Three Valparaiso University students have been selected to receive the national Tau Beta Pi Scholarship. This highly-competitive award recognizes approximately 250 senior engineering students each year. Mechanical engineering majors Kaylee Roberts ’27 and Sophie Schoch ’27, and biomechanical engineering major Kathryn Tracy ’27 were all chosen to represent Valpo in this prestigious pool of upcoming engineering talent. Their stories highlight how Valpo’s dedication to supporting technical excellence and diverse interests creates incredible future experts and leaders.
Tau Beta Pi is an engineering honors society open exclusively to top-performing students who have demonstrated exemplary character. Seniors like Roberts, Tracy and Schoch must be in the top fifth of their class to be eligible for entry, and must obtain membership before being eligible for the scholarship.
“I applied both for the honor of representing Valpo with Tau Beta Pi and for the financial support in my last year of college,” said Roberts. “But reading the bios of past winners and seeing all the amazing things those people have done drove home that I get to be part of that group.”
Valparaiso University’s philosophy of encouraging students to grow as people, not just in their major, has been instrumental in these students’ college experience. Tracy is a member of fraternity/sorority life with Gamma Phi Beta, Roberts is heavily involved in the performing arts, including multiple dance groups and the “Hooked on Tonics” acapella group, and Schoch is a division-one athlete serving as captain of the Valpo swim team. At Valpo, these interests don’t compete with a student’s major, they enhance their abilities as future professionals.
“Being an athlete has helped me be a better engineer,” said Schoch. “I wouldn’t be who I am without my team.”
After graduation, Roberts plans to take part in an early career rotation program to determine where her skills would fit best within an organization. Tracy, who has been involved in designing and building custom vehicles for children with mobility challenges in Valpo’s GoBabyGo program, is considering pursuing a career in assistive technology inspired by that experience. Schoch is still narrowing down where to apply her mechanical engineering expertise, but has completed a successful internship with medical device manufacturer Medtronic that has left her confident that she’ll find a position where she can make a difference.
