In the Spring 2017, Patrick Jansen (BSME 2015) helped to establish the Jansen Family Emerging Scholar Program based on his experiences as an undergraduate student. He saw opportunities for the program to develop stronger relationships between upper and lower classman, establish a common space in the department for students to study, network, and socialize, and provide increased opportunities for students to interact with faculty and staff outside of the normal classroom setting.
In Fall 2017, Dr. Gregory Mocko was selected as the faculty to lead the program and four students were selected, from over 30 applicants, for the inaugural fellowship – Corrin George, Alex Limberis, Tal Wanish, and Edwin (Chase) Wentzky
The Jansen Fellows have communicated with faculty, staff, and younger students in General and Mechanical Engineering courses to understand what they would like to have in a mentoring program. They are currently working on developing a series of “brown bag lunches” and “coffee breaks” to interact with and guide students, as well as working to acquire space in the Dillard building to serve as an ME student meeting-gathering place.
The students are excited to establish a strong mentoring program in the Department of Mechanical Engineering.
