The Maxine Shelly Turner Memorial Scholarship is a $2,000 scholarship awarded annually to a deserving undergraduate woman studying engineering or technical schience. Here's a little bit about each of the recipients.

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  Tia DeGiovanni

  2024 Recipient

  Tia DeGiovanni is a 5th year student at West Virginia University, pursuing a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, and is a sister of the Beta Eta chapter. Since high school, she has had a passion for STEM outreach in her community thanks to her participation in FIRST Robotics. The opportunity to continue this outreach in college and support women in STEM is partly what led her to join the Alpha Omega Epsilon Chapter at her university. She organized and assisted in the planning of cost-free STEM activities at WVU for young women in local middle and high schools. In her spare time at school, you can find her working in the WVU Biometrics Research Lab, mentoring undergraduate students in critical engineering foundation courses, or volunteering at outreach events for the WVU Statler College of Engineering.

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  Angelina Xu

  2023 Recipient

  Angelina Xu is a rising junior at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) studying Electrical Engineering & Computer Science. She has been involved in many philanthropy areas, including raising money for pediatric illness, children's literacy, and hunger security. In addition, she is heavily involved in biomedical and financial research, having authored peer-reviewed publications on Alzheimer's disease, DNA, and most recently cryptocurrency. On campus, she is also involved in Society of Women Engineers and Women Business Leaders to empower women in these fields.

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  Kelli Determan

  2022 Recipient

  Kelli Determan will be a senior in Electrical Engineering this fall at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. She is a founding executive board member of the Gamma Beta Chapter of A.O.E. and has held positions as the executive secretary and the active chapter representative. She is also involved as a Tickle College of Engineering Ambassador giving tours to and helping prospective students find their best fit at UT. She is also very passionate about impeding hunger, and homelessness, and regularly volunteers at a local food pantry in Knoxville and at home in Illinois.

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  Maya Hamka

  2021 Recipient

  Maya Hamka is a senior pursuing a BS in Electrical Engineering and Engineering Mathematics at the University of Michigan - Dearborn. She wants to work in the automotive industry and help bring fatal automotive accidents to zero. She has been the Treasurer, Vice President, and Membership Educator for the Iota Chapter of A.O.E., as well as the Treasurer, Vice President, and President of the Tau Beta Pi chapter at University of Michigan - Dearborn. Maya mentors high school students through Math Circle at the University of Michigan - Dearborn and through Math and Science Club, Business Professionals of America, and Michigan Youth Leadership at her former high school. She is also performing undergraduate research, helping develop an algorithm that can solve a mathematical problem that exists in many imaging techniques.

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  Allison Van Horn

  2020 Recipient

  Allison is a fourth-year student at Oregon State University pursuing a double major in honors mechanical engineering and honors manufacturing engineering. During school, Allison dedicates her time to leadership roles in a variety of extracurricular activities, including as the Chair of the Mechanical, Industrial, & Manufacturing Engineering Student Advisory Board; VP of Marketing & Communications for the Student Alumni Ambassadors; and SWEsters Ambassador for the Society of Women Engineers. This spring and summer, she interned at Tesla as a Manufacturing Engineering Intern and at Intel as a Project Manager Intern. In the future, she hopes to use her engineering knowledge to launch a sustainable tech company and make a positive impact on the environment.

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  Kristen Postiglione

  2019 Recipient

  Kristen Postiglione is a 2nd year student pursuing a BS in Engineering Management with Mechanical Engineering Specialty at the Stevens Institute of Technology. She has spearheaded and supported awareness of STEM opportunities for young girls, through STEM events for female elementary school students, and completed her Girl Scout Gold Award by creating a LinkedIN STEM Mentorship group for female high school students. She has also been a robotics mechanical Team Captain, and creator and chair of their STEM Outreach event.

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  McKenna Roberts

  2018 Recipient

  McKenna Roberts is a 4th year student pursuing a BS in Biomedical Engineering at Harvard College. McKenna became passionate about pursuing engineering during her experience as project lead with Harvard Engineers Without Borders, where she organized 26 students to design and construct a water distribution system in a community of 300 people in rural Dominican Republic. She is also active in Harvard Model United Nations, Catholic Student Association, and tutoring through EVKids.

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  Cara Sperbeck

  2017 Recipient

  Cara Sperbeck is a senior studying Computer Engineering at York College of Pennsylvania. Inspired to studying engineering by her electrical engineer mother, Cara aspires to work in robotics with biomedical application. She was selected by the faculty as the top sophomore student in her program, wowed her professors with live software engineering project demos, and has continued to impress them by building a robot that could navigate their facility. Cara hopes to encourage other women to studying engineering by setting an example as successful engineer and volunteering for STEM outreach programs, such as Techgirlz and First Lego League.

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  Lynn Urbina

  2016 Recipient

  Lynn is in her junior year studying mechanical engineering at the University of Pittsburgh. Beyond her studies, Lynn volunteers not only as a peer tutor but also as a mentor for FIRST Robotics. She participated in an all-girls FIRST Robotics team in high school, Girls of Steel Robotics, which inspired her to be an engineer. She now mentors her former team to both give back to a group who inspired her and to inspire other young women to join the STEM fields. Lynn is also working on forming a FIRST Robotics team through the university for underprivileged students. Beyond FIRST, Lynn also participates in both Formula SAE and the Society of Hispanic Engineers.

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  Olivia Loa

  2015 Recipient

  Olivia is a senior Chemical Engineering major at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Olivia is a member of Alpha Omega Epsilon and plans on continuing Maxine's dream to empower women in science and engineering, both professionally and socially. She is part of many organizations besides Alpha Omega Epsilon that include: Engineers Without Boarders, the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, and Tau Beta Pi. Her goal is to develop local-sourced renewable energy power in remote areas of Indonesia, where she is from.

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  Rajia Abdelaziz

  2014 Recipient

  Rajia is a junior double majoring in electrical engineering and computer science at the University of Massachusetts Lowell. In less than a year, Rajia was promoted as a Lead Android Software Developer in a co-op known as the iSENSE Project. She has also taken leadership roles in the student chapter of the Society of Women in Engineering and Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. Her main goals through her academic career has been to promote engineering to freshman and women and to continue finding new challenges to better herself.

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  Mackenzie Williams

  2013 Recipient

  Mackenzie is a sophomore in chemical engineering with a minor in genetics at North Carolina State University. Her professional interest is in genetically engineering pharmaceuticals to match a person's DNA to facilitate the curing process in chronic illness. She promotes women in engineering and technical science through her involvement with AΩE, as a co-chair for philanthropy and sisterhood at the Gamma chapter, and as a freshman, she assumed a leadership position at the Spring 2013 Engineering Career Fair. Mackenzie maintains a 4.0 GPA while she also fundraised for Ronald McDonald House and breast cancer research, painted picnic tables for the local YMCA, and promoted recycling at the football stadium, all within her first year in college.

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  Larissa Hall

  2012 Recipient

  Larissa Hall is a senior at Kansas State University majoring in Biological Engineering. Besides maintaining a perfect grade point, she is highly involved in the Scholarship House on campus and mentors middle and junior high school girls interested in science and engineering. Professor Stacy Hutchinson says that "[Hall] possess the intellect to become a great engineer and the communication skills and personality to become an outstanding engineer that can truly make a difference."

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  Elise Welsh

  2011 Recipient

  Elise is a senior at Texas Tech University, Beta Alpha Chapter of A.O.E., majoring in Chemical Engineering. Six short years ago Elise never saw herself as an engineer but then was introduced to chemistry and calculus by two fabulous high school teachers her career path had changed forever. She finds thermodynamics, fluids, and heat transfer fascinating classes. Kristina Thompson writes "Elise is an enthusiastic, bright and industrious student, organization officer, and community supporter who thrives on challenges."

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  Lauren Boldon

  2010 Recipient

  Lauren attends Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and will be a senior studying Nuclear Engineering. Her interest in this field stemmed from attending the Global Young Leaders' Conference where she learned about renewable energy resources and human trafficking. Lauren attended the Global Women in Nuclear Conference as one of two selected students from RPI. She is "raising awareness of the many opportunities for women in engineering through the Association for Women in Science, SWE, Women in Engineering Mentor, and a Rensselaer STAR volunteer. Dr. Michael Trinkala writes "Lauren's list of honors and accomplishments continue to grow, but what I found most impressive was the fact she was offered two nuclear engineering internships during her freshman year. She possesses the acumen, personality, drive, knowledge, desire, foresight, and personal relationship skills that will make her a leader and a spokesperson in this field."

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  Michelle Brenner

  2009 Recipient

  Michelle, an Alpha Omega Epsilon sister, went to University of Wisconsin-Madison where she was a biochemitry and Spanish dual major.

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  Erica Rice

  2008 Recipient

  Erica is the first recipient of the $2000 Maxine Shelly Turner Memorial Scholarship. With a 3.9 GPA, Erica is in her final year at Purdue University majoring in Chemical Engineering. The personal and professional statements she provided were outstanding. The letter of recommendation from Dr. Beaudoin was amazing. He wrote: "Based on my observations of her and my experience as an undergraduate at MIT, as a graduate student at Texas and NC State, and a faculty member at Arizona State and here at Purdue, it is my opinion that she would be a top performer at any of these schools. Frankly, I don't know the limits of her ability."