School notes for July 14, 2015

WHS graduate earns degree from UW, academic accolades

A Washougal High School valedictorian recently graduated magna cum laude from the University of Washington.

Darcy Akers, WHS class of 2011, earned a Bachelor of Science degree in civil and environmental engineering.

Akers received the 2015 Neil & Ann Hawkins Award as the top student in the CEE department, and was also honored with the 2015 College of Engineering Dean’s Medal for Academic Excellence.

For the Dean’s Medal, students are selected from among those nominated by department chairs and evaluated on criteria including grades, rigor and distribution of courses, research experience, extracurricular activities and leadership.

A member of Engineers Without Borders for four years, Akers has assumed progressively larger roles in the organization. As the international project director, she managed a project in a rural Guatemalan community, which involved leading her team, authoring extensive technical reports, and managing interpersonal relationships on the ground in Guatemala.

For the past three years, Akers has worked as an intern engineer with the City of Bellevue’s transportation department. She incorporated her experience with the city’s new traffic signal system data into an independent study.

Akers has also participated in multiple research projects, Engineering Rome study abroad, and is a College of Engineering peer mentor. She is the recipient of a number of scholarships, including the Institute of Transportation Engineers Undergraduate Student Award, Coral Sales, and Emerging Leaders in Engineering.

Akers is now working for the City of Bellevue Transportation Department as a signal operations engineer.

Local students make honor roll at OSU

The names of students who have made the honor roll for spring term have been announced by Oregon State University in Corvallis.

A total of 982 students earned straight-A (4.0). Another 3,571 earned a B-plus (3.5) or better to make the listing. To be on the honor roll, students must carry at least 12 graded hours of course work.

Students on the honor roll included, Camas resident Philip C. Lewallen, post baccalaureate, computer science, who earned a straight-A average, and Washougal resident Amanda M. O’Quinn, senior, marketing, who earned a 3.5 or better.