2003 Scholarship Winners

Profiled here are the eight RMCMI 2003 Scholarship Award winners.

Arizona Winner

Bjorn Meyer
University of Arizona

Knowing that coal is the solution to America's dependence on foreign oil and foreign sources of energy, Bjorn is excited to become an advocate to attempt to change the stereotypical negative image of the coal industry. He is fascinated by the technological advances in the mining industry over the last 30 years and wants the opportunity to participate in the continued change and rebirth that is happening.

He received the Provost Scholarship to U of A, along with the University of Arizona Spirit of Discovery Scholarship. He has received numerous awards such as the Magma Copper Mining Ecology/Environmental Award; Eisenhower Mining Scholar Award; the Tendel Literacy Scholar Award; and the IEEE Scholarship and Research Grant. As a freshman Bjorn created a mining outreach program MINEQUACS, for grades K-12.

Bjorn is an outstanding Tennis player having won tournaments and becoming a finalist in the Bjorn Borg Tennis Championship. He has also won awards for outstanding photography including a first prize for a photo of the Kiruna Mine.

Colorado Winner

Scott Hahn
Colorado School of Mines

A 1st team all conference football player at Grandview High School, Scott has continued with the sport at CSM. He has received 2 silver awards, (given to student athletes with GPA over 3.5), and a gold award for a 4.0 GPA. A member of a Sigma Phi Epsilon Fraternity, he has been involved with many volunteer projects both on and off campus. His academic achievements in math and science are balanced with his athletic endeavors. Scott enjoys camping, hiking, golf, skiing and all outdoor activities.

Scott's love of the outdoors fostered his interest in mining engineering as a unique and exciting career. His focus is underground mining technique development. His goals include admission to the Society of Explosive Engineers student chapter and he envisions a future as a mining engineering leader dedicated to both productivity and safety.

It is with sadness and a great sense of loss that we must report that Scott was killed in a car accident while returning to school in August of 2004. He will be missed.

Montana Winner

Marcus Bray
Montana Tech

An outstanding list of college awards achieved by Marcus includes the MT Tech Heritage Scholarship, Gregory Sauber Memorial Scholarship, Community Assistance Scholarship and Harriett Anderson Memorial Scholarship. Marcus has well-rounded interests ranging from designing human-powered vehicles to skiing, basketball, football, welding and motorcycles. He has a proven work ethic with experience at Stillwater Mining Company, Skinner Ranch and United Metro Materials, among others. He hopes to manage equipment at a coal mining company after graduation and use his skills discovering new ways to maintain equipment more efficiently.

His uncle is Dean Bray, the RMCMI Vice President of North Dakota. Another uncle, Dee Bray, was the 1985 Montana scholar for RMCMI.

New Mexico Winner

Tiffiany K. Daniels
New Mexico Tech

Tiffiany has achieved the Honor Roll every college semester at NM Tech, is a member of Phi Theta Kappa and was Academic Letter Freshman in high school. She has demonstrated her interest in mining while working for EMRTC/New Mexico Tech assisting engineers in Instrumentation tech.

Tiffiany has received an Associate of Arts in Business Administration and continues her studies in Mineral Engineering. She is interested in the environmental impacts that mining has on the environment and finds coal mining the most interesting type of mining. Tiffiany feels the coal mining industry does not necessarily receive the respect it deserves and plans to change that image with her hard work and dedication.

North Dakota Winner

Eric Jerke
North Dakota State University

Eric's active life at NDSU includes membership in the Alpha Tau Omega Fraternity, Phi Eta Sigma Freshman Honor Society, the Dean's List and the Libra Honor Society. He has been awarded multiple scholarships including Timberwolves Scholarship, Community Foundation Scholarship and the George Toman Engineering Scholarship. He has shown his value through community volunteer programs like the Ronald McDonald Home and tutoring learning disabled students. Eric participates in intramural basketball, football, volleyball and softball.

Eric is pursuing a deeper understanding of mathematics and mechanical engineering principles in his NDSU studies. He plans to become a college professor or work with thermodynamics as a plant engineer. His aspires to promote the vision of Western Coal and design coal products, bi-products and new methods to inexpensively harvest and extract coal.

Texas Winner

Scott Geer II
University of Missouri/Rolla

Scott's many activities include membership in the International Society of Explosive Engineers (ISEE), Society of Mining Engineers (SME) and Founder of UMR Robotics Competition Group. Scott has maintained a 3.5 G.P.A. while enjoying photography, camping/hiking, scouting and Ultimate Frisbee. His work experience exemplifies his love of mining engineering with positions at Texas Industries, Orica Explosives and Granite Construction Company.

Explosives engineering has always fascinated Scott. His interest in mining engineering developed after building relationships with people in the mining industry. Scott appreciates the opportunity to work outdoors, the problem solving aspects of mining engineering and the nature of the people in the industry. He plans to spend the summer working with Orica explosives in their Technical Center in Denver, while keeping his options open to begin a productive career in mining engineering.

Utah Winner

Austin Sorensen
University of Utah

Austin was raised in the mining town of Salina, Utah. His father, Wes Sorensen, is a Mining Engineer with Canyon Fuel Co. and is a member of RMCMI. With engineering in his background, and his love of the outdoors, Austin decided on a career path in Environmental Engineering.

He enjoys intramural basketball and lifts weights when time allows. He received academic allstate honors in wrestling and golf. Austin enjoys his position as a nursery leader for his church.

Since graduating from North Sevier High School with Honors, Austin has remained on the Dean's List since entering college.

Wyoming Winner

Amanda Miller
Clarkson University

Amanda can boast an extensive list of academic honors including Presidential Scholar (4.0 G.P.A. and 12 credit hours per semester), National Starch and Chemical Company Scholarship, speech, debate and musical honors. She is a member of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, Society of Women Engineers and the National Honors Society.

Since Amanda is intrigued with analytical and logical problems, pursuit of a chemical engineering degree is a natural choice for her. She wants to make a difference in the world by reducing pollution, improving our use of resources and maximizing the use of coal.

Her father, Ken, is the RMCMI Vice President for Wyoming.