Outstanding scholastic success, contributions through undergraduate research and service to campus and community earned special honors among the Class of 2022 to biochemistry graduate Colin Beach and computer science and mathematics graduate Andrea Wynn during this year’s Commencement, May 28. 

Beach earned the John T. Royse Award for being considered the most outstanding graduate, in the opinion of Rose-Hulman’s faculty and staff, based upon academic achievement, student leadership, participation in co-curricular activities, and general campus citizenship. Royse served as a member of Rose-Hulman’s Board of Trustees for several years; his son, John N. Royse, is an emeritus member of the board. 

Beach, from Centerville, Ohio, also was among seven graduates recognized with Heminway Gold Medal awards for having achieved scholastic perfection during their academic careers. 

Meanwhile, Wynn received the Herman A. Moench Distinguished Senior Commendation for distinguishing herself as a commendable influence on members of the Rose-Hulman community, according to Herman A. Moench Distinguished Professor Thom Adams, a professor of mechanical engineering.

Beach excelled in the classroom, research laboratory and in campus leadership roles. Along with achieving a perfect 4.0 grade-point average, he was recognized as a Goldwater Scholar for his exceptional undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics research. Beach also analyzed biostatistics and clinical data as part of a public health research team through the Gregory S. Fehribach Center at Eskanazi Health in Indianapolis. He helped mentor other Rose-Hulman students who have participated in this program that provides summer internships for students with physical disabilities in order to equalize opportunities for economic independence and equity employment.

As a four-year varsity member of the swim team, Beach earned all-Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference honors and helped Rose-Hulman win conference championships in 2022 and 2021. He also served in several leadership roles with the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity, Rose-Hulman’s ESCALATE entrepreneurship program and Alpha Chi Sigma chemical sciences fraternity while also being editor of the Rose Thorn school newspaper. 

Director of Student Accessibility Services Patty Eaton, PhD, states “Colin stands out because he embodies excellence in academic achievement, student leadership, participation in extracurricular activities, and citizenship.” 

Beach is planning to attend the Indiana University School of Medicine to begin working toward a doctorate in the Indiana BioMedical Gateway Program. 

Equally impressive were Wynn’s contributions as a scholar and her involvement within the campus and community. The native of Redmond, Washington, graduated with summa cum laude academic honors and engaged in undergraduate research in applied mathematics, discovering and proving six new facts regarding Floquet-Bloch theory in linear algebra, resulting in at three conference presentations and two journal articles.

Wynn’s dedication to campus and community were showcased in service as a teaching assistant for various courses in the computer science and software engineering department. She also helped students, faculty and staff in the department transition courses online during the early stages of the COVID-1 pandemic.

A campus champion for diversity and inclusion, Wynn was an active member of the Society of Women Engineers and twice serving as president of the American Society of Asian Scientists and Engineers. She co-founded a remote BackPat Tutoring program, a volunteer-operated organization providing free tutoring that is providing online resources for students across the country in kindergarten through 12th grades.

Rey Blaylock, program coordinator for the Center for Diversity and Inclusion, described Wynn as being “exceptionally keen … accepting, honest, and, most importantly, patient, and hopeful.”

Wynn is planning to enter graduate school at Princeton University, where she will pursue research in applied machine learning.

Joining Beach in earning the Heminway Gold Medal for attaining the highest academic achievement, with a perfect 4.0 grade-point average, during their Rose-Hulman careers were Abi Clayton, a biomedical engineering graduate from Hamilton, Ohio; Michael Hall, a mechanical engineering graduate from Saint Paul, Minnesota; Thomas Hoevener, a mathematics and software engineering graduate from Novi, Michigan; Taryn Perry, a chemical engineering and computational science graduate from Madison, Wisconsin; Cory Snyder, a computer engineering graduate from Greenwood, Indiana; and Danielle Villa, a software engineering, computer science and mathematics graduate from Johnstown, Ohio.