Monday, May 02, 2011
Stand-out engineering major to graduate
Alex J. Schnautz
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Wendy Knipe Bredhold Media Relations Specialist, News & Information Services 812/461-5259 In spring 2009, he was one of only 11 college students from throughout the country selected for an internship in NASA's Undergraduate Student Research Program at Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. During his USI career, he also completed internships at SABIC Innovative Plastics in Mt. Vernon, Indiana, and Hurst Manufacturing Corporation in Princeton, Indiana. He received the Indiana Space Grant Consortium Scholarship for three consecutive years, and also was the recipient of departmental and institutional scholarships. He has been on the honors list each semester at USI. In spring 2010, he was a member of a team of USI engineering students who participated in the first annual Lunabotics Mining Competition at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. He is also on the team that will compete in the 2011 competition, set for late May. "Last year we got third place and this year we hope to get first," he said. Schnautz said if he had gone to college elsewhere, he might have gotten lost in the crowd. "You get personal attention from your professors here. It's easy to stand out and show who you are." His campus involvement includes serving as a resident assistant in the STEM Living-Learning Community for four years, playing with the Jazz Band and Pep Band, and participating in the Newman Catholic Ministry. He was a member of the 2011 Homecoming Court. "I have really enjoyed USI," he said. "It's been interesting to watch it grow over the years. It's become a place that I've grown to love - a place for me to call home." He is a member of Communion and Liberation University (CLU), a Catholic student group, and is music leader for the Catholic services on campus. The son of Doug and Patty Schnautz of Evansville, he attended Signature School for three years but is an F.J. Reitz High School graduate. While pursuing a job in mechanical engineering in Evansville, he will continue to volunteer with community bands and the Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation summer musical. He is engaged to be married to Katie Dockery, who is graduating from USI with an associate's degree in dental assisting. The couple plan to marry in July. Schnautz's brother Robert Schnautz also graduates from USI in May, with a bachelor's degree in computer science. Their brother Kenneth Schnautz, an engineering major, expects to graduate in December. |
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