Source: Eric Grusenmeyer, grusene@k-state.edu
Hometown interest: Smithville, Mo.
News release prepared by: Beth Bohn, 785-532-1544, bbohn@k-state.edu
Friday, Sept. 2, 2011
MAN OF STEEL: ARCHITECTURAL ENGINEERING STUDENT'S CAREER CHOICE GETS SCHOLARSHIP BOOST
MANHATTAN -- Classes and internships have helped Kansas State University's Eric Grusenmeyer confirm his career choice as a structural engineer. Now a scholarship from a major steel construction organization will help him reach his goal.
Grusenmeyer, a senior in architectural engineering, Smithville, Mo., has received a $5,000 American Institute of Steel Construction Education Foundation Scholarship. It is one of nine awarded by the foundation for the 2011-2012 school year. Grusenmeyer's scholarship was established by Havens Steel Company in honor of Fred R. Havens.
"The scholarship helps pay for school, and I'm very thankful for that," said Grusenmeyer, who was encouraged to apply by Kimberly Kramer, associate professor of architectural engineering and construction science.
The scholarship requires that applicants be full-time students in civil or architectural engineering and enrolled in an accredited U.S. university program. It is available to undergraduate juniors and seniors and graduate students interested in structural engineering and construction.
Grusenmeyer is in K-State's combined bachelor's and master's degree program in architecture engineering, with an emphasis on structural engineering. He plans to graduate in December 2012 and would then like to work for a structural engineering firm in the building structures industry. He's been preparing for a career as a structural engineer by spending the last five summers serving internships in the industry, including four internships, from 2007-2010, with Thorton Tomasetti's Kansas City office.
"This summer I interned at Johnston Burkholder Associates, also in Kansas City," he said. "I have learned a great deal through my internship experiences. Through my work over the past several summers, I have confirmed my career choice as a structural engineer and solidified what I am learning in school."
Along with his engineering classes, Grusenmeyer is active in the K-State student chapter of the Structural Engineers Association of Kansas and Missouri, where he is currently serving as events coordinator. He also is a member of K-State's 2011-2012 Architectural Engineering Institute Student Design Competition Team.
But Grusenmeyer isn't just interested in engineering-related activities. He's a five-year member of the K-State Marching Band, The Pride of Wildcat Land, where he's had several leadership positions. He's been an assistant section leader for a year and head section leader for three years of the trombone section. He also is or has been involved in a variety of other athletic and concert bands, as well as other engineering and general campus organizations. Outside of K-State, he enjoys helping his high school's FIRST robotics team during time off school and volunteering with the local 4-H organization in his home county.
Grusenmeyer is the son of Ron and Mary Kay Grusenmeyer and a graduate of Smithville R-II High School.
The American Institute of Steel Construction, headquartered in Chicago, is a not-for-profit technical institute and trade association established in 1921 to serve the structural steel design community and construction industry in the United States.
