Adrianne Engel of McLean, Va., has received Virginia Tech’s 2014 College of Natural Resources and Environment Outstanding Senior Award.

Sponsored by the Virginia Tech Alumni Association and the senior class, the Outstanding Senior Award recognizes exceptional academic achievement and leadership by a graduating senior from each of the university’s eight colleges. Recipients have a minimum grade point average of 3.75 on a 4.0 scale and are selected by faculty and students within the respective colleges.

Engel will receive a Bachelor of Science degree in meteorology and a Bachelor of Arts degree in geography during the University Commencement ceremony to be held Friday, May 16, in Lane Stadium.

A dean’s list student and Commonwealth Scholar, Engel is a University Honors student. She has been inducted into Gamma Theta Upsilon and Golden Key International honor societies, and is a member of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars, the Phi Beta Kappa Academic Honor Society, and the Sigma Alpha Lambda leadership and honors organization.

Engel participated in a summer research experience at the University of Michigan, was a volunteer and intern at the National Weather Service in Blacksburg, and has experience as a storm chaser. 

She also traveled to and studied in Nepal where she focused on culture and resource sustainability. 

Outside the classroom, Engel has served as a college ambassador and played on the Virginia Tech Club Softball team for three seasons. She currently serves as treasurer of the Blue Ridge Chapter of the American Meteorological Society and National Weather Association.

Dedicated to its motto, Ut Prosim (That I May Serve), Virginia Tech takes a hands-on, engaging approach to education, preparing scholars to be leaders in their fields and communities. As the commonwealth’s most comprehensive university and its leading research institution, Virginia Tech offers 240 undergraduate and graduate degree programs to more than 31,000 students and manages a research portfolio of $513 million. The university fulfills its land-grant mission of transforming knowledge to practice through technological leadership and by fueling economic growth and job creation locally, regionally, and across Virginia.

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