Richard Haffner, BSAE’00, Quality Assurance Manager, Gencor Industries
From the time I started in Aero in 1984, to the time I was dismissed in 1988, I had to be the worst undergraduate student the department had ever seen. In 1997, when I returned for the first time, I had Lab I with Prof Waas and Structures II with Prof Eisley. Profs Waas and Eisley changed my life. Waas for his ongoing commentary of the “100 things every engineer should know,” and Eisley for his one-on-one time with me after I failed the first Structures II exam of the semester. I managed to pull off an A- in Structures despite the awful first exam, and Waas gave me an A+.
A few years later I went back full time to finish my degree, and this “worst undergrad ever” actually made the Dean’s List in Fall 2000! Today I’m a licensed professional engineer, certified quality engineer, and certified weld inspector. And I will always be a damn proud Michigan Aero Engineer. Thank you for letting this “worst undergrad ever” back into the department and allowing me to finish.
