|
May
24, 2003, 16S:
Special Commencement Issue
Back
to Front Page
Bechtel
Achievement Award: Ankur
Luthra , EECS
Bechtel
Engineering Scholarship:
Jengyee Liang, IEOR
Departmental
Citation Winners:
Nathan Huebsch, BioE
Mark Wan, CEE
Peter Chen, EECS
Kenny Kamrin, Eng. Science
Marc Oman, IEOR
Melissa Santala, MSE
Siddharth Patel, ME
Brian Quiter, NE
Other
Departmental Awards
|
|
Photo
by Peg Skorpinski
|
Industrial
Engineering & Operations Research Citation: Marc Oman
Marc Oman wouldn’t be
here today if it weren’t for Berkeley. The Cal campus is where Marc’s
alum father and French exchange student mother met in 1969.
After listening to Marc’s perfect English, it’s hard to believe
he grew up in France. But speaking English with his father, attending
a bilingual middle school in Paris, and going to the Cal alumni family
camp since birth has left Marc with no trace of an accent and a love for
Berkeley.
After doing well in the rigorous science program of his top French high
school, Marc was so focused on getting into Berkeley that he applied to
no other university. There was a small glitch. The French system of artificial
grade deflation left Marc with a C+ average and he was rejected from Cal.
It took a letter from his high school principal explaining that his French
C+ was equal to an American A+ to finally get him in.
“If I didn’t get in, the plan was to live in my uncle’s
garage and go to community college before transferring to Berkeley,”
says Marc.
Because of his close admissions call, Marc has always had a heightened
appreciation for his time at Berkeley and has made the most of his experience.
During his first three years, Marc took up to 20 units of classes each
semester while also making time for nonengineering classes like ethnic
studies, Slavic literature, political economy, and philosophy.
A passionate world traveler, he also took three weeks off in February
to visit Brazil.
Making the most of his time here also meant getting involved. As a tenacious
freshman, Marc organized the IEOR faculty-student dinner before he could
even identify anyone in the department. Now in his final semester, Marc
is part of the senior gift committee because of his desire to give back.
According to IEOR department chair Lee Shruben, Marc’s contributions
extend beyond activities and academics. “Marc has an infectious enthusiasm
that always lifts the spirits of those around him.”
When he’s not reading poetry or cooking French food, Marc’s
favorite pastime is attending every possible discussion forum on campus.
Next year Marc will be working for a pharmaceutical consulting firm but
would like to eventually return to school to get a graduate degree in
public policy.
|
