Pamela S. Apotheker earned top senior awards as IME faculty’s choice as both the 2006 WMU Presidential Scholar and the 2006 CEAS Scholar. Her nomination was based on a combination of academic excellence and extracurricular involvement.
The Presidential award was presented at the 26th Annual Presidential Scholars Convocation, which was hosted by WMU President Judith Bailey, and the Dean’s award was given at a special luncheon given by CEAS Dean Tim Greene. A faculty member of her choice celebrated with Apotheker at each celebration. Dr. Bob White was selected for the Presidential event, and Dr. Azim Houshyar, for the Dean’s event.
“Dr. White and Dr. Houshyar are the dynamic duo of the IME department,” Apotheker said. “They teach well and maintain high standards, and they have the respect of their students.”
Apotheker, who maintained a 3.88 GPA, graduated with a BS in Engineering – Industrial with a minor in mathematics, was one of 47 WMU students from the university’s 48 departments honored as a Presidential Scholar, an award that has been given since 1981.
Before graduating, Apotheker passed the Fundamentals of Engineering Exam, the first of two tests that lead to her becoming a credentialed professional engineer. After working four years in the field, she will be eligible to take the final exam for her PE credential.
For her senior design project, Apotheker and two other seniors completed an analysis of the security checkpoint at the Kalamazoo/Battle Creek International Airport. This project helped the airport determine the additional resources needed to decrease the wait time experienced by passengers.
Apotheker’s memberships include two engineering honor societies: Tau Beta Pi, the engineering honor society, and Alpha Pi Mu, the IE honor society. As a new member to Tau Beta Pi, she won an award and $50 for the “shiniest bent,” which is a small replica of the Tau Beta Pi symbol.
She also chaired WMU’s chapter of the Society of Women Engineers (SWE), served as vice-president of the Institute of Industrial Engineers (IIE), and mentored the Kalamazoo area’s first FIRST competitive robotics team, which won a rookie award.
Left to right: CEAS Dean Dr. Tim Greene, 2006 Presidential and Dean Scholar Pam Apotheker, IME Professor Dr. Bob White, and IME Chair Dr. Paul Engelmann
The Kalamazoo native and a graduate of Kalamazoo Christian High School came to WMU as an undecided engineering major. She selected IE because “it’s people related” and because an IE career would enable her to use her math skills without requiring her to teach. “I knew I wanted to be an engineer, and industrial engineering offered the most,” she said.
As an undergraduate, Apotheker had a summer internship at Cook Nuclear Power Co that she described as “fun.”
Apotheker officially changed her name to Pamela Tkachuk on May 6, when she married Dan Tkachuk, a WMU aviation administration alumnus who works as an operations technician at the Kalamazoo / Battle Creek Airport.
Pam Tkachuk recently began working as a production engineer at Perrigo Company in Allegan. “I deal with and support the day-to-day operations,” she said.
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