Many honors bestowed upon Carol Smith Cayo

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Carol Smith Cayo

MILWAUKEE, WI (05/29/2012)(readMedia)--  Carol Smith Cayo, of Lake Mills, Wis., was chosen as the 2012 recipient of the Fred F. Loock Outstanding Student Award. This award is presented annually to the Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE) senior student, who, in the opinion of the faculty, most notably combines an excellent academic record and has at the same time demonstrated leadership and professional bearing in extracurricular or community service activities. It is the most prestigious student testimonial that MSOE bestows.

Cayo graduated with high honors from Milwaukee School of Engineering on May 26, 2012. She received a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Engineering. Students who graduate with high honors have achieved a cumulative grade point average of 3.70 or higher. Notably, Cayo was named to the Dean's List with high honors every quarter during her time at MSOE.

Cayo received the MSOE Alumni Association Award for Student Achievement during the Spring Commencement. The award is given to a student who has made time in his or her hectic schedule to serve as a leader in university and community activities in addition to achieving academic excellence. Recipients are first nominated by faculty members in their respective academic departments and then the entire graduating class selects from among its peers the student who is most deserving of this prestigious award.

Her activities and involvement on campus have been extensive since her arrival at MSOE. Cayo has been an active member all four years with the Institute of Industrial Engineers (IIE) and the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. In addition, she has been involved with Tau Beta Pi, MSOE's Engineering Honor Society and the Industrial Engineering Peer Mentor Group. Earlier in May, Cayo received the third place James W. Barany Student Award for Excellence from IIE which recognizes undergraduate students who, since the beginning of their junior year, have distinguished themselves through excellence of scholarship and campus leadership. The award singles out those who have brought distinction to industrial engineering at their institution.

While a student at MSOE, Cayo held intern positions at Cooper Power Systems in Waukesha, General Mills in Milwaukee, and Aztalan Engineering in Lake Mills. She also worked in the MSOE Learning Resource Center as a tutor and in the MSOE Admissions Department as an Admissions Ambassador.

During her studies at MSOE, Cayo made sure she was able to include volunteering in her schedule. Her willingness to serve includes a long list, including: St. John Cathedral's Soup Kitchen; Our Next Generation Thanksgiving Day Dinner; National Women in Sports Day, MSOE's Presidential Scholarship event, End-of-Year Athletic Banquet, Accepted Student Days, and MSOE's Women's Weekend.

Cayo has been a member of the MSOE varsity basketball team all four years, all four years a starter and two-year team captain. For her amazing talent on the court, she earned the 2012 Capitol One Academic All-America of the Year for Division III Women's Basketball; the Northern Athletics Conference Player of the Year, Women's Basketball; the Northern Athletics Conference Defensive Player of the Year, Women's Basketball; Women's Basketball Coaches Association Division III Honorable Mention All American.

Basketball is but just one sport in her skill set-Cayo has played all four years at MSOE on the Women's Varsity Tennis Team in singles and doubles, three years as team captain. For this she has been named to the Northern Athletics Conference First Team All-Conference and All-Sportsmanship Team Women's Tennis. Cayo also was a four-year competitor on the MSOE Women's Varsity Track and Field team. As a result of all this, she was awarded the MSOE Women's Scholar Athlete of the Year.

Following graduation, Cayo plans to take a position as project manager and implementation coordinator at Epic Systems in Verona, Wis.

MSOE is an independent university with about 2,500 students. MSOE offers 18 bachelor's degrees and nine master's degrees in the engineering, engineering technology, building and infrastructure engineering, health-related engineering, computer, business and nursing fields. The university has a national academic reputation; longstanding ties to business and industry; dedicated professors with real-world experience; and extremely high placement rates and the highest starting salaries of any Wisconsin university according to PayScale Inc. MSOE graduates are well-rounded, technologically experienced and highly productive professionals and leaders.