Inspire, Fall/Winter 2010

“Untested.” This one word described the engineering program at Cedarville in 1990. Another was “unaccredited.” Put together, these two words spelled “step of faith” for any high school senior seriously pursuing a degree in engineering at Cedarville. This was exactly where Nick Awabdy ’94 found himself his senior year … wanting to study engineering yet questioning the wisdom of pursuing that major at Cedarville. Prompted to Go Even with the promise of a track scholarship from Cedarville and encouragement from his mother, Judy (Siplock) Awabdy ’64, Nick had reservations. His interest was in the technical field of engineering, so should he go to a liberal arts school? An opportune meeting with a Cedarville student, a grandson of Dr. James T. Jeremiah (then Cedarville’s chancellor), influenced Nick’s decision. After learning firsthand about the quality of Cedarville’s academics, Nick took a step of faith and enrolled. He graduated four years later, fully aware that his unaccredited engineering degree could preclude him from graduate school or his dream job. In 1990, Cedarville’s engineering program was in transition, from a two-year pre-engineering focus to a full four-year degree. Before it could become accredited, however, Cedarville had to graduate an official class of engineers — the class of 1994. Knowing the importance of accreditation, the professors were stringent and focused, giving their students a solid education while emphasizing the value of taking responsibility and working hard. Chuck Allport, Nick’s academic advisor, was a great influence. Nick remembers him saying, “If you are willing to take on responsibility, you will rise up around those you are working with” — sage advice Nick still carries with him. Staking a Claim During his senior year, Nick’s engineering class had the opportunity to tear apart a Saturn automobile, converting it into a hybrid-electric vehicle. (Amazingly, this project came as a grant from GM; only 12 universities in the United States were given this opportunity. Only God could have opened the door for an unaccredited, liberal arts engineering program to be part of this grant.) This hands-on experience was pivotal in Nick’s education at Cedarville. Together, his 40-member class had to leverage internal and external resources to accomplish their task. The project culminated in a weeklong competition in Detroit, where the students competed against schools such as Stanford University, Cornell University, and the United States Naval Academy. The team earned a number of awards, but they also earned credibility for Cedarville’s untested program. He didn’t know what to expect from Cedarville’s brand-new engineering program. So he took it for ... a test drive by Cheryl (Warren) Brugel ’90 22 fall/winter 2010