Dual-degree student is No. 1 male senior
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Photo by Tom Campbell
Matt Eckerle will have his name engraved on this obelisk on
the Purdue Mall as the 2003 recipent of the G.A. Ross Award
which is given to the outstanding senior male student at Purdue
University.
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By Tom Campbell
"When I was a kid, I thought everybody went
to college and got a Ph.D.," says Matt Eckerle, a Columbus, Ind.,
senior who recently was named recipient of the G.A. Ross Award as the
outstanding graduating senior male student at Purdue University.
And why not?
His father, Wayne, earned his bachelor's ('75) and master's
('76) degrees in aeronautics and astronautics from Purdue and later
taught fluid mechanics at
Clarkson University in Potsdam, N.Y. At the same time his mother, Lynne,
was earning a bachelor's degree in psychology and a master's in liberal
arts.
So the only one surprised with the award announcement
was Eckerle himself.
"I thought there was no way I could win this award.
When they called me into the office to tell me about the award, I thought
I had done something wrong," Eckerle says.
On the contrary, the award is about doing a lot of things
right.
Betsy Smithka, associate dean of students, says, "The
Ross Award honors the graduating man who demonstrates high standards
of academic achievement, evidence of outstanding leadership, strength
of character and overall contributions to the university."
Each spring 15-20 students are nominated by deans, department
heads, school counseling directors or staff in the Office of the Dean
of Students. A committee of students selects the winner.
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