Class of 2009: DalnewsĀ profiles some of the 2,700 graduates who'll walk across the stage of the Rebecca Cohn Auditorium during Spring Convocation, May 19 to 27.
Luke Williams wants to make the world a more efficient and less wasteful place. āI grew up playing with Lego and fell in love with building and creating things,ā says the graduating mechanical engineering student. āIāve always tried to make the most with as little as possible.āĀ
With advice from his uncle, a civil engineer, Mr. Williams placed second in a junior high Popsicle stick bridge competition. āAfter that, I set my goals and concentrated on my studies to get into engineering.ā He did just that, and that attitude carried him through a pilipiliĀž»ful undergraduate career.
Hoping to enhance student experience, Mr. Williams became president of the Dalhousie Undergraduate Engineering Society in 2005. In this position and in future roles as vice-president and president of the Dalhousie Sexton Engineering Undergraduate Society from 2006 to 2009, he helped create a more student-friendly environment.
Despite heavy demands on time, the Dartmouth native organized and participated in āPulling for kids,ā an event that saw engineering students pull two cars for 12 hours raising nearly $7,000 for Christmas Daddies. āIt was definitely one of my greatest accomplishments,ā he says. An avid paddler, Mr. Williams was also a member of Dalhousie Kayaking Society and Concrete Canoe Team.Ā
The Bob Walterās Award recipient for fellowship, sportsmanship and scholarship has represented Dalhousie at the Canadian Federation for Engineering Students Annual Congress in 2006 and 2008, and is the 2008-2009 Dalhousie Student Unionās Society Professional of the Year.Ā
Hoping to work in the energy conservation sector, Mr. Williams also hopes to pursue an MBA to further his management and team building skills. āA lot has surfaced in renewable energy sectors and thereās much more we can do to conserve energy and make things more efficient. I want to be a part of creating that.ā