Colorado School of Mines celebrated its Spring 2019 Undergraduate Commencement on May 10, conferring a total of 932 bachelor’s degrees during three ceremonies at Lockridge Arena.
Kiewit CEO Bruce Grewcock ’76 – one of the foremost leaders shaping our nation’s infrastructure – gave the keynote address during the ceremony.
The Spring 2019 Outstanding Graduating Seniors, each representing a different academic major, were also honored for their scholastic achievement and involvement in departmental and school activities:
Ashlyn Hohenshelt, Mining Engineering
Hohenshelt, from Rockwall, Texas, will attend graduate school in the Mineral and Energy Economics program at Mines.
Favorite Mines memory: “My favorite Mines memory will always be E-Days. From the cardboard boat race, field day, ore cart pull and the fireworks, I have enjoyed each and every event.”
Jared Phillips, Civil Engineering
Phillips, from Monte Vista, Colorado, plans to work and go to graduate school for a master’s degree in structural engineering.
Favorite Mines memory: “Meeting new people and learning new things.”
Evelyn Lundeen, Environmental Engineering
Lundeen, from Gig Harbor, Washington, will join the environmental consulting firm Maul Foster & Alongi as a staff engineer in Seattle.
Favorite Mines memory: “My favorite memory at Mines was participating in the cardboard boat race with my water polo teammates during my sophomore year. Our team (the Aquaholics) won best engineered.”
Christina Breeze, Metallurgical and Materials Engineering
Breeze, from Cherry Hills Village, Colorado, will attend the University of Wisconsin-Madison to attain a Master of Science in medical physics. She hopes to apply both her background in materials engineering and future in medical physics to pioneer advancements in medical technologies.
Favorite Mines memory: “I will never forget the fun times I had with the adventure leadership community during my freshman year.”
Caroline Fuschino, Electrical Engineering
Fuschino, from Highlands Ranch, Colorado, has accepted a job with Texas Instruments as a product marketing engineer, where she will design promotional materials for semiconductor chips, monitor sales and determine how to grow profits.
Favorite Mines memory: “My favorite memory was studying abroad in Rome. I got to experience local customs, eat incredible food and travel almost every weekend.”
Aaron Engers, Geological Engineering
Engers, from Arvada, Colorado, plans to complete a master’s degree in hydrology at Mines before pursuing a job as a hydrogeologist.
Favorite Mines memory: “Geology and Geological Engineering Field Camp was a blast.”
Daniel Langemann, Chemical Engineering
Langemann, from Littleton, Colorado, plans to travel in southwest Europe before beginning engineering work with Noble Energy in northern Colorado.
Favorite Mines memory: “My favorite memory was during a fall break trip to Vietnam with another Mines student. During our journey through a natural reserve, we zipped around towering limestone karsts on our motorbikes under a full moon.”
Caelyn Rittenhouse, Chemical and Biological Engineering
Rittenhouse, from Elizabeth, Colorado, will stay at Mines to complete a master’s degree in engineering and technology management, after which she hopes to work in the renewable energy or medical technology field.
Favorite Mines memory: “In fall 2017, the women’s rugby team won our league for the first time in team history and went to the Sweet Sixteen in Chicago. We ended the season ranked fourth in Division II.”
Sevy Swift, Mechanical Engineering
Swift, from Golden, Colorado, is interviewing with hardware startups.
Favorite Mines memory: “I love Celebration of Mines. This event brings together students from all Mines clubs and organizations to share why first-year students should join their community and believe in something new.”
Addison Kenyon, Petroleum Engineering
Kenyon, from Arvada, Colorado, is getting married in June before starting a position with Encana in Denver as a field engineer out of the company’s Eagle Ford asset.
Favorite Mines memory: “Although it was a challenging experience at the time, Field Session 2 out in Massadona, Colorado. This trip solidified so many of my friendships with other students and definitely lived up to the phrase, ‘the most fun I never want to have again.’”
Michael Morphew, Geophysics
Morphew, from Woodstock, Illinois, will join ExxonMobil’s upstream research company in Houston, where his work will involve automatic seismic interpretation using machine learning.
Favorite Mines memory: “My favorite Mines memory is the geophysics field camp. Our geophysics class worked hard for two weeks, and I’m really proud of what we accomplished both in the field and in the lab.”
Kate Bubar, Computational and Applied Mathematics
Bubar, from Redmond, Washington, will pursue a PhD in applied math with a certificate in interdisciplinary quantitative biology at the University of Colorado Boulder. She hopes to work in mathematical epidemiology to model disease spread and help inform public health policy.
Favorite Mines memory: “My favorite memory is Celebration of Mines each fall, because everyone is happy and excited to share what they’re passionate about outside of academics. Through different clubs, I’ve made amazing friends and tried different activities I never expected to participate in, like kayaking Clear Creek and paddleboard yoga.”
Danielle Barna, Statistics
Barna, from Idaho Falls, Idaho, will attend graduate school at Mines.
Favorite Mines memory: “Eating ice cream up at the M at 2 a.m.”
Jack Larrabee, Chemistry
Larrabee, from Glen Ellyn, Illinois, will pursue his PhD in nuclear engineering at University of California, Berkeley.
Favorite Mines memory: “In spring 2018, the school funded my travel to the American Chemical Society National Meeting in New Orleans. It was an amazing experience, both for the conference and the travel itself.”
Galen Vincent, Physics
Vincent, from Tucson, Arizona, will stay at Mines for another year to pursue a master’s degree in statistics.
Favorite Mines memory: “My favorite memory is when my team won the intramural volleyball championship or when my friends and I would spend entire delirious weekends of junior year working on projects.”
Kristin Farris, Computer Science
Farris, from Littleton, Colorado, will be pursuing her love of math as a graduate student in the computational and applied mathematics master’s program at Mines.
Favorite Mines memory: “My favorite Mines memory each year is always the ore cart pull. It is such a unique tradition that always kicks off E-Days with a ton of energy. I also love that it is led by everyone’s favorite burro, Blaster.”
Alexander Adams, Economics and Business
Adams, from Greeley, Colorado, will join Blue Steel Real Estate as CFO, managing the Greeley company’s finances, evaluating future projects and helping expand the business.
Favorite Mines memory: “My favorite Mines memory is attending my first peer mentoring training. I got to meet awesome people, learn valuable leadership skills and have lots of fun.”
ADDITIONAL UNDERGRADUATE AWARDS AND RECOGNITIONS:
The Alan Kissock Award is awarded to graduating seniors in metallurgical and materials engineering, acknowledging creativity in metallurgy: Stuart Shirley (creative effort in outreach); Itamar Brill (creative effort in outreach); Kelsey Cannon (creative effort in the Materials Advantage Chapter); and Brionna Dumalo (creative effort in the Materials Advantage Chapter)
The American Institute of Chemists Award honors outstanding seniors, post-baccalaureate and postdoctoral 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: Marina Tobey
The Brunton Award in Geology is awarded in recognition of the highest scholastic achievement and interest in and enthusiasm for the science of geology: Larkin Martini
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: Alicia Downard
The Charles 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: William Fraser
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, is the most deserving of this award: Kinsley Costner and Zoey Huey
The Colorado Engineering Council Awards are presented for excellence in scholarship, high integrity and general engineering ability: Chloe Archuleta, Christina Breeze and Jordan Umrysh
Distinguished Military Graduate Award: Mitchell White
Dwight D. Eisenhower Award: Mitchell White
The Faculty Choice Award in Computer Science is given to a top graduating senior who helped improve computer science at Mines: Bethel Tessema and Samuel Reinehr
The George R. Pickett Memorial Award is presented on the basis of demonstrated interest and accomplishments in the study of borehole geophysics: Zachery Huxel
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: Daniel Ciraula
The H.G. Washburn Award is presented in mining for good scholastic record and active participation in athletics: Alesander Draeker
H.L. Hazen Prize in Process Metallurgy: Chase Bailey
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: Kathleen Whalen and Jordan Umrysh
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: Cameron Baker
The Honorable D.W. Brunton Award, provided for by Mr. Brunton, is awarded for meritorious work in mining: Stephen Simmons
Hutchinson Award: Larkin Martini
The John C. Hollister Award is presented to the most deserving student in geophysics and is not based solely on academic performance: Sarah Alhumaidan
The Mary & Charles Cavanaugh Award, presented in metallurgy, is determined by scholarship, professional activity and participation in school activities: Victoria Avance
The McIver-Metallurgical and Materials Engineering Faculty Award is presented by the faculty of the department to the graduating senior who, by participation in and contribution to campus life and by academic achievement, has demonstrated those characteristics of a well-rounded graduate that Mines aspires to develop in its students: Spencer Randell
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: Tatjana Scherschel
The Old Timers’ Club Award is presented to the graduating senior who, in the opinion of the Department of Mining Engineering, has shown high academic standing in coal mining engineering and potential for the coal industry: Stela Cayatte
The Outstanding Senior Research Award in Chemistry is awarded to students who demonstrate superior performance and creativity in undergraduate research: Jack Larrabee and Dana Portlock
The Outstanding Senior Research Award in Computer Science is awarded to a student who demonstrates superior performance and creativity in undergraduate research: Kai Nichols
The Outstanding Student Service Award is presented by the Division of Student Life to the student who, during their tenure at Mines, 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: Boston Ludlow and Sevy Swift
The Pearson Potential Award is given to students in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering who have shown emerging leadership and engineering potential in hands-on challenges such as summer field session: Logan Weinman and Andrew Nagy
Phillip R. Romig Award in Geophysics: Aspen Davis and Sean R. Smith
The Physics Faculty Distinguished Graduate Award is presented by the faculty of the department to graduating seniors with exceptionally high academic achievement in physics: William Daniels and Martin Kuhnel
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: Megan Wenham and Joseph Popp
The Robert A. Baxter Award is presented for meritorious work in chemistry: Dakota Isaak
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: Grace Anderson and Brandon Bakka
The William D. Waltman Award 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: Bethel Tessema and Grace Anderson
MILITARY COMMISSIONS
The following students will be commissioned as second lieutenants in the United States Air Force:
- Brandon M. Hall, Computational and Applied Mathematics
- Adam J. Nelson, Computer Science
- Ian R. Oberndorfer, Mechanical Engineering
The following student will be commissioned as a second lieutenant in the United States Army:
- Mitchell I. White, Mechanical Engineering
MORE COMMENCEMENT PHOTOS:
- View photos from the graduate and undergraduate commencement ceremonies
- Order professional photographs of graduates from the ceremony at gradimages.com.
