Stein Wins George Washington Prize
CEE/EPP senior Simone Stein was awarded the George Washington Prize at the Engineers Society of Western Pennsylvania awards dinner on February 6. The honor is presented yearly to a College of Engineering senior who demonstrates qualities of academic excellence, service, and leadership.A member of Habitat for Humanity since her first year, Stein recently completed a successful term as President. In the past year, she has organized and led six Pittsburgh-area trips, recruited other members to lead additional Pittsburgh trips, and prepared members to lead trips in other parts of the USA.
As a sophomore, Stein led her first Habitat for Humanity trip to assist in the Houston area in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. Stein has made an impact on the greater Pittsburgh community and several other U.S. communities through her work with Habitat for Humanity.
Stein excels in her courses, and often helps younger students when they are struggling with a problem or concept. Students comment that working in the CEE Department Undergraduate Collaboration Room is beneficial because of the availability of other students, such as Stein, who can help when needed.
Stein is the Vice President of our student chapter of Chi Epsilon, the civil engineering honor society. She helps to coordinate the popular Chi Epsilon faculty seminar series that undergraduates can use to fulfill their experiential learning requirement. In these seminars, faculty members share their research as well as their life experiences. The series helps students to understand the research that happens in the department and gives them the opportunity to get to know their faculty better.
Showing tremendous CMU spirit, Stein capped her three years with the Kiltie Band by serving as President. She worked with the band director and school administration to coordinate Kiltie Band shows, managed the band's budget, and led the executive board. She also reinforced the strong alumni base of the Kiltie Band by organizing a Homecoming meet-and-greet for current and alumni band members.
The George Washington Prize is named in honor of the first president of the United States. It reinforces the importance of engineering and technology in sustaining and enhancing the visibility of the profession.
CEE congratulates Lau for earning this prestigious award.