Nine women students were honored Saturday, Nov. 3 at the 16th Annual Kettering University Woman of the Year Banquet, a program of the Clara Elizabeth Davidson Women’s Resource Center. Honorees were selected (by a committee comprised of students, faculty and staff) for their contributions to women and girls within the Kettering community, as well as in their home communities.

Meredith Marie Brassell and Ayse Buke Hizirogu received the Woman of the Year Award for A and B Sections, respectively. Their full biographies are below. The Woman of the Year award at Kettering University recognizes senior female students who have made a difference during their college tenure. Academic achievement is only 20 percent of a rating system that includes service, dedication, mentoring, role modeling and leadership.

There were also two finalists. The A-Section finalist was Andrea Machelle Thompson, a dual Mechanical and Electrical Engineering major from Owasso, Oklahoma. Her co-op employer is the U.S. Government in Washington, D.C. The B-Section finalist was Katherine Sarah Dale, an Industrial Engineering major from Novi, Mich. Her co-op employer is Magna Seating in Novi, Mich.

Additionally, five women received Honorable Mention, including:

• Toni Arceno, an A-Section Mechanical Engineering major from Southfield, Mich. She is employed by Ford Motor Company in Dearborn, Mich.;
• Amber Coe, a B-Section dual Business and Industrial Engineering major from Libertyville, Iowa. She is employed by Kettering University.;
• Sharna-Kay Dobney, a B-Section Chemical Engineering major from Kingston, Jamaica. She is employed by Inteva Products LLC in Troy, Mich.;
• Infane O. Lowe, a B-Section Electrical Engineering major from Freemont, Bahamas. She is employed by Delphi Automotive-Powertrain in Auburn Hills, Mich.; and
• Xiomara Rodriguez, a B-Section Mechanical Engineering major from Oxford, Mich. She is employed by Federal Mogul in Ann Arbor, Mich.

The 2012 Woman of the Year recipients:

Meredith Marie Brassell, of Whitehouse, Ohio, A-Section Woman of the Year, is an Electrical Engineering major and her co-op employer is TRW Automotive in Farmington Hills, Mich. Her campus activities include serving on the Student Senate and Operations Council of Kettering Student Government, volunteering for Relay For Life/American Cancer Society as committee co-chair and the realSERVICE  organization serving as president. Brassell is a member of Alpha Sigma Alpha sorority, the Society of Women Engineers and the Kettering Concert Band. She has been active as a campus tour guide an in intramural volleyball, soccer and flag football. Her off-campus volunteer work includes the Flint North End Soup Kitchen, American House Senior Center and the Flint Children’s Museum. Her honors and awards include: Kettering Robots Society, recognizing and honoring students and other individuals who have provided direction and leadership in extracurricular activities; the John Phillip Sousa Award for leadership, musicianship and dependability; the Kettering Presidential Scholarship; and the Kettering Dean’s List.

Ayse Buke Hiziroglu, of Flint, Mich., B-Section Woman of the Year, is an Electrical Engineering major and her co-op employer is Terumo Cardiovascular Systems in Ann Arbor, Mich. Her campus activities include serving on the President’s Student Advisory Council, serving as chapter secretary for the American Medical Student Association, serves as a New Kettering Women student mentor, is a member of Kettering Student Government, Society of Women Engineers, Kettering Pre-Med Club and Kettering Engineers Without Borders. Her off-campus activities include volunteering at the Goztepe Semiha Sakir Orphanage in Turkey and serving as a volunteer pianist at community charity events. Hiziroglu’s honors and awards include: membership in Kappa Mu Epsilon (KME) National Mathematics Honor Society and Eta Kappa Nu, Electrical and Computer Engineering Honor Society; awarded a bronze medal at the HOSA Michigan State Conference  as part of the Biomedical Debate Team; and the Kettering Dean’s List.