Page 16 - Access 2021

FATHER CREATES
ENDOWMENT
TO REMEMBER
Son’s Well- Lived Life
Mark Andrew Mitchell (1959-2018)
Mark Mitchell led a distinguished career in internation- al service as an officer in the United States Agency for International Development. Mark loved to travel. He was particularly interested in history, geography, culture and people. Wherever he went, he had the unusual ability to make and keep friendships. His father, Russell Mitchell knew him as an adventurer, someone who was at-home while he was abroad, someone who loved people.
During his time as a Fresno State student, Mark par- ticipated in a study abroad program in Taiwan. After graduation, Mark joined the United States Army; soon he was traveling to many countries including Turkey, Jordan, Israel, Egypt and South Korea. After Mark left the Army, he joined the US Department of State and found himself traveling again, to several countries in- cluding Brazil, Djibouti, Afghanistan and the Republic of Georgia.
Mark passed away in 2018 as a result of injuries sus- tained in a traffic accident outside of Tbilisi in Georgia. To celebrate a life surrounded by international travel, Russell Mitchell established the Mark A. Mitchell Me- morial Award endowment at Fresno State. Endowments are funds held in trust by the university’s foundation and generate interest on the gift’s principal. Endowments can provide financial resources forever. In this case, the Mark A. Mitchell Memorial Award endowment joins two other study abroad endowments, including the Shields Family Study Abroad Fund endowment and the Weise Study Abroad endowment, to provide permanent funding for Fresno State students who wish to study abroad.
Fresno State students who oth- erwise might not be able to af- ford studying abroad will benefit from the Mark A. Mitchell Me- morial Award. Grants like this make the dream of study abroad a reality; and the generosity of the Mitchell Family will ensure this opportunity continues in perpetuity.
16 California State University, F R E S N O
ADAPTATION FROM LYLES COLLEGE NEWS APRIL 18TH, 2021
Mandeep Singh,
named Lyle’s College of
Engineering Graduate
Deans Medalist
Mandeep Singh, an international student from Kolkata, India, earned an M.S. in engineering, mechanical engineering op- tion, with a 4.0 GPA. He previously earned a B.S. in mechanical engineering at Fresno State in three years. Singh left his family in India at 17 to study in Canada. He earned a diploma in elec- tro-mechanical engineering and transferred to Fresno State. Singh worked in research labs where he became an expert at using advanced instrumentation, published peer-reviewed journal papers and presented in several leading conferences. He served as president of Engineers Without Borders, which he helped revive at the University, was president of the Ma- terials Research Society, which existed to increase research experiences for underrepresented students, and served as a mentor on campus. Singh received a full scholarship for a doc- toral program at the University of Notre Dame. His goal is to become a research professor and help improve the education conditions in developing countries.