College of Agriculture and Life Sciences announces Outstanding Graduating Senior award recipient
Virginia Tech has named Philip Chong, a resident of Fairfax, Va., as the Outstanding Graduating Senior in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences for the 2007-2008 academic year.
Chong is expected to receive a dual bachelor’s degree in Agricultural and Applied Economics in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and Political Science in the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences in May 2008. He has excelled academically with recognition as a University Honors and Dean’s List student and as the recipient of the Korean-American Foundation Public Service Scholarship. Recently he co-authored a paper that was published and distributed as both a research and teaching assistant. Chong is a member of the Omicron Delta Kappa and Phi Kappa Phi honor societies.
The community beyond Virginia Tech has also benefited from Chong’s extensive involvement. He has been a role model and big brother to a young boy whose parents are first-generation immigrants through the Crossing the Borders Service-Learning Program. Chong also volunteered as a math and English as a Second Language tutor at Margaret Beeks Elementary School in Blacksburg.
The Outstanding Senior Awards are presented at the Student Honors Day Banquet each spring. These awards are co-sponsored by the Virginia Tech Alumni Association and the senior class.
The purpose of the award is to recognize outstanding student performance in each college of the university. Students are selected on the basis of their quality credit average (3.4 or higher on a 4.0 scale) and outstanding performance in several or all of the following areas: academic achievement, extracurricular activities, leadership positions, and contributions of service to the university and/or community.
Nationally ranked among the top research institutions of its kind, Virginia Tech’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences focuses on the science and business of living systems through learning, discovery, and engagement. The college’s comprehensive curriculum gives more than 2,200 students in a dozen academic departments a balanced education that ranges from food and fiber production to economics to human health. Students learn from the world’s leading agricultural scientists, who bring the latest science and technology into the classroom.
Founded in 1872 as a land-grant college, Virginia Tech is the most comprehensive university in the Commonwealth of Virginia and is among the top research universities in the nation. Today, Virginia Tech’s eight colleges are dedicated to quality, innovation, and results through teaching, research, and outreach activities. At its 2,600-acre main campus located in Blacksburg and other campus centers in Northern Virginia, Southwest Virginia, Hampton Roads, Richmond, Southside, and Roanoke, Virginia Tech enrolls more than 28,000 undergraduate and graduate students from all 50 states and more than 100 countries in 180 academic degree programs.
Written by Stephanie Haugen-Ray.
