Persistence Pays Off

Adele Fleury, John Kinney, and Adam Sporinsky were selected as the 2006-07 winners of the Americo Darin Prize in Engineering. Awarded in recognition of significant improvement in academic performance from the First Year of Studies through the second year within the College of Engineering, the prize is presented in the fall semester after the sophomore year. It is especially significant because it is funded by the family of Americo Darin.

Darin, the son of Italian immigrants, faced many hardships in his life, including the death of his father when Darin was 10 years old. He completed the Ford Engineering Apprenticeship Program, but was unable to attend college because he needed to support the family. He started working for Ford when he was 18, but he always felt that not having a college education hampered him. He and his family developed the prize in 1999 to encourage students who, like Darin, struggle for excellence and succeed.