Page 15 - ME News Spring 2022

DONOR HIGHLIGHT
Brant Axt, ME BS 2015
Brant Axt still remembers how
pleased and honored he felt when he was awarded the Surly Scholarship
as a junior in the UMN mechanical engineering program. His dad is a physics teacher who always nurtured Brant’s interests in math and science, so at a young age he knew he wanted to be an engineer. Once he came
to CSE and saw the breadth of the mechanical engineering department, he knew he had found his home. During his undergraduate studies, Brant interned at Medtronic, where he still works, and found it a good fit for his interests.
Brant recalled being amazed at how thrilling it was when he met his benefactors, Naseem and Dorit Ansari and their son Omar, the founder of Surly Brewing, at ME’s annual fall Scholarship Luncheon. He told them about his classes and his interests and his honors program. They were warm and encouraging and enthusiastic as he shared his story and plans for the future. He thought to himself, I want to do this for someone someday. I want to fund a scholarship and sit on the other side of this conversation. That day arrived
this winter when Brant made a generous gift for a scholarship,
doubled the impact of his giving with his Medtronic Employee Match, and launched the Brant Axt Scholarship.
Brant is already looking forward to the day next fall when he can sit across the table from the inaugural Axt Scholar and offer his congratulations and encouragement to someone not unlike himself just a few years ago.
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