After four years as an undergraduate student attending Stevens Institute of Technology, Laura Lemke of Merrick, New York has been named the valedictorian of the Class of 2014. Lemke has graduated with both a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering and a master’s of degree in ocean engineering and has earned a GPA of 3.991 throughout her years at Stevens, while participating in athletics and the Stevens Scholars program.
Clearly, Lemke has been extensively involved in academics during her time at Stevens. As a Scholars student, Lemke was involved in the Stevens’ Summer Scholars Research Program at the Davidson Laboratory for two consecutive summers after her Freshman year. For her master’s thesis, Lemke studied patterns in shoreline change along the Jersey Shore in Long Branch, the site of a beach nourishment program. In addition to research, Lemke worked as an intern at Langan for a semester.
Lemke didn’t originally plan on doing so much academically at Stevens. “Honestly, from day one, my whole idea was to take one day at a time and one class at a time. I didn’t really have any long-term goals so to speak, aside graduate.” Lemke said. “In some ways, I actually did more than I expected. If you asked me as a freshman or even a sophomore if I was going to take extra classes for a Master’s, I would have shook my head and said you were crazy. But somehow down the road, that became something to work towards.”
Other aspects of Stevens Lemke has been heavily involved in were the Stevens Cross Country (XC) and Track and Field (T&F) teams. Since her first semester, Lemke has competed as a distance runner every season; in addition to juggling academics, which is no easy feat. She has become the ideal student-athlete; appearing consistently on the President’s List, which honors varsity athletes who earn at least a 3.75 GPA while participating in a conference-sponsored sport.
Part of the reason Lemke decided to attend Stevens was from an overnight athletic recruitment trip with the XC/T&F teams. The campus experience, she said, made her “fall in love” with Stevens, and the campus felt like a place Lemke could fit in- with the close-knit community of students, professors, and administration. Lemke wanted to continue her passion for running into college and the communities within the Stevens Cross Country and Track & Field teams were also very close-knit, and have hence become a huge part of Lemke’s life.
Lemke attributed her proudest moment at Stevens towards finishing four years of cross country/track & field. “It took a lot of time, patience, and certainly a lot of energy to make it through,” stated Lemke. “But I made great friendships through this and certainly grew as a person as well.” To Lemke, Stevens offered more opportunities than she could have even imagined. “What I’ve learned here will stay with me always, as will all the memories I have made,” Lemke commented.
What helped Lemke get through college the most was her fantastic support system. “I cannot thank my friends and family enough for all their support over the years. They were my cheerleaders when I needed cheerleaders, critics when I needed critics, and therapists when I needed therapists,” stated Lemke.
After graduating, Laura Lemke plans on pursuing a career in coastal engineering by accepting a position in that field at CH2M HILL in New York City, an engineering firm that provides consulting, design, construction, and operations services for corporations and federal, state, and local governments.
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