Congratulations to the 2022-23 Kittyhawk Chapter Scholarship Recipients

My name is Kathleen Ziemba and I am a Mechanical Engineering student at the University of Dayton, minoring in Human Movement Biomechanics. I am so grateful for my education here, as it revealed a passion in sustainability and renewable energy that I previously did not know I had. Outside of classes, I am a student worker for the Hanley Sustainability Institute, am the president of RE-volv, a non-profit that works to put solar panels on local non-profits, and one of the co-presidents of University of Dayton’s Irish Dance Club! In my free time, I love trying new coffees, reading, and exploring Dayton. After graduation, I hope to incorporate sustainable practices into the biomedical industry. I am so grateful for this scholarship as it allows me to pursue all my academic interests at University of Dayton, while relieving some of the financial burden involved.

I want to give you my deepest thanks for your donation. Coming out of the pandemic, funds were
getting tighter, and your patronage helps lighten that load. Finishing my coursework would have
been questionable without your assistance. With your help, I can continue to try and maintain my
goal of graduating by 2025.

In the interim, I plan on using time between semesters to work as an intern at Battelle and participate
in their cyber security research program. After graduating from the College of Engineering, my goal
is to eventually work at the NSA as a full-time government employee. Before I chose to attend Ohio
State University, I had worked for them and related branches on a private, contractual basis for six
years. Midway through my career, I decided to branch out, become professionally trained, and get a
degree. Your donation will help make sure I can finish my journey and resume my work for the nation.

My name is Brad Dufek, I am a graduating Senior from Findlay, Ohio. I am the youngest of 3 brothers and I’ve always had to pay my way myself. I enlisted in the Marine Corps following high school and after a 5-year enlistment started my time here at Ohio State on the Lima regional campus. I decided to go into Computer Science and Engineering because I’ve always thought that computers were exciting and ever since I was a kid, I wanted to know how they worked.

I’d say that the thing that I am most looking forward to this year at Ohio State is enjoying my final year of school with all the friends that I’ve made so far during my time here. I am currently in several different extracurricular clubs that are enriching my time here. In OSU run club I am currently putting in
around 60 miles a week which really means a lot to me after recovering from jaw surgery to correct my underbite over the summer. I had my jaw wired shut and lost over 20 lbs. and had to take off from running for several months. I actually only just started running again at the start of August! I also spend time volunteering with OSU Circle K, a service organization here at school where we do different projects around the campus and community to help, such as writing positive messages on the sidewalks in chalk at the start of the semester and making dog toys out of old shirts for dogs at the animal shelter. And lastly, to try something different, momentum ballet! One of my friends brought me to one of their classes on bring a friend day and I enjoyed the experience so much that I ended up joining the club!

My favorite class this semester is Computer Game and Animation Techniques! It’s an extremely interesting class where we create game scenes using a game graphic design engine known as Unity, and we use C# to code scripts to implement different changes in the scenery and any other objects that we create. There’s a lot of math and physics involved trying to recreate things that we see in everyday life that we don’t put much thought into, that is until you try to mimic it!

My long-term goals following graduation are to either become a software engineer or to pursue computer animation further at Pixar or something similar. Over the course of my time here my degree hasn’t changed, but what I’ve considered following post-graduation has. Last year I had been
considering cyber security, but as I’ve gone farther along my degree path, I’ve become more exposed to all the possibilities that a computer science degree provides and I am excited for the journey ahead, even if the path slightly changes along the way!

I would just like to say thank you for the award, as it is because of people like you who want to help students achieve their dreams that this is all possible. Thanks for helping me on my journey to becoming a college graduate.

Hello! My name is Jacob Harding and I am majoring in Mechanical Engineering. Currently, I am in my second year with Sinclair Community College with another year of classes to go. When I am finished with Sinclair in the Spring of 2024, I plan on furthering my education at the University of Dayton to graduate with a Bachelors of Science in Mechanical Engineering. During my career, I hope to achieve in getting a Professional Engineering License as well as working in the roller coaster side of the amusement ride manufacturing industry. In the meantime, and whenever I have free time, I enjoy being outdoors when the weather permits it. Most notably, I have been mountain biking since 2017, and have recently started volunteering at my local mountain biking trail system. In addition, I have picked up on playing chess and I am slowly improving my strategy and technique. Because of this, I have started a chess club at Sinclair Community College, and I have some goals in mind when the club grows. I am excited to see where the future will lead me, and I am thankful for the support the Kittyhawk Association of Old Crows has given me.

My name is Jack Roades, and I am a proud Wright State student. I am in my junior year studying chemistry with hopes to move into the pharmaceutical industry upon my graduation next spring.

The KittyHawk Association of Old Crows (KAOC) Scholarship has allowed me to focus more time and effort into my academics and is greatly appreciated. I would not be able to achieve what I have without the generosity of the KAOC.