Juan De La Garza, senior in chemical engineering, has won the 2022 Robert H. Parks Prize for Engineering Leadership. Jade McAdams, senior in mechanical engineering, has won the 2022 RCEL Award for Engineering Leadership. Read on to learn more about these amazing student leaders!
Amanda Prestia
Rice Center for Engineering Leadership
April 22, 2022
Juan De La Garza, senior is chemical and biomolecular engineering, has received the 2022 Robert H. Parks Award for Excellence in Engineering Leadership, which comes with a $4,000 prize. The award is given to a senior who displays leadership “in and outside the classroom, and is recognized by faculty and peers as an exemplary leader.
“I thought I was a good leader coming into Rice,” said De La Garza. “Then RCEL 100 taught me what I did not know. With the support that I received from RCEL, I was able to recognize my strengths and weaknesses and develop my leadership style. Ultimately, I gained the confidence to step into leadership positions at Rice.”
De La Garza’s leadership experience at Rice began as a systems and integration lead on the SEDS CubeSat project where he led at team that included several graduate students. By senior year, he was named Lead for the CubeSat team along with the Rover and Artemis project teams. His largest project was leading SpaceVision, the international space conference held at the George R. Brown Conference Center in downtown Houston, where he led a group of teams with members spread across different universities around the United States. De La Garza served as Assistant Student Director for the Rice Center for Engineering Leadership where he lead the develop of the first Night of Networking virtual career fair by students for students. Over 600 students attended, with multiple students walking away with interviews and internship offers. The event won Best Virtual Event of 2020.
“In short, Juan is a leader,” said Dr. David Alexander, Director of the Rice Space Institute. “He is a great ambassador for Rice, an outstanding young engineer with a keen interest in space and has a solid future ahead of him.”
Upon graduation, De La Garza will pursue a Master of Science in Aerospace Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin, Texas.
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Also honored is Jade McAdams, senior in Mechanical Engineering, who has received the 2022 RCEL Engineering Leadership Award and a $2,500 prize. The award is given to a senior “whose qualities of character, leadership and responsibility have been outstanding during their undergraduate years at Rice.”
“Over the past four years, I have grown in my abilities to know my limits, delegate, listen to others, and be a compassionate and motivating leader, “ said McAdams. “I have developed the ability to create a vision through my role as RCEL Student Director, and I hope to carry this with me into my career.”
While at Rice, McAdams has taken on various leadership positions, planned and hosted large scale events, and worked to better the organizations. She served as Student Director of the Rice Center of Engineering Leadership, where she worked to change the structure of the Student Leadership team, expand the number of students and alumni involved in the program both in terms of classes and the leadership team itself, and plan events for RCEL, including developing the Imagination + Innovation Panel, creating a networking event series, planning an RCEL Alumni Social, and more. At Hanszen College, McAdams served many roles, including Treasurer, Beer Bike Coordinator, O-Week Advisor, Social Coordinator, Sports Committee Head, and the captain of various intramural teams. Within the School of Engineering, she served as an undergraduate teaching fellow for MECH 454 and the leader of team projects in classes, as well as the Head Teaching Assistant for RCEL and personally coaching four RCEL courses.
“Most importantly, Jade has set the example for her peers about what it means to be a leader,” said Joyce Bald, College Coordinator for Hanszen College in their recommendation of Jade. “Despite the COVID restrictions placed on the colleges for the past 2 academic years, she has given 100% to each position she has held. I believe, for her, serving others through leadership is a passion that she will carry with her throughout her life.”
Upon graduation, McAdams will join BCG. Inc.