Ryan Steckel March 5th, 2012 SME Sophomore Scholarship Please consider me for the SME Sophomore Engineering

Scholarship. In the one and a half years I have completed in this program, I have developed a passion for the field of engineering. The more classes I take, the more exciting the program becomes. I am proud to be a part of the Loras Engineering Program. It is a difficult program, and I embrace the challenge and understand the necessity of its difficulty. I believe engineering at Loras is not only a degree as some majors seem to be. The Loras Engineering Program is about becoming a professional; an efficient, thorough, ethical professional. As an engineering major, I take this very seriously. I am not only taking classes to receive the best possible grades, but more importantly to permanently learn the techniques and principles that will benefit me in becoming a successful engineer. I am confident that my creative skills and my ability to apply principles learned in classes to help optimize the effectiveness and efficiency of any solution when problem solving. An example of my creativity in my work during my time at Loras includes my 2011 J-Term project where my partner and I designed and programmed a joystick-controlled fire truck we constructed out of Legos and a Handy Board. My team won the competition. Along with creativity, my very competitive work ethic coupled with meticulousness helps me succeed in problem solving. A prime example of my competiveness and work ethic in effect was my popsicle stick cantilever in Engineering Statics. My project was the 2nd strongest in the class. I worked hard to make sure my design was solid in every aspect. In general, when it comes to class competitions and projects, I always finish well and turn in a very refined and polished end product I am proud to represent. I believe what differentiates me from my peers is my ability to apply what is learned in the classroom to physical projects and competitions. I am driven by my competitiveness and desire to be the absolute best. My ability to work in a group and communicate effectively with classmates and professors aids my success here at Loras and will continue in the future as a professional engineer. Another skill that differentiates me is my detail and neatness on my homework assignments and on projects. I emphasize diligence and thoroughness when logically stepping through a problem. As I previously stated, I am very proud to be a part of the Loras Engineering Program. I am excited to someday complete my work here at Loras and to become a successful representative for the program. Until then, I plan to utilize what I have learned in my first two years this upcoming summer as an engineering intern at Genesis Systems Group, LLC in Davenport, Iowa. I will be learning the field of Application Engineering along with some off-line programming of FANUC arc welding robots. From then on, I will continue to work hard in learning new engineering techniques and principles. I am also thankful I will be able to take advantage of the Liberal Arts education Loras has to offer. I will use these liberal arts skills to differentiate myself in the engineering field as an active learner, reflective thinker, ethical decision-maker and a responsible contributor. I value the opportunity for such a unique education here at Loras. Thank you for your consideration for the SME Sophomore Engineering Scholarship and I look forward to hearing from you.