Vermont Tech Students Recognized With Engineering Awards

Monday, February 1, 2010
Two Vermont Technical College students have been chosen to receive the school’s annual Engineer and Technician of the Year Awards. The Engineering Student of the Year Award recognizes the work of a bachelor’s degree student, while the Technician of the Year Award honors an associate’s degree student.

Laura Gover of Shelburne, Vermont, has been named Student Engineer of the Year and Timothy Macke of Calais, Vermont has been chosen as the Student Technician of the Year. Gover will graduate this spring with a Bachelor of Science degree in Architectural Engineering Technology. Macke will graduate this spring with an Associate’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering.

                “The Engineer and Technician of the Year awards not only recognize the most outstanding students in their majors,” said Dean of the College Mike Van Dyke, “but they also provide Vermont Tech with the opportunity to publicly commend these individuals for their achievements and excellence in academics, communication, character and leadership. Both of these students are very hard working and it’s a pleasure to recognize their accomplishments in this way.”

                Both Gover and Macke will be honored by Vermont Governor Jim Douglas at the annual Engineers’ Week awards ceremony held in the Ceremonial Office of the State House in Montpelier, as well as at a banquet dinner held in Burlington on February 19th. The dinner is part of a National Engineers’ Week observance that brings together engineering students and practitioners from throughout the state.

Macke, a member of Phi Theta Kappa, the International Honor Society of the Two Year College, is also a Vermont Society of Engineers Scholar (2009) and a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). A former furniture designer, he plans to work in the renewable energy field. Gover, a former VAST student, has spent the past two summers interning with construction companies in Maryland and Virginia, and is also active with the Central Vermont Humane Society in Barrie, VT.

                Following graduation, Gover plans to continue in the Architectural Engineering Technology field. Macke plans to continue his education at Vermont Tech, pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Electromechanical Engineering.