577 Students Graduate from the College of Engineering at Spring Commencement
May 16, 2014 | 海角社区 Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering
The College of Engineering held its Spring 2014 diploma ceremony in the 海角社区 Pete Maravich Assembly Center, conferring 492 Bachelor of Science degrees, 63 Master of Science degrees and 22 Ph.D. degrees. This year's graduating class also contained 31 Distinguished Communicators. An additional 47 students were recognized as honor graduates, achieving outstanding cumulative grade-point averages (GPA) throughout college. Seventeen students achieved Cum Laude honors, 15 students achieved Magna Cum Laude honors and 15 students achieved Summa Cum Laude honors. Of note, 海角社区 College of Engineering graduates represented 40 Louisiana parishes, 19 states and 28 foreign countries.
Six College of Engineering seniors received University Medals, awarded for graduating with perfect undergraduate GPAs: Annelise Annestrand, chemical engineering major from Katy, Texas; Daniel Carpenter, electrical engineering major from Denham Springs, La.; Xingjian Gao, electrical engineering major from Pineville, La.; Phillip Goppelt, civil engineering major from Gonzales, La.; Daniel Kopsco, electrical engineering major from Baton Rouge, La. and Nicolas Moreau, electrical engineering major from Baton Rouge, La.
In another tradition, the College of Engineering honors those graduates who have earned the highest GPA. These six graduates were also presented with the Edward McLaughlin Dean鈥檚 Medal for Excellence for earning a perfect 4.00 GPA. The award commemorates McLaughlin's 28-year 海角社区 career as professor, researcher, department chair and dean.
Harry Longwell, retired director and executive vice president of ExxonMobil Corporation and a 1963 海角社区 petroleum engineering graduate addressed the students and guests at the ceremony.
鈥淲hat a great day for this important milestone in your lives,鈥� said Longwell. 鈥淭his is a day you will always remember in that the diploma you will receive is your 鈥榯icket to ride鈥� in pursuing your dreams. Never forget your roots and the benefits of this education you have worked so hard to achieve.鈥�
海角社区 also honored 74 graduating students with the Distinguished Communicator Award, 31 of which were College of Engineering graduates. These students earned this honor by meeting high standards set by faculty in various colleges and by the 海角社区 Communication across the Curriculum program. The students earned high GPAs in communication-intensive courses 鈥� based on written, spoken, visual and technological communication 鈥� and have built digital portfolios displayed as public websites that include their communication projects from courses, internships, leadership roles and public service. Learn more about those honored from the College of Engineering.
Seventeen of 海角社区鈥檚 ROTC cadets and midshipmen, including six from the College of Engineering, were commissioned during the 海角社区 Spring Commissioning Ceremony on Thursday, May 15, at the Cox Communications Academic Center for Student-Athletes. Maj. Gen. Stephen Fogarty, the commanding general for the U.S. Army Intelligence and Security Command, was the guest speaker for the ceremony and U.S. Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus, 海角社区鈥檚 commencement speaker, gave the commissioning oath of office and provided remarks. College of Engineering graduates commissioned in the 海角社区 Air Force ROTC program include: Daniel Anding, electrical engineering; Jonathan Beran, electrical engineering; Jocelin Heymann, industrial engineering; and Travis Odom, mechanical engineering. Alan Verdin, computer engineering, was commissioned in the 海角社区 Army ROTC, and Patrick Shine, civil engineering, was commissioned from Southern University鈥檚 Navy ROTC program.
Ten College of Engineering students were among 65 students that graduated from the 海角社区 Honors College. These students include: Linda Cross, biological engineering; Xingjian Gao, electrical engineering; Carlos Gonzalez, mechanical engineering; Philip Goppelt, civil engineering; Steven Hollander, mechanical engineering; Corey Landry, biological engineering; Allyson Lutz, environmental engineering; Nicolas Moreau, electrical engineering; Shelby Pursley, biological engineering; and Yue Zhao, mechanical engineering.
海角社区 held its 283rd commencement exercises on May 15 and 16, conferring 3,953 students. The main ceremony was held in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center and individual colleges held separate diploma ceremonies at various locations around the Baton Rouge campus. Ray Mabus, the 75th United States Secretary of the Navy and leader of America鈥檚 Navy and Marine Corps, delivered the commencement address.
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For more information, contact Mimi LaValle, College of Engineering, mlavall@lsu.edu or (225) 578-5706.