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Underclassmen, get excited!

Starting Fall 2019, our TBP chapter began a mentorship program for freshman interested in engineering.   Current TBP juniors are paired with first year students based on personal and academic interests.  We hosted a kickoff meeting in November for everyone to get to know their partner. From there, pairs are free to meet as frequently as they want to discuss things like deciding on a major, course selection, and other extracurricular clubs and societies both in and out of engineering.

We view this program as an opportunity to expand TBP’s presence in the engineering division at Lafayette and to give first year students access to real, candid advice from people who were in there shoes not too long ago.

So far, we have 13 underclassmen being mentored by our juniors.  Next year, we hope to expand the program to offer continued guidance to sophomores as well as the new class of first year engineers.  Cheers to a successful pilot of this awesome new initiative!

This week, TBP-PAE hosted a brown bag lunch talk as part of National Engineers Week, entitled “Preparing for Grad School – How to Become a Top Tier Applicant.” Senior TBP member Ryan Coulson (’18) shared his experience applying to graduate school programs to a group of sophomore and junior engineering students. Ryan shared what he learned after having recently applied (and been accepted!) to graduate school. Some topics Ryan discussed include when to start the graduate school search, how to narrow down programs, which exams you need to take, and how to make your application stand out. 

The next round of TBP-PAE officers were elected late this month! Congratulations to Spencer Folk (President), Joaquin Font (Vice President), Yutian Han (Corresponding Secretary), Tom Beier (Treasurer), and Rachel Marbaker (Recording Secretary). 

Congratulations to our newest members of the Pennsylvania Epsilon Chapter of Tau Beta Pi! Initiation was held this past week to formally induct 22 candidates: Aleeza Ajmal, Matthew Agostinelli, Thomas Beier, Eric Billimoria, Kristen Cirincione, Zachary Coleman, Gunnar Dickey, Brittany Dobson, Trent Eastman, Spencer Folk, Joaquin Font, Tobias Glosslein, Yutian Han, Rachel Marbaker, Emily Moore, Colby Owen, Erin Rome, Kara Rosenthal, Kari Schultheis, Bryan Sherrill, Alexander Slayton, Yahan Yang. 

TBP PA-E hosted our “What I Wish I Knew as an Underclassman” talk on Thursday, September 21 in Hugel 100. Members of TBP shared their experiences and answered questions about the life of an engineering major in and out of Acopian. It was a great turnout and learning experience for all! Check out the pictures below:

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Career Services is hosting a professional development workshop in Hugel 100 on Wednesday, October 4 at Noon. Career Services will speak about effective networking, professional dress, how to follow-up post conference, importance of LinkedIn, resumes, how to approach attendees/employers/exhibitors, pre-conference research, etc. Many TBP PA-E members attend conferences throughout the year, and this is a great way to prepare! 

Lafayette Students Register with THIS LINK

CONGRATULATIONS to our own TBP members for receiving the following awards from the national organization:

Michael Bennett ’17 : Michael received the Arm Fellow No. 9 award to support his graduate studies in civil engineering at Virgina Tech. Michael is pursuing a concentration in geotechnical engineering. After earning his M.S. degree, he hopes to earn licensure as a Professional Engineer practicing in the field of transportation geotechnical engineering. Michael is also considering pursuing his Ph.D. 

View the Fellow Announcement HERE

Travis Shoemaker ’18 : Travis received an academic scholarship to support his undergraduate studies in civil engineering at Lafayette. Travis has a minor in geology, and his interests include hydrology, structural, & geotechnical engineering. Travis has interned with PPL Electric Utilities, The Pidcock Co., Gannett Fleming, & most recently, McLaren Engineering Group. Travis hopes to pursue his M.S. degree in geotechnical engineering post-graduation. 

View the Scholarship Announcement HERE

Patrick Leggieri ’18 :  Pat recieved an academic scholarship to support his undergraduate studies in chemical engineering at Lafayette. Pat has a minor in biotechnology and has conducted research on biodiesel cold-flow properties, and the effects of shear stress on endothelial cells at Johns Hopkins University. Pat plans to pursue a Ph.D. in chemical engineering or biotechnology post-graduation. 

View the Scholarship Announcement HERE

Chapters from District 3 held their annual conference at Lehigh University this year! Our chapter representatives engaged attended talks from Terry Hart, an astronaut at NASA; Dr. Jason McMullen, a chemical engineer at ExxonMobil; Dr. Mark Snyder, an associate professor at Lehigh University; and Sam Hau, a graduate student at Lehigh University. Our chapter leaders also engaged in work sessions to develop MindSET programs and exchange other project ideas. 

Check out these photos of the group!

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In the fall of 2016, chapter president Michael Bennett discovered valuable documents pertaining to TBP records collecting dust in a storage closet in Acopian. He found a roll book with signatures of newly initiated members dating back to when the chapter first began in 1921. Along with these signatures, Michael also uncovered founding documents and meeting minutes from when the chapter was first formed. Michael officially handed the documents over to the College Archives earlier this month so they could be properly stored. 

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