2 Graduate Students Receive Fellowships

Two graduate students at Cal State Northridge have become the first recipients of $2,000 fellowships aimed at minorities pursuing careers in engineering, the university has announced.

Esther Lewis and Martha Sayre will receive the first GTE A.F. Ratcliffe Minority Graduate Fellowships, an honor named for A.F. “Rick” Ratcliffe, dean emeritus of CSUN’s College of Engineering and Computer Science.

Endowed by the GTE Foundation, the fellowships will be awarded annually to African American or Latino students who have participated in the university’s Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement Program (MESA).

The program is designed to provide additional support for women and minorities majoring in engineering and science.

Lewis, an Oakland native, earned a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering at CSUN in 1995. She now works at an aerospace firm in El Segundo and is working toward a master’s degree in industrial engineering and engineering management.

Sayre, an Arleta resident, received a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering at CSUN in May and is president of the CSUN chapter of the Society of Women Engineers. She is working on a master’s degree in environmental engineering.

Both Lewis and Sayre will serve as mentors to undergraduate students in the MESA program.