Colorado School of Mines celebrates Spring 2021 Undergraduate Commencement

Colorado School of Mines celebrated its Spring 2021 Undergraduate Commencement on May 14, conferring a total of 884 bachelor’s degrees during two outdoor ceremonies held at Marv Kay Stadium.

The ceremonies are the first in-person commencement celebrations Mines has held for undergraduates in a year. Mines also held an in-person ceremony for PhD and master's students on Thursday, May 13 and Class of 2020 graduates are being welcomed back to campus for an in-person ceremony on Saturday, May 15. All of the latest COVID-19 health and safety protocols for graduations were in place at all of the ceremonies.

Watch the full ceremonies, download the official Commencement program and join the ongoing celebration on social media at commencement.mines.edu.

SPRING 2021 OUTSTANDING GRADUATING SENIORS

The Spring 2021 Outstanding Graduating Seniors – chosen by faculty and staff and each representing a different academic major – were honored for their high scholastic achievement and on-campus engagement.

 

Riley Morris, Mining Engineering

Morris, from Milford, Michigan, has accepted a position with Vulcan Materials in California and hopes to eventually return to Mines to pursue a graduate degree.

 

 

Alex Wood, Civil Engineering

Wood, from Colorado Springs, will return to Mines in the fall to pursue a master’s degree in civil engineering with an emphasis in structural engineering.

 

Shannon Keohane, Environmental Engineering

Keohane, from Davidson, North Carolina, plans to continue at Mines to work in the Higgins Research Group, fully establish the Mines Greenhouse and gain further experience at the intersection of environmental engineering and horticultural science.

 

 

Melina Endsley, Metallurgical and Materials Engineering

Endsley, from Delaware, Ohio, will pursue a PhD in materials science at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

 

 

 

Spencer Hutchinson, Electrical Engineering

Hutchinson, from Portland, Oregon, will complete an internship at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and then plans to pursue a PhD in electrical engineering at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

 

 

Joshua Ebner, Geology and Geological Engineering

Ebner, from Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, will complete an internship with Freeport-McMoRan in Tucson, Arizona, before returning to Mines to pursue a master’s degree in economic geology and mineral exploration.

 

 

Sydney Marchando, Chemical Engineering

Marchando, from Highlands Ranch, will pursue a master’s degree in biomedical engineering at Boston University.

 

 

 

 

Tyler Pritchard, Mechanical Engineering

Pritchard, from Edmonds, Washington, will complete an internship at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and then will pursue a joint master’s degree in energy engineering at the Budapest University of Technology and Economics and IMT Atlantique.

 

 

Leonardo Ruelas, Petroleum Engineering

Ruelas, from Laveen, Arizona, will work as an engineer at ExxonMobil.

 

 

 

Victoria (Tori) Marbois, Computational and Applied Mathematics

Marbois, from Glendale, Arizona, has accepted a position at ActBlue as a DevOps engineer.

 

 

 

Meera Duggal, Statistics

Duggal, from Downers Grove, Illinois, will pursue a master’s degree in statistics at the University of California, Berkeley.

 

 

 

David Churchwell, Geophysics

Churchwell, from New Braunfels, Texas, will pursue a master’s degree in geophysics at Mines.

 

 

Olivia Bird, Chemistry

Bird, from Westminster, will pursue a PhD in physical chemistry at the University of Colorado Boulder.

 

 

 

Jackson Kuklin, Physics

Kuklin, from Atlanta, Georgia, will pursue a PhD at the University of California, Los Angeles.

 

 

 

 

Joseph Lovato, Computer Science

Lovato, from Westminster, will return to Mines to pursue a master’s degree in computer science.

 

 

 

Caleb Workman, Economics and Business

Workman, from Colorado Springs, will be commissioning into the U.S. Army as a second lieutenant in the Military Intelligence Corps at Schofield Barracks in Hawaii.

 

 

 

Daniel Stewart Celvi, Engineering, Design & Society

Celvi, from Schaumburg, Illinois, is balancing a few career opportunities and looking forward to finding the best fit.

 

 

OTHER UNDERGRADUATE AWARDS AND HONORS

The Alan Kissock Award is awarded to the graduating seniors in metallurgical and materials engineering, acknowledging creativity in metallurgy: Lauren Drew, Melina Endsley, Desmond Mills, Ash Pera and Grace Rome.

The American Institute of Chemists Award honors outstanding seniors, post-baccalaureate and post-doctoral students majoring in chemistry, chemical engineering or biochemistry. The awards are given in recognition of a demonstrated ability, leadership and professional promise. Candidates are chosen and nominated by their faculty members: Logan Sewall

The C.N. Bell, 1906, Award, provided for by Mr. Bell, is a Brunton transit, awarded in mining for completing a course in mining and showing the most progress in schoolwork during the entire period for which the course is given: Benjamin Dogonniuck

The Cecil H. Green Award is given to the graduating senior in geophysical engineering who, in the opinion of the Department of Geophysics, has the highest attainment in the combination of scholastic achievement, personality and integrity: Sigourney Burch

The Clark B. Carpenter Award is presented to the graduating seniors in mining or metallurgy who, in the opinion of the senior students in mining and metallurgy and the professors in charge of the respective departments, are the most deserving of this award: Allyson Cameron, Matthew Tabor and Daniel Wright

The Colorado Engineering Council Awards are presented for excellence in scholarship, high integrity and general engineering ability: Rachel Carey, John Marchbanks and Emily Rotert

The Distinguished Military Graduate Award is the highest national award presented to graduating seniors in ROTC classes. Primarily based on academic and physical performance with U.S. Army standards, these graduates rank in the top 20 percent of Army ROTC graduates nationwide: Benjamin Dogonniuck, Justin Stadelmaier and Caleb Workman.

The Dwight D. Eisenhower Award, provided by Mr. and Mrs. R. “Ike” Downing, is given to an outstanding ROTC cadet based on exemplary leadership within the Corps of Cadets and academic excellence in military science: Caleb Workman

Students receiving a Distinction for Leadership in Humanitarian Engineering are recognized for their dedication to humanitarian engineering values and principles in both coursework and co-curricular activities: Madison Berry, Julia Brown, Wyatt Eliison, Raven Herrera-Williams and Julianna Valenzuela

The Emeritus Faculty Undergraduate Award is presented to an exceptional student as chosen by emeritus faculty in the Department of Mechanical Engineering: Taylor Duffey

The Faculty Choice Award in Chemistry is given to a top graduating senior who helped improve chemistry at Mines: Frank Schrama

The Faculty Choice Award in Computer Science is given to a top graduating senior who helped improve computer science at Mines: Clare Buntrock

The George T. Merideth Award, established in 2012 by Keith A. ’52 and Mary Ann Kvenvolden to carry forward the legacy of former Mines Geophysics Professor George T. Merideth, is presented to outstanding graduating geophysics students who have demonstrated academic excellence, community involvement and potential for leadership in earth science engineering: Joseph Stitt

The George R. Pickett Memorial Award is presented on the basis of demonstrated interest and accomplishments in the study of borehole geophysics: Ana Garcia-Ceballos

The Harrison L. Hays, 1931, Award is presented in chemical and petroleum refining for demonstrating scholarship, personality and integrity of character and the general potentialities of a successful industrial career: Emily Rotert and Christopher Waid

The Henry W. Kaanta, 1915, Award is presented for the outstanding paper on a laboratory procedure or experimental process written by a graduating senior majoring in extractive metallurgy or mineral processing: Heather Hoffman

The H.G. Washburn Award is presented in mining for good scholastic record and active participation in athletics: Weston Hunt

The Honorable D.W. Brunton Award, provided for by Mr. Brunton, is awarded for meritorious work in mining: Paige Christie

Hutchinson Award: Kyle Wikowsky

The John C. Hollister Award is presented to the most deserving student in geophysics and is not based solely on academic performance: Hannah Haugen

The John Steel Commemorative Service Award is given to one graduating senior that has displayed outstanding service to the Department of Mechanical Engineering: Connor Smith

The Mary & Charles Cavanaugh Award, presented in metallurgy, is determined by scholarship, professional activity and participation in school activities: Jillian Rothstein

The McIver-Metallurgical and Materials Engineering Faculty Award is presented to a graduating senior who, by contribution to campus life and academic achievement, has demonstrated those characteristics of a well-rounded graduate that Mines aspires to develop in its students: Joseph Protiva

The Mining Engineering Meritorious Service Award is given to one graduating senior that has displayed outstanding service to the Department of Mining Engineering: Martina Gilbert

The Neal J. Harr Memorial Outstanding Student Award, provided by the Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists, is presented for scholastic excellence in the study of geology with the aim of encouraging future endeavors in the earth sciences: Shahad Aldhamin

The Old Timers’ Club Award is presented to the graduating senior who has shown high academic standing in coal mining engineering and potential for the coal industry: Jaume Martinez Calvo

The Outstanding Senior Research Award in Chemistry is awarded to a student who demonstrates superior performance and creativity in undergraduate research: Cierra Gladfelter

The Outstanding Service Award in Chemistry is awarded to a student who has demonstrated outstanding service to the Department of Chemistry: Joseph Fernandez

The Outstanding Student Service Award is presented to the students who, outside and above their academic role, vigorously participated in activities or projects for the greater benefit of their peers and community to promote excellence and well-being: Ryan Kinder and Malaynah (Lala) Palaroan

T.K. Young Geophysics Leadership Award: Hannah Haugen

The Outstanding Undergraduate Research Award in Computer Science is awarded to a student who demonstrates superior performance and creativity in undergraduate research: Evan Mele

The Pearson Potential Award is given to students in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering who have shown emerging leadership and engineering potential: Jacob Resendez

The Physics Faculty Distinguished Graduate Award is presented by the faculty of the department to graduating seniors with exceptionally high academic achievement in physics: Erik Benson, Haley Cole, Seifeldin Dabbour, Khloe Downie and Curtis Harrison

The President’s Senior Scholar Athlete Award is presented to one graduating female and male athlete with a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or higher, has lettered in a sport during their senior year and has demonstrated leadership qualities of an exemplary student-athlete: Sydney Marchando, Softball and Toby Scoles, Baseball

The Professor Everett Award, provided by Frank Ausanka ’42, in honor of James R. Everett, is presented to a graduating senior in mathematics who demonstrates scholarship, leadership, community service and the potential for the innovative application of mathematics to mineral engineering: James (Kael) Kleckner

The Robert A. Baxter Award is presented for meritorious work in chemistry: Michael Harget

The Ryan Sayers Memorial Award recognizes outstanding academic achievements of a graduating student in engineering physics and/or applied mathematics and statistics, who has performed significant research: Meera Duggal

The Selim Memorial Scholarship is presented by the faculty of the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering to a graduating student who promises great success in graduate school: Kameron Liao and Cecilia Nepple

The Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration (SME) Student Chapter President Award is given to the chapter’s president for their hard work and involvement in the Mining Engineering Department: Chloe Poindexter

The William D. Waltman Award 1899 is presented to the graduating seniors who have consistently demonstrated the utmost integrity, scholarship and citizenship in and outside of the classroom throughout their collegiate career: Sydney Marchando

MILITARY COMMISSIONS

The following students will be commissioned as second lieutenants in the United States Army:

• Timothy Clements, electrical engineering
• Benjamin Dogonniuck, mining engineering
• Jacob Kerkhoff, geological engineering
• Ryan Kinder, mechanical engineering
• Tanner Plank, mining engineering
• Justin Stadelmaier, engineering physics
• Amelia Stein, environmental engineering
• Caleb Workman, economics
• Anthony Zorovic, computer science

The following students will be commissioned as second lieutenants in the United States Air Force:

• Joyce Kruger, mechanical engineering
• Chelsea Pearson, mechanical engineering
• Dane Pham, computer science
• Isaiah Warnick, mechanical engineering