Heather Lindell, of Oxford, and Cara Clippert, of Troy, will be honored Wednesday, Aug. 29, when The Clara Elizabeth Davidson Women's Resource Center (WRC) presents the Fifth Annual Woman of the Year Banquet. The welcome reception starts at 5:45 p.m. in the WRC, with dinner at 6:30 p.m. in the International Room of the Campus Center.
Lindell has been chosen Woman of the Year for B-Section by the Ƶ Women's Resource Center, recognizing her leadership on and off campus and her academic achievement. Lindell is a senior at Kettering, majoring in Mechanical Engineering.
She was recently chosen to represent the United States at the first International Institute for Women in Engineering in Paris July 1-13. She and Maria Falcon, of Royal Oak and a Ƶ sophomore, are two of 30 young women, world wide, attending the institute.
"Being selected Kettering 'Woman of the Year' is a mark of distinction that I believe more women on campus deserve," said Lindell. "The award is also an inspiration to the woman chosen for the honor, her peers, and younger female students, to further achieve and excel. It demonstrates that hard work is recognized and provides a role model for women to emulate," she added.
As president of the student chapter of the Society of Women Engineers, Lindell founded a mentoring program for middle school girls to keep them interested in science and math and initiated a scholarship for incoming freshman women. She has also served as president of the Kick Boxing/Self Defense Club, secretary for Phi Eta Sigma freshman honor society, president of the GM Truck Tech Club, committee member of the Women's Resource Center, representative on the Thompson Hall Council and participated in the Kettering Intramural Soccer League.
Her academic honors include membership in the Management honor society, Tau Beta Pi Engineering honor society, Pi Tau Sigma Mechanical Engineering honor society and Kappa Mu Epsilon Mathematics honor society.
In addition to on-campus involvement, Lindell has volunteered in both the Flint community and through her co-op work site. She participated in the United Way Day of Caring, Kenney Foundation Wheel Chair Ramp Builder Service, Detroit Thanksgiving Day Parade Float Building Committee, New Beginnings Venturing Crew and the FIRST Robotics Competition. Lindell's co-op employer is General Motors Truck Group in Pontiac, where she most recently worked in vehicle development, design, manufacturing, business planning and new product innovation.
Cara Clippert has been selected Woman of the Year for A-Section by the Ƶ Women's Resource Center, recognizing her leadership on and off campus and her academic achievement. She is a senior majoring in management and marketing. Her co-op employer is Gongas & Associates, Inc. of Bloomfield Hills.
She is involved in four professional societies, Delta Epsilon Chi, Management Honor Society, Sigma Alpha Chi and Phi Eta Sigma. She is currently the vice president of Delta Epsilon Chi and held the offices of secretary and public relations chair last year. She was awarded first place at the national competition in international marketing in 1999-2000 for Delta Epsilon Chi.
On campus, she is involved with Student Senate, Alpha Sigma Alpha and Up 'Til Dawn. Clippert represents the junior class in Student Senate and has taken part in many projects. For ASA, she has served as standards chair, and vice president for programming and ritual and membership education. She has previously been in charge of State Day, where all ASA chapters in Michigan visit Kettering for a day. Up 'Til Dawn helps raise money for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
Her awards include Top Dog Scholarship, Delta Epsilon Chi National Champion in International Business and The Marci L. Beyer Advisor Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Alpha Sigma Alpha chapter and also ASA's Outstanding New Member Award.
Her community activities include Pontiac City Rescue Mission, where she has helped organize the donation of food during the holiday season.
For more information on the Woman of the Year Banquet, call (810) 762-9873.