Two Schulich Leader Scholarship recipients are now first-year Waterloo Engineering students.
Ella Rasmussen and Aaron Grenke have both joined the Faculty's mechanical and mechatronics engineering department.
A robotics competitor since Grade 6, Rasmussen co-founded and co-captained a team that took home 15 awards from regional, provincial, and international events in its 2013-2014 season.
The Oakville, Ontario resident has already worked for world-renowned engineering company Hatch as an intern, taught programming fundamentals to children through an organization called Ebots Robotics, organized technology meetups in her area, and attended the prestigious SHAD program. After SHAD, she led a group of alumni to create a startup company called WeeSprout that combines environmental sustainability with food nutrition and community.
Rasmussen says that she’s excited to attend Waterloo because it speaks to her own entrepreneurial spirit, and also offers opportunity for international learning.
One thing that I wanted to do with co-op was experience different co-ops around the world. For example, I've been teaching myself German so that I can go to a co-op in Germany, which I think would be pretty cool,” she says.
Grenke of Spruce Grove, Alberta, has already had a taste six weeks of university life as a WISEST Summer Researcher in a University of Alberta nutrition lab. He’s also volunteered internationally through a Rotary Club-sponsored humanitarian trip to Guatemala, and given back to his school by using his tenure as vice-president of the student council to spearhead a mentorship program for younger students.
Grenke says he wanted to expand his horizons beyond his home province, and is particularly intrigued by Waterloo’s co-op offering.
I’m really excited about having a hands-on approach to learning, especially with the co-op term. It should expand my personal horizons, and open my eyes. I’m really excited to be able to work alongside my education and see how it fits.”
The Schulich Leader Scholarship program awards $60,000 to undergraduate students whose focus is science, technology, engineering or math. This year’s recipients fulfil the award requirements, with averages ranging from 94 to 99 per cent, and extracurricular activities that include everything from volunteering for humanitarian organizations to participating in competitive sports.
Rasmussen and Grenke are two of four campus-wide recipients of the Schulich Leader Scholarship.