Three of the biggest events on the calendar of Lawrence Technological University brought thousands of people to campus and raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for LTU scholarships in May.
On Saturday, May 9, more than 500 Lawrence Tech students became Lawrence Tech’s newest alumni at the University’s 100th Commencement.
Commencement speaker Shannon Dare Wayne, who received an LTU Master of Business Administration degree May 9 — after beginning her academic journey with an LTU bachelor’s degree in industrial management in 1998 and an LTU master’s degree in industrial operations in 2003 — told graduates that their path to graduation wasn’t easy.
“But this wasn’t supposed to be easy,” she said. “Lawrence Tech doesn’t do easy, and neither do you. This place demands more than intelligence. It demands grit, the grit to solve problems others avoid. The grit to overcome uncertainty, setbacks and failure. That’s what makes Lawrence Tech graduates different. Smarter, tougher and harder working. That’s not a slogan. That’s what you are.”
Then on Saturday, May 16, two major events took place: the World Championships of LTU’s Robofest youth robotics competition and the Third Annual Scholarship Gala.
Teams from Florida in the United States, and Canada, China, Ethiopia, Ghana, Hong Kong, Mexico, Macau, Taiwan and more internationally, earned first-place awards.
Robofest was established in 1999 by LTU computer science professor CJ Chung. Since inception, more than 40,000 students from more than 30 countries have competed to build the smartest all-autonomous robot. And next year, the event goes even more global, as the 2027 World Championships move to South Korea.
At the Scholarship Gala, more than 600 people enjoyed a celebration of education and excellence at Detroit’s The Department at Hudson’s, raising $500,000 for LTU scholarships.
Looking ahead, LTU’s Summer Semester began May 18 and concludes July 24. And summer is also one of the busiest times for the university’s K-12 outreach, with summer STEM programs from July 13 to July 31. Programs include biomedical engineering, 3D printing, computer networking, cybersecurity, smart infrastructure, Esports, astronomy, landscape design, robotics, entrepreneurship and international trade.
The fall semester, meanwhile, begins in August, as do events for the University’s many fall sports teams. The football home opener is Saturday, Sept. 5, against Indiana’s St. Mary of the Woods College.
Check the ltu.edu/calendar for more information!
