Dual-degree student is No. 1 male senior
Eckerle is the third consecutive College of Agriculture student to win
the prestigious award.
Once the reality of his achievement set in, a different feeling overtook
Eckerle the pressure to succeed.
"If people think I am deserving of this award, maybe I should
be doing more in school, maybe I should be working harder," he
says.
But with his schedule, it would be difficult to find the time.
For three years Eckerle has been president of the Purdue Triathlon
Club. He also is a member of the Purdue Cycling Team, Outing Club, Ski
Club and Solar Car Team. He is the adult adviser for the Columbus North
High School Solar Car Team and is a 50-hour volunteer at Camp Moneto,
a youth camp in southern Indiana.
Eckerle earned two bachelor's degrees (botany and plant pathology and
agricultural and biological engineering) in his five-year Purdue career.
"It's a pretty incredible story that anybody could do what Matt
has done in five years, especially considering he spent one semester
studying abroad in New Zealand," says Ron Coolbaugh, professor
of botany and plant pathology and Eckerle's adviser.
"His family has had a tremendous influence on Matt," he says.
"They taught him to be a great citizen as well as a committed student,"
Coolbaugh says.
And just like mom and dad, Eckerle plans on continuing his education.
Later this summer he will enroll at the University of California at
Berkeley to pursue his master's and doctoral degrees in biomedical engineering.
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