UA Engineering Student Wins SWE National Award

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Jill Hershman, a senior from Dallas, Texas, majoring in mechanical engineering at The University of Alabama, recently received the Outstanding Collegiate Member Award for the Society of Women Engineers and the United States Steel Corp. Scholarship.

The Society of Women Engineers chose Hershman as one of six students from around the country to receive the Outstanding Collegiate Member Award. This award was given to honor Herman’s excellence in the classroom and the research laboratory, as well as in SWE leadership and community service.

Hershman has served SWE by organizing fundraising events for Toys for Tots and Habitat for Humanity, serving as treasurer, vice president and president of her chapter and participating in SWE on a regional and national level.

Hershman was also a recipient of the United States Steel Corp. Scholarship, a $5,000 merit scholarship awarded annually. Recipients are chosen on the basis of academic achievement, leadership qualities and potential to succeed.

Hershman is an active member of SWE, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, University Fellows and the Golden Key International Honor Society. She plans to graduate in May 2012 and hopes to settle in the Southeast.

In 1837, The University of Alabama became one of the first five universities in the nation to offer engineering classes. Today, UA’s fully accredited College of Engineering has more than 3,100 students and more than 100 faculty. In the last eight years, students in the College have been named USA Today All-USA College Academic Team members, Goldwater scholars, Hollings scholars and Portz scholars.