Carnegie Mellon Engineering

Carnegie Mellon Engineering Students Honored by International Communicators for Community Service

April 12, 2010

Contact: Chriss Swaney
Carnegie Mellon University
412.268.5776

PITTSBURGH—Carnegie Mellon University engineering students Bianka Roy and Sangita Sharma have won the 2010 Communitas Award for community service in the nonprofit category. The Communitas awards are presented on behalf of the Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals (AMCP) to businesses, nonprofits and individuals who unselfishly give back to their communities. Established in 1995, the awards recognize organizations for specific programs involving volunteerism, philanthropy and ethical business practices.
                
Kurt Larsen, Bianka Roy, Sangita Sharma, and Annette Jacobson"We are very excited about this award because it carries such a great message of sharing and caring," said Roy, a freshman from Gaithersburg, Md., majoring in materials science and biomedical engineering.
                 
Both Roy and Sharma helped launch a new community-oriented program in December 2009 designed to give gifts of lipstick and cosmetics to the mothers and wives of injured U.S. Army soldiers who survived a shooting massacre at Fort Hood in Texas.
   
Krista Troy Foster of Saks Fifth Ave. in Pittsburgh contributed specially packaged gifts for Carnegie Mellon's new "Lipstick and A Smile" program. The event featured bagpipes, a color guard and the release of more than 30 doves to signify hope and peace.
   
Sharma, a freshman from Harrisburg, Pa., majoring in materials science and engineering, said she was thrilled to be part of such a unique volunteer community awareness program. "It was both challenging and fun to get our community involved with such a worthy cause."
   
"I am continually amazed at the creativity, innovation and motivation of our students. Sangita and Bianka's hard work to create this community service project is a great example of this excellence," said Kurt Larsen, assistant dean of undergraduate studies at Carnegie Mellon's College of Engineering. "Our students do an incredible job of balancing challenging engineering coursework with involvement in a variety of activities, organizations and causes. This holistic approach of combining in-class learning with experiential learning is what helps position our students to be future leaders in their fields."
   
Other members of the winning team included the College of Engineering's Media Relations Office and its Office of Undergraduate Studies, and the university's Communications Design Team.
   
For more information about the award, please see http://communitasawards.com.

Pictured above l->r: Assistant Dean of Undergraduate Affairs Kurt Larsen, CIT undergrad Bianka Roy, CIT undergard Sangita Sharma, and Associate Dean of Undergraduate Affiars Annette Jacobson