2024 DPE Awards recognize outstanding alumni, students, staff

Diversity Programs in Engineering (DPE) recognized the outstanding undergraduate and graduate students, student organizations, faculty, and staff through its annual awards banquet May 2 at the Statler Ballroom. These award recipients have shown dedication to building and sustaining a community that outwardly embodies achievement, thoughtful leadership, empathy, and belonging.

The inaugural Distinguished Alumni Award was presented to keynote speaker Abena Sackey Ojetayo ’07, M.Eng. ‘09. As the assistant city manager of Tallahassee, FL, Sackey Ojetavo oversees the human resources, affordable housing, human services, code enforcement, community resilience, sustainability, fleet, and public transit functions of the city government. She joined the City of Tallahassee government as its first chief resilience officer in 2017 and has since led innovative strategies to preserve neighborhoods, enhance disaster resilience, and address root causes of poverty, wellbeing, and public safety.

The Richard Allmendinger Staff Inclusive Excellence Award was presented to Scott Coldren, assistant director of the M.Eng. program and formerly the graduate field administrator for School of Electrical and Computer Engineering. With over two decades of dedicated service, Coldren’s contributions to fostering inclusion within ECE are unparalleled. His inclusive approach and proactive response to challenges exemplify his commitment to supporting all members of the ECE community, making him a deserving candidate for this prestigious award.

 Other Student of the Year Awards and awardees include:

• Undergraduate Student of the Year – Audrey Pinard ’25, earth & atmospheric sciences
• Freshmen of the Year – Tim Adeyemi ’27, computer science
• Graduate Student of the Year – Jonathan Jaramillo M.S. ’22, electrical and computer engineering
• First Year Graduate Student of the Year – Promise Ekpo, computer science

The full list of award winners is posted on the DPE website.