Each year, UW-Stout Career Services can nominate one student for the Cooperative Education Student Achievement Award presented by the Cooperative Education and Internship Association (CEIA). Nationally, one student is chosen annually to receive this prestigious award, the highest honor for a cooperative education student in the country. In 2019, packaging student Ryan Knudtson was the first Blue Devil to receive the award. In 2024, Julia Hellquist became the second UW-Stout student be honored with the award.
Julia Hellquist graduated from the University of Wisconsin–Stout in December 2023. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering with minors in Mathematics and Materials Science. During her time at UW-Stout, Julia completed four co-op semesters at General Motors in Spring Hill, Tenn., and Warren, Mich. She was nominated by UW-Stout’s Cooperative Education and Internship Program Manager, Bethany Henthorn. Hellquist and her supervising team from GM submitted written statements as part of the nomination process. Out of thousands of students across the country, she was selected as the winner by the CEIA’s awards committee members.
“Julia Hellquist is an exceptional student and engineer. She has proven to be a self-starter, quick learner and someone that demonstrates great engineering problem solving skills. Her creativity, leadership skills and her exceptional communication skills have enabled the success of all her projects”