Oguna Receives Class of 1913 Award

EE senior Angela Oguna received the Class of 1913 award, which is given to a senior man and woman whose intelligence, devotion to studies and personal character give promise of usefulness to society. Marlesa Roney, vice provost for Student Success, and Kathryn Nemeth Tuttle, associate vice provost for Student Success, presented the award during Senior Design Lab II.

“I am both honored and humbled to receive this award. It is the result of a lot of hard work, which is complemented by the support I have received from my family, friends and my mentors,” Oguna said. “My academic advisor [EECS Professor James Roberts] was very supportive when I transferred to KU, and he played an integral role in ensuring I got off on the right foot. The guidance I received on my first undergraduate research assignment at the Information and Telecommunications Technology Center (ITTC) equipped me with essential technical skills, in addition to widening my KU network. When I finally graduate, it will be with appreciation for the opportunities that have been made available to me and the confidence that I made the most of my time here at KU.”

Since arriving from Nairobi, Kenya, as a transfer student in 2008, Oguna has garnered a number of prestigious honors. Last spring she became first KU student to win a Google Anita Borg Memorial Scholarship, which encourages women to excel in computing and technology and become active role models and leaders.  She was named “one of the outstanding scholars in America” at the 2009 National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) Convention and later that year won a national Chrysler Foundation Scholarship from the Society of Women Engineers.

Oguna has been on the Dean’s Honor Roll every semester since transferring KU in 2008 and is a member of Tau Beta Pi, the engineering honors society. This fall she received the Tau Beta Pi Record Scholarship, named for 1929 KU graduate Leroy E. Record.

Oguna is a mentor to incoming freshmen as an ambassador for the School of Engineering and is the president of the KU chapter of the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE). In support of the NSBE mission of increasing the number of minority engineers, Oguna volunteered at Central Junior High School’s after-school program this fall and last month helped judge the Vex robotics competition during the Kansas City Youth Technology Fair.

This month Oguna received a KU undergraduate research award (UGRA). The award is supporting the collection of detailed information about real-time energy use and cost, allowing consumers to make more informed decisions about their consumption. The independent research will help in the integration of Smart Grid technology for small-scale consumers. The effort was initially funded by the American Public Power Association Demonstration of Energy-Efficient Developments (DEED) grant that Oguna received last spring.

A 15-member selection committee comprised of students, faculty and staff, selects Chancellor Student Award winners from university-wide nominations. Recipients will receive special recognition during the Commencement Ceremony on May 22.