2003 Recipients
Terence P. O'Coin '83
Terry O'Coin, you have been a constant and dedicated volunteer for WPI, working tirelessly to foster strong and productive relationships between your alma mater and your employers.
As a university relations team leader with United Technologies Corporation, you coordinated career fairs and technical recruiting and maintained a familiar and dependable presence on the WPI campus. In your six years in this role, you leveraged an annual grant from UTC, and worked with various faculty members to identify the wisest avenues to invest these resources. Additionally, you secured financial support from UTC to increase and improve minority recruitment and retention at WPI, furthering the mission of both UTC and the university.
You have demonstrated an innate understanding of how a partnership with an employer can vastly improve the campus experience, and ultimately benefit the employer as well. In the words of one campus administrator, "Terry exemplifies the ideal volunteer for connecting employers to his alma mater."
In your role as a department advisory board member, you have also proved invaluable. You initially served on the Mechanical Engineering Advisory Board in 1998, and then were asked to also participate on the Mathematical Sciences Advisory Board. You understand how to bridge the campus and the corporate community. You show natural talent for finding the avenues that corporations are eager to support-and that match the needs of the university.
Most recently, you have served on the planning committee for the Class of 1983's 20th Reunion, stepping forward to promote this event as a milestone for your classmates.
Terry O'Coin, it is truly a pleasure to present you with the John Boynton Young Alumni Award for Service to WPI, in recognition of your long-standing commitment to the university.
Walter T. Towner, Jr. '83
Wally Towner, you received your B.S. in mechanical engineering in 1983, exemplifying the quality of commitment to the university that we associate with John Boynton. You received your MBA from Babson College in 1989, completed the Owner/President Management Program at Harvard Business School in 1999, and received an M.S. in operations and information technology from WPI in 2001. You are president of Thorsen, Inc., a sheet metal fabricator.
While still an undergraduate, you were active from the start as a member of the Freshmen Orientation Committee and as a resident advisor. You were an active member of Phi Gamma Delta, and participated in crew and scuba.
As an alumnus, you were a class agent and one of the inaugural Association volunteers trained as an Alumni Admissions Ambassador. As a member of the Alumni Association Cabinet, you served as co-chair of the Service and Social Division. You currently serve on the Manufacturing Engineering Program Advisory Board. When the Manufacturing Engineering Program established the WPI Haas Technical Center in 2001, you secured a gift-in-kind from your employer as part of the laboratory renovation.
You are proactive in touting WPI to everyone you encounter. You've been described as having a heart as big as an ocean.
Wally Towner, your dedication to WPI and your energy, commitment and meritorious service to this university render you worthy of the John Boynton Young Alumni Award for Service to WPI.
Sherri L. Curria '93
Sherri Curria, you have shown yourself to be a leader, first while you were an undergraduate and now as an alumna. You have always placed the long-term mission of your alma mater at the forefront of your activities. Your involvement at WPI touches not only today's students and the entire alumni community; it also benefits the university far into its future. Your commitment to volunteerism and your desire to make a difference is an inspiration.
From your undergraduate days, you have demonstrated your desire to better the whole of the university community. You were a student government senator, a residence advisor, a WPI Big Sister, and a member of the committee on student advising. Your participation in ASCE, Skull and your sorority all underscore the integral part you played at WPI.
You have encouraged your classmates and fellow alumni not only to invest financially in the university today, but also to think toward its future. As president of your Class Board of Directors, you have provided guidance to your class and have endeavored to boost your class's participation in both volunteerism and annual support of WPI. Your service to the university is heightened by your efforts to expand the circle of volunteers from your class.
Sherri Curria, because of your commitment to volunteerism, WPI proudly recognizes your contributions and your loyalty by presenting you with the John Boynton Young Alumni Award for Service to WPI.
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