$295,000 in SME Scholarships Support Careers In Manufacturing, Engineering, Science and Technology

    DEARBORN, Mich., July 19 The Society of Manufacturing
Engineers Education Foundation recently awarded college and university
scholarships totaling $295,000.  The Foundation's most prestigious award, the
Family Scholarship, was awarded to high school senior Douglas Sperling, El
Cajon, Calif., and two runners-up.  The SME Director's Scholarship was awarded
to Wendy Walker, Chippewa Falls, Wis.

    $60,000 SME FAMILY SCHOLARSHIP AWARDED TO CALIFORNIA STUDENT
    Douglas Sperling competed with two other finalists to win this year's SME
Family Scholarship Award of $60,000.  High school senior runners-up
Christopher Agrawal of St. Louis, Mo. and Melissa Hindman, Brentwood, Tenn.
each received $15,000.
    Applicants must be either graduating high school seniors or undergraduate
students with less than 30 credit hours.  Applicants must have an overall
minimum GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale, a minimum SAT score of 1000, and/or ACT
score of 21.

    SPERLING'S DAD WAS HIS INSPIRATION
    Douglas Sperling of El Cajon, Calif., shares an interest in mechanics with
his dad, a manufacturing engineer.  "My dad always encourages and works with
me," said Sperling.  In high school, Sperling held a 3.3 grade GPA, received a
Golden State Academic Excellence Award and was in Advanced Placement, Honors,
and College Prep classes.  He will pursue a B.S. degree in manufacturing
engineering at California State University in San Luis, Obispo, Calif.  His
hobbies include truck restoration, motorcycling, jet skiing, backpacking, and
camping.

    AGRAWAL'S FATHER INSPIRED HIS CAREER CHOICE
    Christopher Agrawal is a 2001 graduate of Parkway Central High School in
St. Louis, Mo.  He credits his engineer father with introducing him to the
profession.  "I realized my fascination with manufacturing engineering when I
helped my father run a technology booth showcasing robots and plastic
tooling," says Agrawal.  The high school student has a GPA of 4.0 and plans to
attend George Washington University, Washington, D.C., to earn an
undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering, then a master's degree in a
more specialized area.  His dream career would involve automotive
manufacturing and design technology.

    HINDMAN'S GRANDFATHER WAS A ROLE MODEL
    Melissa Hindman is a 2001 graduate of Brentwood High School, Brentwood,
Tenn.  She was greatly influenced by her grandfather, a certified
manufacturing engineer.  Her career choice was further influenced by
engineering professors at the University of Tennessee, and a manufacturing
engineer she shadowed at a local Nissan plant.  Hindman holds a 4.0 GPA and
plans to attend Rice University, Houston, Texas for a degree in Mechanical
Engineering that will allow her to pursue a career in the automotive field.

    DIRECTOR'S SCHOLARSHIP AWARDED TO COLLEGE SENIOR
    Wendy Walker will graduate from the University of Wisconsin-Stout,
Menominee, Wis., with a bachelor's degree in manufacturing engineering with a
GPA of 3.5 in December 2001.  She will then work on master's and doctoral
degrees in engineering or related fields.  Walker is now working as an
engineering technician, is active in her local SME Student Chapter Board, and
is certified as a Manufacturing Technologist.  Ultimately, she wants to be a
"great engineer" and teach engineering that emphasizes "hands-on" learning.
She says that she first became interested in engineering when working as a
high school student assistant at STEPS (Science, Technology & Engineering
Preview Summer camp for girls), a SME youth program.
    The Director's Scholarship supports undergraduate students enrolled in a
college or engineering degree program in manufacturing in the United States or
Canada.  Applicants must also be full-time students, have completed a minimum
of 30 credit hours, have a GPA of at least 3.5, and demonstrate leadership
skills.
    Complete scholarship information and application requirements can be found
on the SME Education Foundation website at http://www.SME.org/foundation .

    Media Contact:
    Barbara Gaston
    Corporate Communications
    313-271-1500, ext. 1861
    Email: gastbar@sme.org
    Web: sme.org