AE Senior Caite McCarthy selected as Knight of St. Pat, Wakeland Award winner

Aerospace Engineering at Illinois Senior Caite McCarthy has been named a Knight of St. Patrick, and has been selected as the 2016 winner of the College of Engineering’s H.L. Wakeland Undergraduate Leadership Award.

Each year, the College knights 10-15 students who have demonstrated leadership, excellence in character, and exceptional contribution to the College and its students. The award is among the highest honors an Engineering at Illinois student can receive. The Wakeland Award also recognizes outstanding leadership, as demonstrated by a junior or senior.

McCarthy’s enthusiasm for AE at Illinois led her to serve on the executive boards for the local chapters of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and the Women in Aerospace. Her passion for the field drove her to gain her Private Pilot’s License and Instrument Rating through the Institute of Aviation.

She also has worked as an Engineering Learning Assistant, through which she promoted the College of Engineering to incoming freshman.

With plans to earn an International Minor in Engineering as well as her AE degree upon graduating in May, McCarthy has a keen interest in global activities. She studied abroad at Delft University of Technology in The Netherlands, and spent a summer at the Institut Superieur de l'Aeronautique et de l'Espace in Toulouse, France.

She shared this interest by promoting study abroad to high school students she encountered while working throughout her college career as an Engineering Tour Guide. Also, as a Student Assistant at the International Office in Engineering, she provided a warm welcome to international students.

McCarthy plans to work in aerospace following graduation, and plans to encourage young women to pursue careers in Science, Engineering, Technology and Mathematics fields.