Engineering student, two groups receive Student Impact awards

Engineering student Nathan Jensen and two College of Engineering student organizations —Engineers Without Borders and Engineering Ambassadors Network —received university-wide Student Impact Awards on March 29.

Organized by Student Involvement, the annual awards recognize outstanding student organizations, programs, officers, members and advisers. Eleven awards were presented, including five to student organizations and six to individuals.

Jensen, a senior in mechanical and materials engineering and vice president of the Aerospace Club, receieved the Outstanding Student Organization Officer Award. 

In addition to teaching himself rocket design to help revitalize and rebuild the Aerospace Club's rocketry competition team, Jensen was honored for work done to increase the diversity of the club, including creating videos to help students learn the basics of rocketry design in a supportive environment. In his role as vice president, Jensen has worked to make members feel welcome and get them engaged in the team's activities and has helped to improve the club and its lab space.

The student chapter of Engineers Without Borders (EWB), which works with the remote community of Kianjavato, Madagascar, received the Diversity and Inclusion Award, which is reserved for a student group that has displayed inclusive excellence and offers a commitment to awareness of diversity and inclusion of all students on campus.

The group’s work in Madagascar is organized through the Madagascar Biodiversity Partnership, an offshoot of Henry Doorly Zoo’s conservation work in the African nation. Engineers Without Borders projects in Madagascar have focused on solar energy solutions, and improved water quality and quantity.

The Engineering Ambassadors Network (EAN) received the Philanthropy and Service Award, given to groups for excellence in connecting with the community outside the university through outreach, service and charitable activities.

EAN's engineering ambassadors are undergraduate student leaders from the College of Engineering who share the impact of engineering on the health, happiness, and safety of our world, as well as inspire youth with the amazing opportunities engineering offers.

The ambassadors use these skills for outreach to the K-12 community throughout Nebraska. Visits consist of interactive, engaging, presentations on an engineering topic paired with hands-on activities, and are delivered in a variety of educational environements to learners in kindergarten through 12th grade.