Traditionally, students invited to the University of Houston Cullen College of Engineering’s Leadership Recognition Day are treated to a wealth of information about the university, such as housing, financial aid, and costs. This year, Dawnelle Prince, recruitment manager, has enhanced the program further by scheduling NASA astronaut and UH engineering alumnus Rex Walheim to speak to attendees at the sixth annual event on Feb. 21.
The event, which is by invitation only, is a recruitment tool for students who have exceptional SAT scores and class ranks. The college faculty will have the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the students, and Prince said that the intention of the college is to inform students about a program they might not have been initially interested in.
“We are interested in students who have shown an interest in science and technology and aspire to be leaders in their field,” Associate Dean Larry Witte said. “Even though these students might not have considered engineering as their career, it is clear that they have the ability to pursue an engineering degree, and we welcome applications from those outstanding students.”
Family members are invited to attend, and admissions counselors will be available to answer questions about on-the-spot admissions, registration, housing, costs, financial aid, and scholarships.
“Scholarships are available to help support the students’ college education,” Witte said. “Our college has one of the largest scholarship programs on campus, and on Leadership Recognition Day, we will outline those programs.”
To kick off the event, prospective students and their families, will hear from engineering alumnus Walheim, who flew a mission to the International Space Station on the space shuttle Atlantis in April 2002. Walheim will bring a slide show of his photographs from space as well as an informational video that he narrated. Walheim holds a master’s in industrial engineering from the Cullen College of Engineering.
“This year, we added a keynote speaker that is also an alum involved in engineering to showcase our alumni talent. We hope that bringing in someone young will be effective in terms of interesting high school students,” Prince said. “He’s an astronaut that has been to space recently, and he’ll bring a slide show of pictures that he took in space, which I think the students will enjoy.”
Read more about Rex Walheim in the Fall 2002 issue of Parameters.