ASME and CDCR assistant director honored by AU Involvement

This year’s Involvement Awards were a big hit for the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering.

Among those winning awards were The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) and Apryl Mullins, assistant director for corporate relations in the Auburn Engineering Office of Career Development and Corporate Relations (CDCR).

The ASME branch won the Excellence in Communication and Marketing Award and two other nominations — the Excellence in Career Preparedness and the Most Exceptional Student Organization awards.

ASME, the professional society for mechanical engineers, focuses on helping students gain tactical skill sets and connecting them with companies. As a national global society, ASME sets the standard, and develops guidelines for mechanical engineers. It’s also a large network of professionals that branches down into students.

Using the idea that mechanical engineering is the “everything major,” much like Auburn is referred to as the “everything school,” ASME understands that the major is very broad, so it attempts to highlight the different career paths for students within the major by organizing different events.

ASME hosts various new activities and speakers, sometimes four or five weekly events.

“It’s a very diverse type of career path that you could get into, and we got to meet so many students that were impacted by the events,” said ASME President Christian Fauer, a mechanical engineering student. “Mechanical engineering is very busy, so we try to be inviting so students can come, learn and reflect.”

In the past, the organization has won other awards, such as a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) award, a grant that helped ASME partner with other organizations to put on one of the more successful events. This specific program focused on preparing engineering students socially and culturally. ASME partnered with numerous organizations, including the Society of Hispanic Engineers, the Indian Students Association, the Pakistan Students Association and the Association of Indonesian Students. This event was a speaker series with authentic food from each of the cultures in attendance and activities for the students to do together. This allowed future engineers to celebrate each other’s differences.

Fauer said that those in ASME feel quite honored to win the award.

“It’s nice to be recognized not just within the College of Engineering but through the whole university because we got to see so many other organizations that we aren’t normally exposed to,” he said. “It’s definitely encouraging and has inspired us to keep going.”

Mullins was another award recipient, bringing home the Student Organization Supporter of the Year Award.

Mullins doesn’t often get to work with students on an individually, but she does work with student organizations. When working to help cultivate industry-focused partnerships, Mullins facilitates connections between employers interested in meeting with student organizations and student organizations interested in developing partnerships with employers.

Mullins has been a longtime supporter of engineering student organizations such as ASME. She was very involved in the success of the inaugural ASME & SME Back-to-School Bowling Social event in the fall of 2023, which invited companies to participate as sponsors, allowing for networking opportunities between employers and students.

Mullins was nominated for the award by ASME.

“I was honored by their nomination and completely surprised I won the award,” Mullins said.

Other individuals and organizations within the college were nominated for awards. The finalists can be found here.