Transfer students and veterans shine at the 2025 scholarship reception
The College of Engineering honors exceptional students and donor generosity at the annual event.
The college’s annual scholarship reception celebrates donors who financially support students, including those who come to the University of Arizona after engaging in military service and professional development.
The Student Union Memorial Center ballroom bustled with 213 eager scholarship reception attendees on Feb. 19, kicking off an event that celebrated donors supporting nontraditional engineering students.
“One goal I’ve had since I came to the University of Arizona has been to graduate more engineers,” Craige M. Berge Dean David W. Hahn told the audience, comprised of donors and students. “Thanks to the generosity of many of you in this room tonight, we can provide broader access to a first-class engineering education.”
Nearly 650 undergraduate scholarships were awarded in the College of Engineering this year, along with 45 graduate scholarships. Several of these scholarship recipients brought unique skills to the college from previous professions.
Nontraditional students do not start at the university directly after high school, opting for a different path before entering the engineering field, like community college or military service.
Experiences drive a desire to serve
One undergraduate scholarship recipient was electrical and computer engineering student Omar Corona Ramos, who spoke at the reception. Ramos served in the U.S. Army as a radio and satellite systems operator for four years before joining Paradigm Labs as an information technology manager during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“These experiences have not only reinforced my passion for technology but also my desire to contribute to the betterment of my community,” he said.
Omar Corona Ramos is the first member of his family to graduate from college.
Ramos will graduate with his bachelor’s in May and said awards, including the da Vinci Scholarship and the Gene E. and Marylyn Schumann Tobey Scholarship, helped him realize his potential.
“As I reflect on my journey, I am reminded that none of this would have been possible without the sacrifices of my parents and the support of donors like you.”
Ramos will pursue a doctoral degree in physics. He plans to advance wireless communication technology and quantum computing research.
Honoring engineers of all types
Aerospace engineering alum Bob Rutherford joined the event to present the Benjamin W. Cowperthwait Memorial Scholarship, which was endowed by his mother to honor his grandfather.
Rutherford's grandfather – Benjamin W. Cowperthwait – entered the engineering field by way of the electrical power industry and became a self-made person without a degree.
Robert (Bob) Rutherford is a 1978 aerospace engineering alum and former Navy fighter pilot. He holds the 2019 College of Engineering Professional Achievement Award and the 2021 Mentor of the Year recognition.
“He always felt a bit of shame that he never got a college education,” Rutherford explained. “He was a fantastic engineer, but he did not have a piece of paper, so I convinced my mother to name this scholarship after him.”
The Cowperthwait scholarship supports nontraditional students like Pablo Luna Falcon, who graduated with a bachelor’s last December.
Falcon transferred from Pima Community College to become a mechanical engineer and was recognized by the W.A Franke Honors College as the Outstanding Transfer Student in his graduating class.
“Thanks to engineering scholarship donors, I had the opportunity of doing so much more than classes. I developed professional and technical skills while working with talented research groups within and outside the U of A,” he said.
A trailblazer at school and in her family
Pima Community College transfer student Amber Parker celebrated winning the Wildcat Engineering Trailblazer Scholarship. She was a hairdresser for 10 years before pursuing a bachelor’s in software engineering.
She was intimidated at first.
“I was behind on the learning curve, so it was very difficult to be with people who were so talented,” she said, adding that she sometimes wondered if she belonged.
Parker taught herself how to code and improved her study habits. She caught up to her classmates while also finding community in student clubs like the Software Engineering Wildcats and the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers.
Scholarships were integral in helping Parker balance school and family life. She said she did not qualify for many scholarships because her husband works.
Amber Parker (center) says her family is thrilled to have an engineer in its midst.
“But that ends up creating a lot of debt,” she said. “The scholarship helps lessen the burden.”
Parker’s kids are talking for the first time about going to college, she said.
“The less burden I have, the more I can help them.”
In May, Parker will be the first in her family to graduate with a college degree, and she looks forward to supporting her children on their higher academic journey.
The work has already paid off: IBM hired her for a CO-OP – cooperative education – position that comes with a salary and continued education. Because of this support, she started the accelerated master’s program in 2024.
