChE was awarded $1,500 for raising $165, the highest amount of money raised from
a student organization. AIChE was awarded another $1,500 for a total of $3,000
for tying with ASCE with 69 interactions from their ambassador link.
Students from AIChE promoted the Day of Giving challenge through an email announcement
to
chemical engineering faculty and students, social media posts and word of mouth
within classes and with the undergraduate student lounge, said Rebecca Erwin, AIChE
president.
“It was important to our group to participate in this challenge as we have been working
to increase our involvement within Statler,” Erwin said. “We felt compelled to
give back to Statler as the support we have received through both the Student Advisory
Council and the chemical engineering department has been pivotal in career development
for numerous students, especially through conference funding.”
Erwin, a chemical engineering major who will graduate in May 2022, served as an ambassador
for AIChE. Other AIChE officers help spread the message including chemical engineering
majors Jenna Vito, vice president ’22; Dean Sweeney, secretary ’23; Jackie Arnold,
outreach coordinator ’22; Kevin Donnelly, K-12 outreach chair ’22; Grace Cunningham,
social media chair ’23; and Alyssa Mize, treasurer ’25.
The funding will help AIChE in the future through investments in outreach and supporting
students in attending the AIChE annual student conference, promoting involvement
in research poster competitions and team project competitions such as Chem-E-Car
and ChemE Cube.
“It was so exciting and surprising to find out that we won both Day of Giving competitions,”
Erwin said. “It validated our growth in student involvement this year, as well
as the strength of our chemical engineering community, between both students and
faculty. I would like to sincerely thank Dean Mago for this generous award. This
funding will help our organization grow immensely.”
ASCE tied with AIChE with 69 interactions from their ambassador link. Nishil (Nishilkumar) Zalavadia,
a
civil engineering major and ASCE’s social media coordinator, served as the
ambassador for ASCE and promoted the Day of Giving Challenge through social media
and spreading the word by mouth to his peers.
“This competition was important for ASCE because our members dedicate endless effort
and contributions to not only our organization, but to the Statler College as a
whole through volunteer work, recruitment and keeping each of our peers afloat,”
Zalavadia said. “We would like to give back to our members and community through
social events and recreational activities.”
Zalavadia said ASCE plans to use the prize money to compete in the annual ASCE Concrete
Canoe Competition, a unique challenge and opportunity for students to showcase
their practical applications of engineering principles they learned in the classroom
to design and build a 20-foot-long canoe out of concrete. The event challenges
students’ knowledge, creativity and stamina, while showcasing the versatility and
durability of concrete as a building material.
“We will invest in enhanced materials to construct a winning canoe at next year's
competition,” Zalavadia said. “We will also allocate funds to our meetings and
hopefully plan sight visits so our members can get a better insight as to what
it's like to be a civil engineer.”
Seeing the number of student organizations participating in the Statler College Day
of Giving was exhilarating, said Tammy Cavarretta, Executive Director of Development.
“Dean Mago has made student organization support one of his priorities for raising
funds,” Cavarretta said. “Providing prizes to the student organizations that
raised the most donations and had the most clicks, encouraged student organization
ambassadors to participate, compete, and play a role in philanthropy for the
college—hopefully, will inspire the students will make his/her own contribution
on the Day of Giving after graduation.”
-WVU-
au/03/30/22
Contact: Paige Nesbit
Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources
304.293.4135, Paige Nesbit
For more information on news and events in the West Virginia University Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources, contact our Marketing and Communications office:
Email: EngineeringWV@mail.wvu.edu
Phone: 304-293-4135