2007 Engineering/Geology Scholarship Winners

Arizona Winner

Clarita Begishe
South Dakota School of Mines & Technology

Clarita is a full-blooded Navajo (Diné) originally from Navajo Mountain, Utah, but calls Black Mesa, Arizona home.

Clarita is attending South Dakota School of Mines & Technology majoring in Mining Engineering and Management Program. She has already received a dual degree in Business Administration and Social & Behavioral Science and has over three years' experience with Peabody Energy at the Kayenta, Arizona operation. During that time, she saw first-hand how real engineers worked and planned together with draglines, explosives, building new roads and ramps, and reading maps. This is an opportunity for her, as a Native American woman, to become a professional in an engineering field, and more importantly, come back to stay and meet the changing needs of the mining industry on the Navajo Reservation.

Clarita is the eldest of six children, and is the first in her family to attend college. She is the vice president of the AISES (American Indian Science and Engineering Society), and was elected by her peers in AISES to represent them at the national AISES conference. Her spare time is spent enjoying life with her five-year-old son, Cortez.

Colorado Winner

Cameron D. Brown
Colorado School of Mines

Cameron was born in Sydney, Australia and moved to Monument, Colorado when he was a freshman in high school. He was part of the Colorado State Soccer Championship and was named first team Academics All State in soccer and basketball all four years. His involvement in high school sports also earned him the title "Lewis-Palmer Male Athlete of the Year." He was also involved in theatre, Special Olympics and the Mu Alpha Theta math society.

His work experience includes the Colorado School of Mines Excavation Engineering & Earth Mechanics Institute and summer intern work with Peabody Energy at the Twentymile Coal Mine. Cameron's favorite subject through school was mathematics but considered engineering as a field because he has always thought of engineering as a highly respected profession. Mining engineering appeals to him because it provides freedom from the traditional workplace.

In Cameron's spare time, he manages to play varsity soccer for the Colorado School of Mines.

Montana Winner

Johnathan Lee Hoover
Montana Tech

Johnathan is pursuing a degree in Mining Engineering because it offers him opportunities that are both challenging and fulfilling. He wants the challenge of creating open pit mines or tunnel designs in underground mines and feels that mining engineering is one of the most important jobs in the world. From the cars we drive to our laptop computers, mining provides the materials necessary to make these products.

His involvement with National Honor Society, D.E.C.A., Student Council, and SME, as well as enjoying hunting, fishing, hiking and collecting rocks, keeps his play and work schedule balanced.

As a future mining engineer, he sees himself working for a mining company in the western United States. He hopes to work his way from being a mining engineer to a chief engineer. After that, he would like to go to the corporate side of the mining company and work to ensure the present and future life of the mining company.

New Mexico Winner

Philip C. Simmons
New Mexico Institute of Mining & Technology

Philip had an interest in mining since his dad took him to old mines when he was five years old. This insatiable curiosity has launched him into pursuing a degree in Mining Engineering at New Mexico Tech. During his schooling, he is working as a museum assistant in the New Mexico Bureau of Geology & Mineral Resources-Mineral Museum, and has confirmed that his interest in geology and mineralogy are a definite asset.

Philip enjoys intramural basketball and volleyball leagues at New Mexico Tech, and plays the bass guitar for his church band. He is also the vice president of the Cooney Mining Club at NM Tech, and is involved in planning trips with the club to the SME conference in Denver and to several mines around New Mexico.

North Dakota Winner

Kelsey R. Snyder
University of North Dakota

Kelsey chose to pursue a degree in Environment Geoscience because she wants to work toward making our planet a sustainable place to live. She hopes to gain insight and abilities to develop and monitor environmentally safe and sustainable power, water, and farming methods. She would like to obtain her masters degree in Environmental Geology or Environmental Studies, then work as an environmental geologist in the field of reclamation. Kelsey believes that this is an important part of the mining industry because it is our responsibility to return the land to its original contour.

After graduating valedictorian of her high school class, she was named Student of the Year in Physics, Pre-Calculus, Trigonometry and Science Olympiad. In high school, she was actively involved in softball, golf, girl's hockey, volleyball, 4-H, Lutheran Youth Fellowship, and National Honor Society. Her name is included on the Dean's List at UND. She is also active in the Wildlife Society and Geology Club.

Utah Winner

Nathan J. Armstrong
University of Utah

Nathan began his college education pursuing a degree in electrical engineering but became more familiar with the high demands for energy and realized that he wanted to be in a field that would help meet those energy needs. He transferred from Utah State University to the University of Utah to pursue a degree in both mining and electrical engineering. He was awarded the Browning Mining Engineering Scholarship.

In high school, Nathan was academic all-state in both cross-country and track and graduated with honors. After high school, Nathan spent two years in Moscow, Russia working with orphanages, soup kitchens, and schools and gained valuable communication skills. He speaks and reads Russian, and has worked with the Space Dynamics Laboratory as a research assistant working on a conjoint project with the Russian Institute for Bio-Medical Problems of Moscow involving research on plant growth on the International Space Station. He assisted with translating technical documents from English to Russian and Russian to English, computer programming, as well as other technical work. After graduation, Nathan looks forward to working in research and development of the Western coal industry.

Nathan's outside interests include track, cross-country, ultimate Frisbee, skiing, snowboarding, cello, piano, hiking, and rock climbing.

Utah Winner

Jonathan R. Heiner
University of Utah

Jonathan's strengths in math and science and his interest in geology caused him to attend an engineering fair at the University of Utah and then decided to pursue a degree in mining engineering. He spent the summer of 2006 working with Canyon Fuel Company at the Skyline Mine as an engineering technician and as a miner. His principle function at the Skyline Mine was the design of a new sediment pond for the mine's waste rock site.

Jonathan grew up on a farm in Wyoming and was taught that hard work is the key to success. He has earned his Eagle Scout rank, and spent time in Tennessee building homes for Habitat for Humanity. He is currently a member of basketball and football leagues, member of SME, and is a skilled cabinet and fine furniture maker.

Wyoming Winner

James R. Krause, Jr.
South Dakota School of Mines & Technology

James was born and raised on a farm in Big Horn County, Wyoming and grew up helping with livestock and field work. These experiences helped him develop a unique talent of being able to operate any piece of equipment and fix it when it quits. Therefore, James has chosen a degree in mechanical engineering.

In high school, James excelled in football and wrestling, earning all-conference and all-state honors in both sports. He was elected as team captain in both sports as well as Student Council president his senior year. He was also involved in drama and 4-H. At the age of 16, he began work for Nicholson Construction, and also became a volunteer cadet fireman. He continues to volunteer for the fire district when he is home from college on breaks.

After graduating from college, James hopes to combine his mechanical engineering degree with his firefighter and safety training and construction experience and return to Wyoming to maintain a balance between the environment and its coal-based electricity industry.

2007 Technical School Scholarship Award

In 2007, RMCMI started a new Technical School Scholarship Program to provide financial assistance in the amount of $1,000 to students in their second year of a two-year program. The 2007 Technical School Scholarship Award Winners are:

Trevor Dressler, North Dakota State College of Science
Shawn Fritel, North Dakota State College of Science
Derrick Kessler, North Dakota State College of Science
Justin Osowski, North Dakota State College of Science
Steven Salfer, North Dakota State College of Science
Austin Sullivan, North Dakota State College of Science
Jamie Tittle, North Dakota State College of Science