Ginn Family Foundation Scholars for 2017-18 announced

Samuel Ginn College of Engineering students Dale Ash, Naeem Ghossein and Andrew Mitchell have been selected as recipients of the 2017-18 Ginn Family Foundation Wireless Engineering Annual Scholarship.

Ash

Ghossein

Mitchell

The scholarship is awarded to wireless engineering majors who demonstrate superior academic credentials and leadership abilities.

Ash was raised in Flowery Branch, Georgia, and attended Flowery Branch High School. He is passionate about Auburn athletics, his family, his faith and his dog, Susie. He enjoys creative thinking and working with his hands. He was the primary builder on his high school’s Odyssey of the Mind team, which competes in a creative problem-solving program, and placed second in the state and competed nationally.

“When I’m not glued to my computer screen, I enjoy hunting, shooting and listening to podcasts about mysteries and real-life stories,” Ash said. “My plans after graduation are to pursue a career in aerospace or meteorological radar systems, while applying principles from my wireless engineering degree.”

Ash also enjoys helping others through service work. He volunteers at his church’s annual student camp and has served on a missionary team in the Republic of Georgia.

Ghossein is the son of immigrants from Brazil and Lebanon whose hard work and dedication has fueled his passion for learning. His fascination with technology and its ability to better our lives was a major influence on his decision to study wireless engineering.

“Prior to declaring a major, I was torn between studying computer science, with a minor in software engineering, and electrical engineering due to the nature of my specific interests, but discovering wireless software engineering, and subsequently declaring it my major, was a dream come true,” Ghossein said.

After graduating from Auburn, Ghossein aspires to work for a major technology company. His dream job would be working for Apple as a software developer or joining Tesla to work on self-driving features on its line of vehicles.

Mitchell, who hails from Orange Beach, graduated from Gulf Shores High School on the Baldwin County Distinction Diploma with a 4.06 GPA. He played varsity football and basketball for his high school and was a captain for both teams, in addition to being the 2017 Class 6A Region 1 winner of the Bryant-Jordan Student Athlete Achievement award. He enjoys meeting new people, mathematics and expanding his knowledge.

“I strive to one day create an affordable wireless network that people can connect to outside of their homes and to be able to provide for my family and pay for my children’s education,” Mitchell said. “I am forever grateful to the Ginn Family Foundation for giving me the chance to attend Auburn University.”

The scholarship was established in honor of College of Engineering namesake Samuel Ginn, a pioneer in the telecommunications industry whose philanthropic efforts launched Auburn’s wireless engineering program.

“Samuel Ginn’s vision and support have helped propel Auburn’s wireless engineering program to the elite ranks of engineering institutions in the United States,” said Shiwen Mao, director of the Wireless Engineering Research and Education Center and Samuel Ginn Professor of electrical and computer engineering. “His leadership is allowing promising students to immerse themselves in wireless engineering theory and practice and then become leaders in the industry.”