Midyear Commencement at Michigan Tech Saturday

More than 325 bachelor’s, master’s and PhD recipients are expected to attend Midyear Commencement at Michigan Technological University. Ceremonies will take place at 10:30 a.m. Saturday (Dec. 15) in the Wood Gym of the Student Development Complex on the Houghton Campus.

Terry Woychowski will deliver the commencement address. Woychowski, who graduated from Michigan Tech with a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering in 1978, is vice president of advanced technology at LINK Engineering Company and president of Level V Advising, an engineering consulting and leadership development company. Additionally, he will complete an eight-year term on Michigan Tech’s Board of Trustees at the end of the month. Woychowski was chair of the Board during the search for the University’s 10thpresident.

He initially began his career at General Motors serving 12 years as the full-size truck vehicle chief engineer and in the process, won numerous prestigious industry awards for the product. He served as global vice president of program management and eventually global vice president of quality and vehicle launch. He retired from GM in 2012 and later accepted the position of senior vice president of engineering and quality at American Axle and Manufacturing.

Aside from his accomplishments in industry, Woychowski is the founder and CEO of the Woychowski Charitable Foundation. He has taken part in several humanitarian missions to Albania and Kosovo following the Kosovo war in the late 1990s and to Haiti following the devastating earthquake.

For the past several years, Michigan Tech commencement ceremonies have included an address by a graduating senior. Saturday’s student speaker is Rose Turner. To say Turner has made the most of her time at Michigan Tech is certainly an understatement. When the environmental engineering major from Berkley, Michigan, says “I love Michigan Tech,” she can certainly give you many reasons why.

During her time at Tech, Turner has been a Chemistry Supplemental Instruction Leader, president of the Alternative Energy Enterprise, leader of Soul Core Fitness, president of Alpha Society, an undergraduate researcher in Environmental Engineering, a broomball player and a host of a regular radio show on WMTU. Turner also leads a bible study for students. However, she is probably best known as project manager of the University’s Sustainability Demonstration House, located in the former University President’s residence. Through this project, she works with her team on retrofitting this existing residence into a net-zero energy house and promoting sustainable living around the Keweenaw.

While she plans on graduate school to pursue a master’s in renewable energy systems engineering, Turner recently accepted a full-time position with Westwood Professional Services, a renewable energy company, where her daily tasks will involve designing multi-megawatt solar and wind farms.

Prior to the ceremony, the official ROTC commissioning will take place. A public commissioning will also occur during the commencement.

For those attending Saturday’s commencement, parking is available in lots 22 (outside of the SDC) and 24 (adjacent to the football field) and parking passes are not required. Parking is on a first-come first-served basis. For those who cannot attend in person, commencement will be streamed live.

Following the ceremony, the community is invited to join the new graduates for a special reception in the SDC multipurpose room, hosted by the Michigan Tech Alumni Association.

This story is also online at mtu.edu/news