Industrial Engineering students Hanna Janossy (IndE 1T3) and Lea Janossy (IndE 1T4) have won this year’s Canadian Engineering Memorial Foundation (CEMF) Vale Undergraduate Scholarship and the CEMF Undergraduate Scholarship – Ontario Region, respectively.
They competed nationally, with Ontario being a very competitive field this year. It is unprecedented in CEMF’s 22-year history for two sisters to be selected by two different judging panels.
CEMF promotes engineering as a career choice for young Canadian women through its scholarship program, among many other initiatives. The foundation selected Hanna and Lea for their leadership, mentorship and contributions to the U of T Engineering community.
U of T Engineering has a long and proud history of women mentors and leaders. More than a fifth of the Faculty’s undergraduates are women, while women make up nearly a quarter of graduate students. The Faculty has made it a key priority to continually increase those numbers, as leaders such as Hanna and Lea are the next generation of creative thinkers and problem-solvers.
“The scholarship is an incredible opportunity,” said Hanna. “We’re both very passionate about being role models to young women who want to pursue engineering.”
“We are fortunate to have strong role models growing up, since our mother and grandmother are engineers,” added Lea. “We now have the opportunity to be role models and to show young women that there are boundless opportunities in this field.”
Both Hanna and Lea serve as Co-Presidents of Women in Science and Engineering(WISE) at U of T, an organization that aims to empower and connect women in the fields of science and engineering through mentorship and consultation. This year, they also won first place at the U of T Engineering Kompetition (UTEK) in the Communications category.
In addition to WISE, Hanna is the Co-Chair of the Industrial Engineering Mentorship program. In 2011, Hanna and her team won first place at UTEK in the Design category. Outside of her extensive U of T work, she has also led a Canadian Delegation for the Knights of Malta International Camp for Disabled Youth.
Lea has been a Class Representative in Industrial Engineering for two years in a row and was recently re-elected to serve next fall. As well, she is a member of the Hart House Chamber Strings Orchestra. Lea has managed to balance her studies and a long list of extracurricular activities at University, from U of T’s Sailing team, to the Engineering Co-ed Volleyball team to the Water Polo team.
Earlier this year, the sisters were among a group of U of T Engineering students featured on CBC’s The National report on women in engineering.
Hanna’s scholarship, worth $10,000, is intended to encourage more women to further their careers in engineering by not only providing a financial reward, but the opportunity to gain work experience over the summer with global mining company, Vale.
Lea is one of five women across Canada to receive the CEMF Undergraduate Scholarship. The $5,000 award is bestowed annually to five female students considered the most promising ambassadors for the profession.
“Hanna and Lea are outstanding role models with very promising futures in the engineering profession,” said Dean Cristina Amon, Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering. “On behalf of the Faculty, I would like to extend my warmest congratulations on these richly deserved scholarships. It is inspiring to continually see such immense leadership by so many of our female U of T Engineering students. They make us proud.”
All scholarship recipients will be recognized at the CEMF Annual Awards Luncheon in June.
