Samantha Beck/ Winonan

Despite the cold weather, the Cedar Valley Golf Course was filled with at least 80 supporters of the Engineering Scholarship Golf Outing on Thursday, Sept. 11.

Anna Kreofsky, a 2011 graduate in composite materials engineering from Winona State University, said the event was a fun and enjoyable outing. Kreofsky’s tie to the fundraiser is because of her job position at RTP Company.

“RTP offers great internships with flexible hours,” Kreofsky said. “They are always supporting new engineers.”

“This is our biggest event,” Laura Miller, the RTP senior product development engineer, said. Miller has been the woman behind coordinating the annual outing for six years.

“Each year we receive more and more funding,” Miller said. “We can now indefinitely give two scholarships to engineering students forever with the funds we have accumulated.”

Miller inherited this event planning from Larry Rupprecht, a RTP retiree and 1969 Winona State alumni. In the middle of the dinner following the outing, Rupprecht stood up and thanked all the contributors, supporters and sponsors for this effective event, claiming that without their help, Winona State would not be able to carry out a successful program.

The scholarship requirements include: a 2.5 GPA as a junior or senior, provide recommendations and write a personal essay, according to RTP global commodity manager and 1994 Winona State alumni Barry Nelson.

This year’s scholarship recipient, Garrett Jessie, was in attendance.

The scholarship is beneficial for encouraging more students to become invested in the composite material engineering program at Winona State.

Fariborz Parsi, Winona State chair of the engineering department, gave an overview of Winona State’s engineering program and how essential this fundraiser is for the entire department.

The funds also help renew old equipment and increase student enrollment in the field.

Charla Miertschin, Winona State dean of the college of science and engineering, gave a presentation of Winona State’s new master’s program.

The professional science master’s program combines science and business management with hands-on internships and projects for the continuation of education.

Half of the room at the dinner consisted of dedicated alumni returning to support the engineering program, while the other half were employees or suppliers of RTP.

Some suppliers flew in from places like Philadelphia and France for the event. Winona State vice president of university advancement Ernie Hughes and Winona State developmental director Debbie Block were also present at the outing.

After the three-course meal, door prizes were given out.  The winners of the cash prizes gave the money back to the department.