Richard P. Mullen Memorial Scholarship

The year is 2018 and SpaceX is livestreaming the first test-launch of its Falcon Heavy rocket. A student on a school bus in Illinois is watching the livestream with intent curiosity and knows at that moment that he wants to enter the wide world of engineering study post-high school. That student was me, Kevin Akins. I am a student at the Milwaukee School of Engineering and I am pursuing a Master of Science in Civil Engineering, specializing in Structural Systems. The story of Mr. Richard P. Mullen caught my eye, being a structural engineering student, and I thought I'd throw my hat in the ring! I am very thankful for your time in reading and this is my story. First, I'll provide some background information. I am from Zion, Illinois, and I graduated from Zion-Benton Township High School in 2021. Through my time there, I enrolled in 6 AP classes and was designated an Illinois State Scholar for the year 2021. I started working at my local Culver's during my sophomore year in 2019 and worked there until May 2023 when I started working an engineering internship with the Kenosha Water Utility. I left this internship in August ahead of my move to Milwaukee to attend MSOE. I'll now go more in-depth with my experience in engineering. I started my studies in engineering attending my local community college, the College of Lake County; being a first-generation college student, I wanted to remain local and continue working through my first years in college. Through my time at CLC, I was able to knock out many of the intimidating initial courses in a 4-year engineering curriculum, including Chemistry, Physics, and the Calculus series. One course that I'd like to focus on, though, was Engineering Statics, which I took in the fall of 2022. This course piqued my interest in civil engineering through my enjoyment of several topics introduced in the course, an example being Structural Analysis; I often say this class gave me truss issues! Shameless puns aside, I talked with my instructor further regarding the profession and decided to apply to MSOE to pursue my passion. I was accepted and I'm currently enrolled in my first semester here for the fall of 2023. Looking to the future, I have a semester of structural design courses ahead for the spring of 2024 and I'm also excited to say I have a structural engineering internship lined up for the summer of 2024 through CSD Structural Engineers out of Milwaukee. This scholarship will greatly benefit me as MSOE, being a private institution, tends to lean on the higher side of tuition costs. In addition, my familial assistance is strained at the moment due to my mother having just retired and my father having little to contribute. The Richard P. Mullen scholarship, therefore, will be of great help to me in taking a large financial burden off of my shoulders, allowing me to better focus on the rigorous coursework MSOE has to offer. I plan to utilize this scholarship to help reduce my out-of-pocket expenses for tuition and, coinciding with my paid full-time internship for the summer of 2024, position myself much better financially for the upcoming school year. Receiving this scholarship will also help me in saving for the fifth year of schooling I will have towards my master's degree. In summary, I believe I would be a great fit as the recipient of the Richard P. Mullen scholarship due to my passion for Structural Engineering and my background and qualifications detailed above. Thank you once again for your time and consideration!