PHOTO: COURTESY LABELLA ASSOCIATES

LaBella Associates, a Rochester, N.Y., based design firm, graduated 17 program participants from its inaugural “Propel” leadership development program. The cohort dedicated a significant amount of time to the program, above and beyond their normal work hours and responsibilities, the company says. Participants  met in Rochester two days on a bimonthly basis for six months—although the last two sessions were conducted virtually due to COVID-19 issues. The program’s syllabus focused on public speaking and effective presentations; effective communication and active listening; conflict resolution; emotional intelligence; and coaching and developing others. The first Propel graduates, in alphabetical order, are: Mike Barbasch, Chris Bayer, Jeff Davis, Jerry DeRomanis, Jennifer Gillen, Dan Hill, Tom Miller, Mike Rogalski, Tony Sanganetti, Ryan Smith, Jon Spurr, Ruben Gay-Vazquez, Anne Weis, Stacy Welch, Caroline Wheadon, Matt Wing and Adam Zebrowski.
 

PHOTO: COURTESY THORNTON TOMASETTI

Social distancing prevented scholarship and research fellowship awards in person, but several students recently received education prizes from the Thornton Tomasetti Foundation. They are, pictured from left to right, first row: University of California San Diego alumna Eden Wong, who received a $10,000 national scholarship to pursue post-grad studies in building engineering or technology; City College of NY student Inzamamdeen Kassim,  a $5,000 scholarship; Jackson Wang, Princeton University, $5,000 to fund a research project that furthers innovation in structural engineering and applied mechanics; and City College of NY student Karissa Collins, a $5,000 scholarship; second row: Oklahoma State University grad Kennedy Stephens, a $10,000 scholarship to pursue post-grad studies in building engineering or technology; University of Texas at Austin graduate Martha Hughes, a $10,000 scholarship to pursue post-grad studies in building engineering or technology; Princeton University master’s degree student Moriah Hughes, a $5,000 research award; and doctoral candidate Zhao Chen, Northeastern University, $5,000 to fund engineering research.