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Terre Haute graduate honored during Rose-Hulman commencement
Alisha Mastakar of Terre Haute was among Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology graduates to receive special honors during commencement ceremonies Saturday.
Mastakar, a nanoengineering and optical engineering graduate, received the Herman A. Moench Distinguished Senior Commendation for distinguishing herself as a commendable influence on members of the Rose-Hulman community.
Mastakar, who earned summa cum laude academic graduation honors, was a Noblitt Scholar and served the campus community and Indiana in a variety of ways. Mastakar's post-graduation plans include pursuing a doctorate degree at Rochester Institute of Technology.
Computer engineering graduate Vineet Ranade, of Mountain View, Calif., received the John T. Royse Award for being considered the most outstanding graduate, in the opinion of Rose-Hulman's faculty and staff, based upon academic achievement, student leadership, participation in co-curricular activities, and general campus citizenship.
Ranade embodied all aspects of the Royse Award —academic achievement, student leadership, participation in co-curricular activities, and general campus citizenship —while finding success in everything he did while attending Rose-Hulman, said Erik Hayes, vice president of student affairs and dean of students.
In addition, a record 15 students earned Heminway Gold Medals for attaining the highest academic achievement (4.0 grade-point average) during their Rose-Hulman careers.
Ranade was engaged in several different research opportunities, which included evolvable hardware and investigating the merits of social networking for Bangladeshi farmers.
Outside of the classroom, he excelled as a student-athlete, twice qualifying for the NCAA Division III swimming and division championships, winning multiple Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference swimming event titles and establishing numerous school and conference records.
Joining Ranade as this year's Heminway Gold Medal recipients were Salik Ahmad, Kyle Asbury, Ariadna Duvall, Calvin Hamilton, Natalie Hannum, Kaylee Lane, Benjamin Lyons, Henry Nunns, Justin Roberts, Joshua Schrock, Mark Serdinak, Ellen Shales, Blaise Swartwood, and Isaac Towne.
