A recent Construction Engineering & Management (CEM) graduate, Tyler Shawcross takes Virginia Tech's motto, "Ut Prosim" (That I may serve) to a whole new level. To merely say that Tyler was an active volunteer with the local Habitat for Humanity chapter would be a tremendous understatement. "Tyler deserves a majority of the credit for re-building the local Habitat affiliate and the student chapter, " says Dr. Andrew McCoy, the Virginia Tech Student Habitat Chapter faculty advisor.
As president of the campus chapter of Habitat for Humanity he not only helped grow the fledgling group from a declining 25 members to over 120 members. He also rallied those troops to assist in building two 1200 plus square foot homes in less than 12 months. Towards the end of the projects, Tyler volunteered as a site superintendent, coordinating vendors and subcontractors for the houses.
Tirelessly working on site every weekend, one would think Tyler would have taken advantage of a little respite from the work over the 2012 holiday break. Instead, he took this opportunity to organize a remodel and move of the new Habitat Re-store location, leading to its recent success.
All this, while maintaining a 3.95 grade point average.
"His contribution is amazing, and something many people do not realize is that these accomplishments directly affect the people with whom we interact every day, " adds McCoy. One house will be for the family of a local mail carrier and another for the family of a dining hall cook, both workers who serve students at Virginia Tech.
Because of his exemplary leadership and dedication, the local Habitat for Humanity Chapter instituted "The Tyler Shawcross Service Leadership Award" to be awarded annually to a student that exemplifies "Ut Prosim".
We are incredibly proud of Tyler and his accomplishments and hope that others are inspired by them as well.
