Impact

First recipients of the Willie D. Davis Scholarship

“I wouldn’t be where I am today and pursuing my ambition of becoming a civil engineer without the Willie D. Davis Scholarship. Being from a low-income family, this was a great opportunity that will allow me to grow and bring new opportunities into my life,” said Melissa Pacheco. She also hopes her journey at MSOE will inspire other girls of color to continue to pursue their dreams.

Pacheco and Erubiel Becerra-Lopez are the first recipients of the WEC Energy Group Willie D. Davis Annual Scholarship. Both are freshmen and each received $10,000 in support for the 2021 academic year.

The scholarship was established in 2020 to support minority students from underrepresented groups.

Pacheco and Becerra-Lopez were honored to be selected.

“Every day I look forward to learning something new and fulfilling a childhood dream. I cannot express my gratitude for making it possible for me to attend MSOE and study architectural engineering and construction management,” said Becerra-Lopez.

The scholarship honors the legacy of Dr. Willie D. Davis, MSOE Regent Emeritus.

Melissa Pacheco

Erubial Becerra-Lopez

FACES OF PHILANTHROPY

Pay it forward

Laura Halverson ’95

Laura Halverson ’95 made a $25,000 gift to establish the Gerrits Family Endowed Scholarship. This scholarship will support students with great financial need who are studying any field of engineering. She was inspired to establish this fund because of the support she received that allowed her to study architectural engineering at MSOE.

The scholarship also honors the life-changing experience MSOE has had on Halverson and her two brothers, who are also MSOE alumni. “Most of my childhood my family qualified for the Federal Free Lunch Program. If I hadn’t received a financial aid package and the scholarship, I wouldn’t have been able to attend,” said Halverson.

Inspiring generations of giving

Chris Feilbach ’13

Walking through the halls of Dwight and Dian Diercks Computational Science Hall and Hermann Viets Tower, you’re likely to come across several silver plaques bearing the name of young alumnus Chris Feilbach ’13.

Feilbach says most of his fondest memories as a computer engineering student at MSOE were with the people he spent time with on his floor in Roy W. Johnson Hall (RWJ). “When I lived in RWJ, the students on the 12th floor were all software and computer engineering majors. We formed a great community.”

He has since moved across the country to Santa Clara, California where he is a senior CPU architect at NVIDIA. He focuses on CPU memory design, but it’s the real-life memories of his time at MSOE that have inspired him to give back to the university.

“Supporting MSOE makes me feel connected to a community that I deeply value,” said Feilbach.

Although he will always be tied to his classmates through their shared experiences and appreciation of a rigorous academic education, it is the current MSOE students and the future generations he is excited to inspire.

“I hope having my name on these plaques around campus inspires students and shows them that not only can they achieve their dreams with a degree from MSOE, but they too can be an inspiration for others and help support future successes.”

Feilbach has made several incredible gifts to support his alma mater. His most recent pledges were for several spaces on MSOE’s campus including a study and faculty office on the 4th floor of Diercks Hall, and outside his old dorm room in what is now Viets Tower, and in the nearby study area on the 12th floor.

Navigating roadblocks

Gene Sheedy’s ’94 path to becoming a successful engineer was a bit windier than most. After attending two different colleges he had all but given up on that dream, until he came to MSOE and met Assistant Dean of Residence Life Betty Albrecht.

“I met Gene when he transferred from UW-Oshkosh. I remember how much he was determined to be successful,” said Albrecht.

After struggling with two different learning disabilities, Sheedy knew MSOE would be challenging but working with Albrecht gave him the hope and determination he needed to succeed.

“Betty’s help, encouragement and constant can-do attitude helped me push my way through and graduate with a structural engineering degree.”

When Sheedy was presented with the opportunity to honor this mentorship with Albrecht he jumped at the chance.

“I wanted to donate in her honor for two reasons. Number one, I wanted her to be recognized for her dedication to both MSOE and students like me. Secondly, I wanted current students with learning roadblocks to know they too can make it.”

Sheedy sponsored two rooms inside Hermann Viets Tower and named them both after Albrecht. The Albrecht Tutor Room and

Albrecht Residence Hall Director Office are both on the ground floor of the newly renovated residence hall.

When Albrecht first learned about Sheedy’s gift it took her breath away. “Gene worked harder at MSOE than he ever imagined possible. He became successful when others thought he would not. I am so proud of him. It was so meaningful to be recognized by him.”

“Before MSOE, I promise you, nobody would have thought I would now be a professional engineer and own my own successful company. This gift is my way of saying thank you to Betty, to MSOE and all the wonderful friendships I made along the way.”

Sheedy is also thankful their mentorship can now serve as motivation to generations of students who will use those spaces.

“For anyone who may be reading this and struggling academically, you may just need someone like Betty in your life to help you understand and persevere despite whatever roadblocks may be holding you back.”

Betty Albrecht and Gene Sheedy ’94

To learn more about supporting scholarships or how you can make an impact at MSOE through philanthropy, contact Greg Casey, senior director of development, at casey@msoe.edu.