Mechanical Engineering Senior Jeremy Roy Building Solid Future

Oxonian excelling in academics, community service

Jeremy Roy, Mechanical Engineering Senior

Jeremy Roy, of Oxford, is what one could call a renaissance man. Immersed in community, leadership and professional development activities, the senior mechanical engineering major has managed to integrate both academic and personal experiences beneficial to his future.

While enrolled at Lafayette High School, Roy was drawn to the university by the new Center for Manufacturing Excellence.

“I did not want to pass up the opportunity to be a part of the very first class to go through the program and help build a bridge for students coming behind me,” Roy said.

His interest in engineering began in childhood, and he demonstrated an aptitude for math and physics in high school.

“I always loved tinkering with various objects to try and figure out how they worked,” he said. “I felt that engineering would be a way to continue to do what I had a passion for, but still challenge me.”

Roy’s community service includes serving as a volunteer firefighter for the past three years, something he describes as “an enjoyable and rewarding experience.”

“I was looking for a unique way to serve the community,” Roy said. “Whenever a fire is toned out to the county, if I am able to respond, I go. I have fought many fires from dumpsters and fields to cars and full-on structure fires.”

To become a firefighter, Roy completed a 60-hour training course. He credits the strenuous training for keeping him alive while performing his duties.

Roy has also participated in a cooperative education program experience with Caterpillar. Completing his third semester with the company, he has worked with both the engineering and supply chain/logistics departments. The experience with Caterpillar has allowed him to gain necessary skills he would not have been able to get from a textbook.

“I established a new layout that allowed for an output that was double the original one,” Roy said. “I worked to establish an efficient layout for a new assembly line for the C175 mining truck engine.”

A member of the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College and the CME, Roy plans to combine his volunteer and academic experiences by conducting research on the importance of continuous improvement, relating the manufacturing world to the fire service. With his undergraduate educational opportunities and real-world experience, he hopes to earn a master’s degree in manufacturing management with an ultimate goal of becoming an engineering/plant manager for a major manufacturer.

Roy’s dedication has been noticed by administrators such as Ryan Miller, programs manager and assistant director for the CME.

“Jeremy is the epitome of hard work,” Miller said. “I have known him for almost four years, and in that time he has routinely impressed me with his diligence, spirit of perseverance and unwavering commitment to maintaining his integrity.”

Roy makes time to enjoy life outside the classroom. He is a CME Advisory Board co-chair, founding father of Pi Kappa Phi fraternity, member of the “Pride of the South” marching band, an emergency medical responder and a former member of the Chancellor’s Leadership Class. He works for Ole Miss Outdoors and in the Office of the Chancellor.