Tag Archives: Kelsey Knoche

Eta Kappa Nu and the UMKC Robotics Team Makes Electricity & Circuits Fun for Middle Schoolers

Benjamin Franklin wrote “Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.” He would be proud of the six UMKC students from our engineering honor society Eta Kappa Nu and the UMKC Robotics Team. On January 25, 2013 they travelled to Osage Trails Middle School in the Fort Osage School District in Independence, MO to teach electricity and circuits and demonstrate a robot. Starting at 7:15 a.m. and finishing at 2:30 p.m., the students along with their advisor, Debby Dilks, taught six class periods. They demonstrated sound traveling through laser light beams, static electricity, robot programming and provided hands-on experience using snap circuit kits. Over 375 students participated though out the day. The UMKC students – Kelsey Knoche, Matt Mohler, Ariel Muthyala, Eddie Pogosov, Victor Skulavik, Sarah Withee – left Osage Trails knowing old Ben was right.

SCE Scholarship Students Give Thanks To Their Donors

“Without your generosity, we couldn’t educate some of what I consider to be the best and brightest students in the Kansas City region, the nation, and the world,” said Dean Kevin Truman as he thanked the donors attending the 2012 SCE Scholarship Luncheon which brought together SCE’s scholarship donors and their student scholars. Connecting our donors and students gave our SCE student scholars the opportunity to express their appreciation to their donors. Donors learned firsthand how their support helps our SCE computer science and engineering students and the impact it has on their scholarship students’ lives and careers. Student speaker, Kelsey Knoche, electrical and computer engineering senior, captured the hearts of all attending with her personal story of how important this support has been for her.

Christopher Kinzel, P.E. of HDR, a Kansas City engineering company, talked about the long-term benefits Kansas City engineering and computer science firms realize by supporting and encouraging the next generation of engineers, information technologists and computer scientists. He noted there are many ways companies and individuals can help. HDR endowed the HDR Scholarship in 2007 and it provides an internship opportunity.

This year, four newly endowed scholarships were recognized at the luncheon and their donors honored for their generosity and commitment to our computer science and engineering students. They are the 1) Bayer Scholarship; 2) Black & Veatch Scholarship; 3) Dave Hermance Memorial Scholarship sponsored by Toyota Motor Sales USA and 4) The Chandra Scholarship Fund. Minda Mason, SCE Director of Major Gifts, noted that SCE awarded 8 new scholarships this year and that these 4 newly endowed scholarships will continue to support deserving students in perpetuity.

SCE appreciates greatly all our scholarship donors. Thank you! We are proud of our scholars and appreciate how they are often our campus leaders, serving in key roles in student government, participating in community service and raising the level of academic performance in our classrooms.

MO-Delta Receives Membership Award At Tau Beta Pi National Convention

UMKC’s Tau Beta Pi chapter, called MO-Delta, received a Tau Beta Pi Membership Award for excellence in conducting a chapter’s primary mission, membership. MO-Delta’s President Kelsey, attending the Sept. 27-29, 2012 Tau Beta Pi National Convention in Lexington, KY as UMKC’s voting delegate, accepted the award. The convention provided leadership training to the student delegates attending and an opportunity for delegates from all parts of the country to meet and socialize with each other. Chapter representatives are afforded a special opportunity to meet with National Officials and to learn first-hand about problems, solutions, and opinions on the role of TBP on the nation’s campuses [from convention website]. Dr. Deb O’Bannon is MO-Delta’s faculty advisor.

Tau Beta Pi is the only engineering honor society representing the entire engineering profession. It is the nation’s second-oldest honor society, founded at Lehigh University in 1885 to mark in a fitting manner those who have conferred honor upon their Alma Mater by distinguished scholarship and exemplary character as students in engineering, or by their attainments as alumni in the field of engineering, and to foster a spirit of liberal culture in engineering colleges. There are now collegiate chapters at 238 US colleges and universities, active alumnus chapters in 16 districts across the country, and a total initiated membership of 535,605.

ECE Student Kelsey Knoche Awarded Competitive SWE Scholarship

Electrical Computer Engineering (ECE) senior Kelsey Knoche earned a high honor this year when she was selected by the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) to receive the Lockheed Martin Corporation scholarship for the 2012-2013 Academic Year. The SWE Scholarship Selection Committee reviewed over 1,500 applications when making its choices. The committee found that Kelsey demonstrated outstanding academic achievement as well as strong engineering potential. Kelsey is well known at SCE for both her academics and her leadership. She currently serves as the President of the Tau Beta Pi – MO Delta Chapter and the Vice President of UMKC’s Society for Women Engineers student chapter. Kelsey and other SWE scholarship recipients from across the country will be recognized for their achievements at the “Celebrate SWE!” Dinner & Awards Ceremony held during the SWE Annual Conference this November in Houston, TX.

Pictured below are SWE members at SCE’s 2012 February E-week party and Kelsey interviewing a Mr. Engineer contestant.

ECE Student-Athlete Kelsey Knoche earns the Jack Gant Award

Student athlete and electrical computer engineering student Kelsey Knoche is both an outstanding UMKC volleyball player and an excellent student. She is the recipient of the Jack Gant Award which is presented annually to the best overall student-athlete at UMKC in terms of both athletic and academic performance. Kelsey was also named to the Summit League Fall Academic all-League Team as a Distinguished Scholar and placed on the Commissioner’s List of Academic Excellence.