COLLEGE STATION, Texas, May 1, 2008 – Joseph Zerr, a senior chemical engineering major in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M University, has been named a recipient of the 2008 Thomas S. Gathright Scholar Academic Excellence Award.
The award, presented by The Association of Former Students in conjunction with Texas A&M’s Student Government Association, individually recognizes sophomores, juniors and seniors with the highest grade-point ratio within their respective academic colleges. To qualify for this award, a senior must have at least 95 credit hours at Texas A&M.
Zerr’s 4.0 grade point average was tops among all seniors in the Dwight Look College of Engineering.
“As a professor, I am always excited to see a student pursue academic excellence, but it is even more important to pursue extraordinary goals; Joseph does both,” said Assistant Professor Carl Laird, who instructed Zerr during his senior year. “He is an exceptional student with a humble attitude and a pleasure to teach.”
Zerr, who is from D’Hanis, Texas, credits his academic success to “a lot of hard work” and an ability to prioritize. Appropriately, Zerr revealed that he was studying for a quiz when he received the phone call notifying him of his award.
Upon graduating, Zerr said he intends to enroll in medical school, stating he believes his chemical engineering education will provide a foundation for his continued success in that field.
Established in 1973 and presented annually, the award is named in honor of the first president of the then “A&M College of Texas,” Thomas S. Gathright.
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