Biological and Agricultural Engineering Chapter Wins Best School Award for Southeast Region

The U of A student chapter of the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers was voted the outstanding school by participants of the southeast region during 2020-21 annual rally, held virtually March 27 and hosted by the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. The Southeast Region is made up of 14 schools.

Each school was invited to create a video describing their activities over the academic year. The U of A's winning video was created by Hayden Engelbrecht, a junior from Decatur, Illinois. Engelbrecht serves as social chair for the club.

"While this year was unlike any other, my goal for this video was to highlight the relationships within the club and the initiative we took to maintain engagement even with COVID-19 restrictions," Engelbrecht said. "I'm really proud of all the small things we were able to accomplish this year, and I'm especially excited to see what we can accomplish when we return next fall."

The club is led by president Kristen Trinh, a graduating senior from Fort Smith.

"We are ecstatic that we won this award during this very challenging year," Trinh said. "Thank you, Hayden, for accurately capturing how we all felt and showing how we successfully made the best out of a very difficult situation."

Lalit Verma, head of the Biological and Agricultural Engineering Department, added, "We are very proud of our student club and the leadership provided by club officers under the guidance of club adviser Dr. Scott Osborn. This club has done an amazing job even during the pandemic and made us proud by their outstanding performance at the virtual Student Rally."

The focus of this year's rally was transitioning from school to employment and career paths for biological engineering students. Participants were also given a virtual tour of the Tennessee Valley Authority River Forecast Center that manages a 49-dam, integrated river system to provide flood-damage reduction, navigation, hydroelectric power, water quality, water supply and recreation.