Congratulations to Tyler McDonough, the 2020 Friedman & Simon L.L.P. Academic Scholarship recipient. Tyler, 21, is a junior at Purdue University in West Lafayette, IN, where he is an industrial engineering major with a minor in business economics.
Scholarship entrants are required to respond to one of three essay prompts. Tyler chose to answer this one: “How will your studies contribute to your future career aspirations?” His essay highlighted what we found most impressive about him. Tyler is determined to combine his passion for engineering with his commitment to helping the world.
“My primary reason for choosing an engineering degree at Purdue University is that I want to help people,’’ he wrote.
At Purdue, Tyler has joined a few organizations that are already creating a foundation for his career in the non-profit sector. With his campus chapter of Engineers Without Borders, he was part of a project to provide clean drinking water to the people of Colquechaca, Bolivia.
He’s the construction chair for the Purdue chapter of Habitat for Humanity, a position that became even more critical during the COVID-19 shutdown. These days, while waiting for the chance to help the West Lafayette community build houses, his chapter is helping animal shelters keep going, even offering pet walking services.
Tyler’s passion for engineering started in the second grade when a teacher told them about her husband’s career. Tyler’s parents, Cassie McDonough and Mike McDonough, both of Evansville, IN, pursued other careers. But today, Tyler is happy to report, a cousin is an engineering student at Purdue.
“(Engineering) goes beyond numbers and science, it goes to working with people,’’ Tyler said in his interview.
Both of our firm’s founders, Edward Friedman and Roger Simon, are committed to helping their community. This $1,500 academic scholarship is one way to extend a helping hand to a deserving young person, like Tyler, who we know will turn around and someday extend his hand to another.
Watch Tyler’s interview and read his essay.
If you’re interested in applying for the 2021 scholarship, visit this page for information.