September 28, 2023 Georgia Engineering Foundation Attn: Scholarship Review Committee Harris Tower, Suite 700 233 Peachtree Street Atlanta, GA 30303 RE: Letter of Support for Ms. Isryel Mcnair for the Georgia Engineering Foundation Scholarships Dear Georgia Engineering Foundation Scholarship Review Committee, With the strongest possible support, I recommend Isryel Mcnair for this year’s Georgia Engineering Foundation (GEF) Scholarship. While I have only known Isryel since March 2023 when she applied for and was accepted into our prestigious First Year Scholars Program (FYSP) within the College of Engineering at the University of Georgia (UGA), it is within this short time that I have become extremely impressed by her personable skills, organization and work ethic, and engagement with our college and programs. Isryel is currently enrolled in my First Year Seminar: Engineering Exploration, Leadership, and Service this semester. The FYSP for which Isryel was selected supports students actively pursuing an engineering degree who demonstrate a financial need and an interest in promoting underrepresented and underserved groups in engineering. In Isryel’s application last spring she spoke of how she found her passion for engineering at a young age through fixing and repairing a family sewing machine. Her passion expanded into the field of environmental engineering as she mentioned that she wanted to “be the change you want to see in the world.” Additionally, she elaborated that women make up less than one-third of environmental engineers and only a small percentage (3.5%) are black like her. She hopes to not only make an impact with her environmental engineering degree and tackle climate change, extreme weather, and other current/future challenges but also make a difference for other women of color. Her views and comments within the application were well written and exhibited the characteristics of a natural leader. I’m impressed! While this semester is over one-third complete, Isryel has excelled in every assignment and tasks given to her. I challenge my students to think critically and with an eye towards a more global perspective. Isryel has absorbed this philosophy and is working toward developing those critical engineering and professional skills necessary for today’s profession. For example, Isryel served as an intern with the Gwinnett County Water Resources Department this past summer. Through this internship she had to interact with customers, manage a databases, and create solutions to customer issues. It is great to see a first-year student with this type of experience. I attended the Fall 2023 Engineering Career and Internship Fair and found Isryel confidently speaking with many top employers in attendance. My observations are that she strives to learn as much as she can and to take advantage of opportunities that allows her to grow and develop as a young engineer. Isryel is a fantastic candidate for GEF Scholarship and I strongly recommend her to you without reservation. If you have any additional questions, please contact me by phone at 706-542-9480 or by email at sdurham@uga.edu. Sincerely, Stephan A. Durham, Ph.D., P.E., F.ASCE Assistant Dean for Student Success and Outreach Professor
September 28, 2023 Georgia Engineering Foundation Attn: Scholarship Review Committee Harris Tower, Suite 700 233 Peachtree Street Atlanta, GA 30303 RE: Letter of Support for Ms. Isryel Mcnair for the Georgia Engineering Foundation Scholarships Dear Georgia Engineering Foundation Scholarship Review Committee, With the strongest possible support, I recommend Isryel Mcnair for this year’s Georgia Engineering Foundation (GEF) Scholarship. While I have only known Isryel since March 2023 when she applied for and was accepted into our prestigious First Year Scholars Program (FYSP) within the College of Engineering at the University of Georgia (UGA), it is within this short time that I have become extremely impressed by her personable skills, organization and work ethic, and engagement with our college and programs. Isryel is currently enrolled in my First Year Seminar: Engineering Exploration, Leadership, and Service this semester. The FYSP for which Isryel was selected supports students actively pursuing an engineering degree who demonstrate a financial need and an interest in promoting underrepresented and underserved groups in engineering. In Isryel’s application last spring she spoke of how she found her passion for engineering at a young age through fixing and repairing a family sewing machine. Her passion expanded into the field of environmental engineering as she mentioned that she wanted to “be the change you want to see in the world.” Additionally, she elaborated that women make up less than one-third of environmental engineers and only a small percentage (3.5%) are black like her. She hopes to not only make an impact with her environmental engineering degree and tackle climate change, extreme weather, and other current/future challenges but also make a difference for other women of color. Her views and comments within the application were well written and exhibited the characteristics of a natural leader. I’m impressed! While this semester is over one-third complete, Isryel has excelled in every assignment and tasks given to her. I challenge my students to think critically and with an eye towards a more global perspective. Isryel has absorbed this philosophy and is working toward developing those critical engineering and professional skills necessary for today’s profession. For example, Isryel served as an intern with the Gwinnett County Water Resources Department this past summer. Through this internship she had to interact with customers, manage a databases, and create solutions to customer issues. It is great to see a first-year student with this type of experience. I attended the Fall 2023 Engineering Career and Internship Fair and found Isryel confidently speaking with many top employers in attendance. My observations are that she strives to learn as much as she can and to take advantage of opportunities that allows her to grow and develop as a young engineer. Isryel is a fantastic candidate for GEF Scholarship and I strongly recommend her to you without reservation. If you have any additional questions, please contact me by phone at 706-542-9480 or by email at sdurham@uga.edu. Sincerely, Stephan A. Durham, Ph.D., P.E., F.ASCE Assistant Dean for Student Success and Outreach Professor
September 28, 2023 Georgia Engineering Foundation Attn: Scholarship Review Committee Harris Tower, Suite 700 233 Peachtree Street Atlanta, GA 30303 RE: Letter of Support for Ms. Isryel Mcnair for the Georgia Engineering Foundation Scholarships Dear Georgia Engineering Foundation Scholarship Review Committee, With the strongest possible support, I recommend Isryel Mcnair for this year’s Georgia Engineering Foundation (GEF) Scholarship. While I have only known Isryel since March 2023 when she applied for and was accepted into our prestigious First Year Scholars Program (FYSP) within the College of Engineering at the University of Georgia (UGA), it is within this short time that I have become extremely impressed by her personable skills, organization and work ethic, and engagement with our college and programs. Isryel is currently enrolled in my First Year Seminar: Engineering Exploration, Leadership, and Service this semester. The FYSP for which Isryel was selected supports students actively pursuing an engineering degree who demonstrate a financial need and an interest in promoting underrepresented and underserved groups in engineering. In Isryel’s application last spring she spoke of how she found her passion for engineering at a young age through fixing and repairing a family sewing machine. Her passion expanded into the field of environmental engineering as she mentioned that she wanted to “be the change you want to see in the world.” Additionally, she elaborated that women make up less than one-third of environmental engineers and only a small percentage (3.5%) are black like her. She hopes to not only make an impact with her environmental engineering degree and tackle climate change, extreme weather, and other current/future challenges but also make a difference for other women of color. Her views and comments within the application were well written and exhibited the characteristics of a natural leader. I’m impressed! While this semester is over one-third complete, Isryel has excelled in every assignment and tasks given to her. I challenge my students to think critically and with an eye towards a more global perspective. Isryel has absorbed this philosophy and is working toward developing those critical engineering and professional skills necessary for today’s profession. For example, Isryel served as an intern with the Gwinnett County Water Resources Department this past summer. Through this internship she had to interact with customers, manage a databases, and create solutions to customer issues. It is great to see a first-year student with this type of experience. I attended the Fall 2023 Engineering Career and Internship Fair and found Isryel confidently speaking with many top employers in attendance. My observations are that she strives to learn as much as she can and to take advantage of opportunities that allows her to grow and develop as a young engineer. Isryel is a fantastic candidate for GEF Scholarship and I strongly recommend her to you without reservation. If you have any additional questions, please contact me by phone at 706-542-9480 or by email at sdurham@uga.edu. Sincerely, Stephan A. Durham, Ph.D., P.E., F.ASCE Assistant Dean for Student Success and Outreach Professor