Kathryn Dew Named SME Local Section Hero
Kathryn Dew
Kathryn Dew, Department Manager for the Virginia Tech mining and minerals engineering department, was recently named the November 2011 Local Section Hero by the Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration (SME) for her contributions to the society’s Central Appalachian Section (CAS).
SME created the Local Section Hero program to honor dedicated volunteers at the section level for their wide-reaching efforts such as recruiting members, organizing section activities, working with local SME student chapters, raising money, and providing educational outreach.
Since joining the Central Appalachian Section in 1998, Dew has played a critical role in organizing the section’s two annual meetings. She is responsible for bringing mining engineering students from West Virginia University, the University of Kentucky and Virginia Tech to the meetings, and she has coordinated numerous activities that foster relationships between students and industry leaders. “Whether playing a round of golf or attending technical presentations, the students enjoy having the opportunity to gain insight into the industry and getting to meet its leaders,” said Dew.
Upon joining the mining and minerals engineering department at Virginia Tech, Dew immediately became active in the SME and has combined her activities in the society with her position as the department manager to the benefit of hundreds of students. Each year Dew chaperones approximately 30 mining engineering students to the SME Annual Meeting, and she supports students with her presence at events ranging from student design competitions to intercollegiate mining competitions.
Dew plays a key role in coordinating yearly WAAIME scholarship interviews for Virginia Tech mining engineering students, as well as other WAAIME activities, and she has been instrumental in obtaining scholarship funds for all mining engineering students throughout the Central Appalachian section.
Through the years, Dew has been an integral part of the Central Appalachian Section. She has managed the leadership of the section through quality planning for semi-annual meetings and has facilitated seamless transitions of its chairs and officers.
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