Schaal
University of Mississippi senior Corey Schaal of Paris, Tennessee, is the recipient of a national scholarship from the Underground Construction Association of the Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration.
The scholarship was established to encourage undergraduate and graduate students to pursue careers in the fields of tunneling, underground construction and associated disciplines. He was officially notified in March that he was a scholarship recipient and traveled to Los Angeles in June to accept the award.
Schaal was urged to apply for the award by Joel Kuszmaul, associate dean for academic and student affairs and associate professor of geology and geological engineering.
“I have known Corey since he was a freshman,” Kuszmaul said. “I was happy to recommend him for this scholarship. Corey has always been an excellent student and is worthy of this major scholarship with national recognition.”
Schaal chose to enroll at Ole Miss as a result of a campus visit and the opportunities available through the geological engineering program.
“I really appreciated the personal treatment offered by every faculty member during my campus visit,” he said. “The Department of Geology and Geological Engineering sent a lot literature that really caught my attention. Combine all of that with a generous scholarship offer and enrolling at Ole Miss was a no-brainer.”
During summer 2013, Schaal completed an internship with Geotechnology Inc. in Memphis, where he was able to put his classroom knowledge to good use.
“I worked in the soils lab and as a construction materials testing technician, but I spent most of the summer working on the back of a drill rig as a field engineer,” he said. “I want to pursue a career as a geotechnical engineer, and I was able to apply information I learned in the classroom to develop important skills through this internship.”
Schaal was asked to return to Geotechnology for a second internship position this summer. He is conducting analysis work and collaborating with the engineering department.
A Provost Scholar, Schaal has maintained a 3.94 GPA while being involved in several campus and community activities. He holds leadership roles in Beta Upsilon Chi fraternity and is a member of Tau Beta Pi, Phi Kappa Phi, Order of Omega and Alpha Lambda Delta honor societies. He is also involved with the Association of Environmental and Engineering Geologists and the American Society of Civil Engineers.
Because of his outstanding record, Schaal was named Outstanding Geology/Geological Engineering student during his freshman and junior years. He also received a competitively-awarded Distinguished Senior Scholarship sponsored by the Office of the Chancellor and the Office of Financial Aid.
Schaal is slated to graduate in May 2015. His plans are to marry and move to Knoxville, Tennessee, to pursue graduate studies in geotechnical engineering.