By: Eli Freund, Editorial Communications Manager, UConn School of Engineering

Thanks to the generosity of several organizations, associations, and individuals, 256 undergraduate students in the School of Engineering were awarded a total of over $490,000 in scholarship funds, averaging nearly $2,000 per student.

On October 10, those student awardees gathered together, shoulder-to-shoulder with their donors, to celebrate, thank them, and bask in the honor of their achievements.

Kazem Kazerounian, dean of the School of Engineering, took a moment in the beginning to applaud the students for all the hard work that led to their scholarships, but also took a moment to thank the donors, and put their donations into perspective.

“The School of Engineering takes pride in being a critical component in workforce development in the state of Connecticut,” Kazerounian said. “Your investment in this school is an investment in a state we are all so proud of.” 

This year, some of organizations and companies that contributed to the $490,000 included: Eversource Energy, General Electric, Sikorsky, Cantor Colburn LLC, The Hubbell Foundation, The Connecticut Energy Foundation, Synchrony Financial, United Technologies Corporation, and many others.

Julia Opramolla ’21, a materials science & engineering student, and one of the recipients of the 2019 Pratt and Whitney BRIDGE Scholarships, talked about what the scholarship funds meant to her and her future.

“For me personally, I’m grateful that my scholarships have allowed me to work minimal hours and focus more on my academics and fulfilling hobbies,” Opramolla said. “Working fewer hours gives me and others the time to volunteer at various School of Engineering outreach events and to actively participate in mentoring programs for underrepresented engineering students.”

On the other side of the scholarship, donor and alumna Jeanine Armstrong ’87, who is Vice President at Milone & Macbroom, Inc., spoke about her time as a student and the importance of giving back to a School which is increasing its female engineering population:

“I was looking the other night at all the young women receiving scholarships tonight, and it caused me to look back at my civil engineering graduating class,” Gouin said. “When I looked back at my graduating class, there were two women–and one of them was me. So, it’s great to see all of your faces out there.” 

Closing the ceremony, Caitlin Krouse ’09 (CLAS), director of alumni relations, told students to bask in their present, but look to their future.

“Our students have seen in themselves the ability to change the world and make things work better,” Krouse said. “To our scholars tonight, keep up the great work. We have already seen the amazing things you have done, and we cannot wait to see what you do next.”

For a full listing of scholarships and recipients, please click here.