Local student receives WMU’s top undergraduate honor for 2018

“I designed this prototype throughout my summer engineering internship experience with Maxion Wheels. It was great to get the opportunity to see the completed project.” Photo credit Facebook

Conner Knepley is among the 50 students in Western Michigan University’s 5,437-member senior class to be named a 2018 Presidential Scholar.

Knepley is the Presidential Scholar in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. Knepley is a graduate of Stockbridge High School. A member of WMU’s Lee Honors College, he graduated summa cum laude in December 2017 with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering. He has accepted a job offer to work as a sales engineer for Rockwell Automation. A business-minded engineer, he plans to start his own firm in the future. His primary areas of interest lie with business development in the startup community, something he worked on for two years while at WMU. To build his experience, Knepley held multiple internships in the automotive sector, taking on engineering roles at General Motors and Maxion Wheels. He also worked on a research team in the engineering college that tried to commercialize a product and produced a Lee Honors College thesis that drew major interest from the local law enforcement community. Titled “Smart Shot–Advanced Firearms Training,” the project involved the design and rapid production of a prototype target system used to train law enforcement and military personnel for their complex lines of duty. He will pursue the prototype as a possible business venture. While at WMU, Knepley made the dean’s list every semester and was awarded the Dean’s Scholarship. He cites his proudest University accomplishment as being the entrepreneurial lead for a small WMU-based startup company while participating in a business incubator program in California. This National Science Foundation-funded program pushed his team to interview over 110 potential customers face-to-face in a period of seven weeks. Knepley’s extracurricular activities include three years designing the braking system on WMU’s Formula Society of Automotive Engineers race car, one year as recording secretary for the Tau Beta Pi honor society, four years as a member of the Lee Honors College and the Alpha Lambda Delta honor society, and four years as a member of the social fraternity Phi Gamma Delta.

Knepley during the Dec. 2017 commencement. Photo provided by Knepley

The annual Presidential Scholar designation is the highest honor WMU can bestow on an undergraduate. The award goes to the most outstanding seniors in each of the University’s academic schools, departments and specialty programs.

Only the highest caliber of students receive the award. They are selected on the basis of their general academic excellence, academic and artistic excellence in their majors, and intellectual and artistic promise.

This year’s scholars were recognized during the 38th annual Presidential Scholars Convocation, held on campus March 27. During the event, the students received certificates from two University dignitaries: Dr. Edward Montgomery, WMU president, and Dr. Suzan F. Ayers, Faculty Senate president.

The convocation, which also celebrates the overall excellence of the University’s students, includes a program and closing reception. The event is co-sponsored by the Office of the President and the Faculty Senate.

The 2018 Presidential Scholars come from across Michigan as well as other U.S. states. Some of them graduated from WMU in December 2017 and several more graduated on April 28, during spring commencement exercises. They are listed by state, with Michigan recipients appearing first, then by hometown.