This year’s Via Scholars include some of the country’s most exceptional students in a variety of civil and environmental engineering specialties. Via Scholarships are made possible through the generosity of the late Mrs. Marion Bradley Via of Roanoke, Va., and her family. In 1987, Mrs. Via contributed $5 million each to the Departments of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Civil and Environmental Engineering. Virginia Tech’s Board of Visitors subsequently named the ECE department in honor of Mrs. Via’s deceased father, Harry Lynde Bradley, and the CEE department in honor of her late husband, Charles E. Via, Jr.
Both departments use a portion of the endowment to award scholarships to qualifying students. These scholarships are among the most competitive in the country. Since the Via endowment was created in 1987, the department has awarded more than $16 million in scholarships and fellowships. Each year, the department holds a banquet to recognize these individuals for their hard work and contributions.
The Via Scholars for 2016-2017 are:
Michelle Helsel – Undergraduate
Dan Peets – Undergraduate
Ryan Stevens – Undergraduate
Matthew Blair – Environmental and Water Resources
Robert Cole – Structural Engineering and Materials
Charles Conran – Transportation
Anthony DiGiantommaso – Geotechnical
Rebecka Gilbertson – Structural Engineering and Materials
Chloe Greenberg – Environmental and Water Resources
Isaac Groshek – Structural Engineering and Materials
Nora Harris – Construction Engineering and Management
Nathan McWhirter – Construction Engineering and Management
Melissa Mika – Environmental and Water Resources
Pat O’Brien – Structural Engineering and Materials
Amy Olson – Environmental and Water Resources
Christine Pankow – Environmental and Water Resources
Jonathan Paquette – Structural Engineering and Materials
Logan Perry – Structural Engineering and Materials
James Reilly – Structural Engineering and Materials
Laurel Strom – Environmental and Water Resources
Trevor Szabo – Structural Engineering and Materials
Amanda Weikmann – Environmental and Water Resources
Robert Williams – Environmental and Water Resources
Marcus Aguilar – Environmental and Water Resources
Vincent Bongioanni – Transportation
Emily Garner – Environmental and Water Resources
Brett Maurer – Geotechnical
Ross McCarthy – Transportation
Maria Nieves-Melendez – Construction
Jeannie Purchase – Construction Engineering and Management
Adam Phillips – Structural
Tyler Quick – Geotechnical
William Rhoads – Environmental and Water Resources
Kristin Ulmer – Geotechnical