Congratulations MS&E graduates!
MS&E's 2023 Commencement ceremony brought students, families, and faculty together in celebration on June 18.
Below, find out who received commencement awards, listen to our podcast series that features graduating students, and learn about one student who left MS&E in style.
Commencement awards
Each year, MS&E and the School of Engineering award students and faculty who have gone above and beyond during the academic year. Congratulations to our Class of 2023 award winners!
| Award | Recipient(s) |
|---|---|
| School of Engineering Centennial Teaching Award | Andrea Collins Josh Grossman |
| Frederick E. Terman Award for Scholastic Achievement in Engineering | Austin Ota |
| Senior Project - First Place | Costanoa Ventures team Sean Bai, Ashley Jepson, Ashley Kwon, Emily Smith Advised by Markus Pelger |
| Senior Project - Second Place | Vocal Justice team Sahil Chandra, Engubia Fontama, Michael Massey, Janae Young Advised by Irene Lo |
| Outstanding Academic Achievement at the Undergraduate Level | Kara Rahaim |
| Outstanding Academic Achievement at the Graduate Level | Rhea Kumar |
| Department Course Assistant Award | Corey Baker Justin Lui |
| Eugene L. Grant Undergraduate Teaching Award | Ravi Belani |
| Graduate Teaching Award | Steve Blank Joe Felter |
Podcast series features MS&E grads
We published six new episodes of the Stanford MS&E: Stories & Voices podcast (Spotify) this summer. Now in our fourth season, the new episodes feature Class of 2023 graduates from all degree levels with diverse paths to and through the program. Hear stories from Joshua "JC" Chien, Kelly Devens, Jeff Hanson, Shreya Mantha, Isabelle Rao, and Brian Reed.
Going out with style
Many family members and friends attended MS&E's Commencement ceremony, but one person stood out among the crowd. Rick Sanborn, father of MS&E grad Ryan Sanborn '23, wore a custom jacket emblazoned with the Stanford "S" logo. At the university-wide undergraduate commencement ceremony, Stanford's video team found Rick in the sea of attendees at Stanford Stadium (see 1:33 in this video).
Rick told us the story of how the jacket came to be:
"The idea for the jacket is actually credited to Ryan’s sister, Caroline, who went to the University of Michigan. Michigan has very extensive clothing offerings, including a jacket in a similar style to this one. I bought the Michigan jacket to celebrate Caroline’s acceptance to Michigan and wore it at her high school graduation.
When Ryan committed to Stanford, I looked for a similar Stanford jacket. None existed, so I ventured out to create one. A tailor said they could make me a custom jacket if I had the fabric, so I had to contract with a fabric mill to create the fabric first, then get it to the tailor to make it. This was all with the intent of wearing it to his high school graduation, which I did.
I was unable to wear the Michigan jacket again at Caroline’s college graduation, as it was during COVID and no parents were allowed at the ceremony, but felt compelled to wear Ryan’s at his Stanford graduation. In reality I wore these to embarrass my kids, which worked in high school, but thankfully they weren't so embarrassed by the time they graduated college."
