ECE Student Owen Mank Recognized as Philip Merrill Presidential Scholar

ECE Senior Owen Mank has been chosen as a 2024 Philip Merrill Presidential Scholar. This award is presented annually to outstanding UMD’s seniors and their selected University and K-12 mentors. The program is named after Philip Merrill, a university supporter and Washington-area publisher and was designed to highlight the importance of mentorship from teachers and faculty.

Owen Mank, an electrical engineering student in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, has been active in on-campus student mentorship and leadership. As a participant in the Gemstone Honors program, he has been a member of the Gemstone Leadership Council and a Camp Leader in the Gems Camp orientation program. He is an alum of the Flexus & Virtus equitable and inclusive engineering program and continues to volunteer for many program events. He has worked with the Women in Engineering program as an undergraduate facilitator assisting students with writing and developing dissertations that call for social change. He is also part of the leadership team reviving the university’s student chapter of IEEE after several years of pandemic-era inactivity, providing professional and social opportunities for engineering students.

While interning for the Choptank Electric Cooperative, he traveled the Eastern Shore of Maryland developing a new fiber optic grid to provide access to reliable internet in rural areas. His future plans include a graduate degree focusing on how to develop sustainable energy sources. After graduation, he hopes to continue to provide mentorship and contribute to sustainability education.

Mank credits his high school teacher, Robert Davis from Colonel Richardson High School in Federalsburg, Maryland as his motivation for pursuing a degree in engineering through his participation in the Project Lead the Way STEM program. While learning to navigate the anxiety typical with the beginning of a student’s first year, he notes that Professor Denny Gulick of the Department of Mathematics provided support and a calming presence with his witty humor and energy. Mank writes: “my interactions with Dr. Gulick helped me feel comfortable getting more involved on campus and has snowballed into the positions I now have today.”

Published November 25, 2024