TROY, N.Y. — Rensselaer’s Severino Center for Technological Entrepreneurship at the Lally School of Management and Technology today announced the first recipients of the Rensselaer Paul and Kathleen Severino Future Leader Award. The annual award was given to 15 female high school seniors in recognition of their academic excellence in mathematics and science, and leadership, service, and devotion to their respective schools and communities.

“Changing times demand a new way to reach out to young women and encourage them to pursue entrepreneurial ventures and careers in science, engineering, and technology,” said David Gautschi, dean of the Lally School. “As the number of high-profile, successful entrepreneurs continues to grow, more and more young women today are thinking of following in their footsteps. The students selected for this award are known leaders in academics, in the classroom, and in the community. We are honored to celebrate these young women who are collaborative, able, smart, and looking for new ways to solve problems, to make a difference and to change the world.” 

In addition, Rensselaer’s Office of Enrollment Management will award the students with a $5,000 per year merit scholarship that is guaranteed for four years (five years for the School of Architecture program) for each student who is accepted and chooses to enroll at Rensselaer.

“This is a wonderful opportunity to recognize the achievements of young women who have well-earned reputations as problem-solvers and doers while still in high school,” said James Nondorf, vice president of enrollment management and dean of undergraduate and graduate admissions. “These young women comprise a disproportionately small part of the nation’s science, engineering, and technology workforce. This award provides an ideal way to reach out to such academically talented young women in an effort to help them to learn and to grow into world leaders in their chosen fields.”

The students are drawn from the following states: Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, New York, Pennsylvania, and Texas. The students honored are: Amy Baker of Saratoga Springs, N.Y.; Rebecca Byrnes of Pittsford, N.Y.; Lu Chen of Selkirk, N.Y.; Megan Gallagher of Lake Bluff, Ill.; Samantha Gruskin of Southwest Ranches, Fla.; Kesha Hagerman of Pearland, Texas; Lanier Heyburn of Atlanta, Ga.; Laura Hyde of Berwyn, Pa.; Lara India of Morton Grove, Ill.; Kelsey Klein of Glendale, Ariz.; Rebecca Lessick of Queensbury, N.Y.; Leah Libresco of Mineola, N.Y.; Rachel Rieder of East Greenbush, N.Y.; Julia Tartaglia of Rye, N.Y.; and Kathleen Upton of Anaheim, Calif.

The students were honored during a ceremony following Rensselaer’s Severino Center’s annual Women of Diversity — Entrepreneurship Symposium “Pushing the Frontier in the 21st Century — A Conversation with Visionary Women,” that featured distinguished leaders who are making their marks on higher education, business, government, and the international landscape. The annual symposium is part of the Severino Center’s effort to spark the interest of young women to pursue entrepreneurial ventures and careers in science, engineering, and technology. In addition, the students had an opportunity to tour Rensselaer’s campus and attend a private lunch with Rensselaer President Shirley Ann Jackson.

About the Severino Center
Established in 1988, and centered in the Lally School, the Severino Center lies at the core of the school’s mission to educate future entrepreneurs in the conversion of technical ideas into new businesses, products, services, and solutions.  The center provides a broad-based platform for entrepreneurs to make the transition from concept to company and serves as an intellectual gathering point for the study, research, and exchange of ideas regarding critical issues in the field of entrepreneurship studies. The center is named in honor of Rensselaer trustee Paul J. Severino ’69 and his wife, Kathleen M. Severino. 

About Rensselaer’s Lally School
Rensselaer’s Lally School of Management and Technology was founded in 1963 as an integral part of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, the nation’s oldest degree-granting technological university. Building on Rensselaer’s heritage of more than 182 years of leadership in science and engineering, the Lally School is dedicated to advancing business through innovation. The Lally School’s curriculum is designed to produce leaders who combine creative passion with the ability to integrate technology across business functions. The faculty emphasizes the value of hands-on experience available through campus resources such as the Severino Center for Technological Entrepreneurship and the nation’s first on-campus business incubator. Rensselaer’s Lally School offers graduate and undergraduate degree programs in management, doctoral programs in management and technology, an Executive MBA program, and a joint Sino-U.S. MBA for companies operating in China. For more information on the Lally School, go to www.lallyschool.rpi.edu.

Contact: Jessica Otitigbe
Phone: (518) 276-6050
E-mail: otitij@rpi.edu