Gifty Kessie takes advantage of opportunities to learn and grow – and then turns around and offers a helping hand to others.

Qiana Curcuru loves UMass Lowell for its opportunities. The honors student is president of the campus chapter of the Society of Women Engineers, has done a professional co-op at iRobot, has taught and interned at MIT Lincoln Laboratory and done research with two professors on campus.

After 35 years at General Electric, Stephen Johnson earned a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering, where he developed a software tool that shows wind turbine blade manufacturers whether automation can save time and money.

For most of her professional life, Prof. Joey Mead has been interested in plastics.

Graduate student Ryan Cormier is enjoying one extra year on campus before joining the workforce.

As one of the university’s first DC-CAP Scholars, mechanical engineering major Kevin Akers is pursuing his dream of becoming an astronaut — while also continuing to make a difference in the lives of others.