Leo Osorio — Distinguished Service Award

Leo Osorio A.S. in Information Security B.S.E. in Computer Science Graduated from Colegio Salesiano Don Bosco in Guatemala City, Guatemala A problem solver by nature, Leo Osorio was always drawn to the field of engineering. It helped that many of his relatives were engineers, including his mother, who balanced raising him while earning her degree from San Carlos University in Guatemala City. When the Osorio family relocated to Arizona, Leo applied his love for analytical thinking to his schoolwork and soon earned his associate’s degree from Cochise College in Sierra Vista, Arizona. After attending a presentation promoting the Motivated Engineering Transfer Students (METS) program, Osorio was motivated to pursue engineering at the university level. “I visited the campus and I got the chance to talk to other students and realized that ASU was going to be a great fit for my academic and professional goals,” said Osorio.

After being awarded the Motivated Engineering Transfers STEM Talent Expansion Program (METSTEP) scholarship, Osorio enrolled in the computer science program and immediately threw himself into the Fulton Community, quickly earning a reputation as a friendly, helpful and outgoing student. Described as a “model student,” Osorio has been active in Latinos in Science and Engineering (MAES), the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE), and Fulton Ambassadors.

“As part of MAES, I was given the opportunity to attend the MAES Leadership Academy in El Paso, Texas in the spring of 2014,” said Osorio, who has also served as the Academic Director of the MAES ASU chapter for the past two academic years. He’s also been heavily involved with outreach programs and has hosted programming workshops to teach fellow students how to program, and is currently developing a mobile application for the organization. As a member of the Fulton Ambassadors, in addition to giving tours of campus to prospective engineering students, Osorio also talked to community college students interested in following the same path. True to his helpful and outgoing nature, Osorio also found time to work as an Academic Tutor and an Undergraduate Teaching Assistant, which he calls ones of the most rewarding experiences of his time at ASU. “These experiences led me to give academic support to students and find different ways to solve the same problem, as not everyone learns the same way,” he said. “It was challenging but highly rewarding being able to come up with different approaches and see students understand these new concepts and apply them.” Looking to the future, Osorio wants to continue helping others through his chosen field of computer science. “Software will drive machines and devices that will help people do everything from space exploration to securely check your bank account,” he said. “This type of technology will not go away and we need engineers to keep solving challenges and coming up with better solutions.” After graduation, Osorio will work for Union Pacific Railroad as an intern for the summer, but intends to start his graduate studies in spring 2017. After graduate school, he plans to transition into industry as a software engineer though he has interest in teaching in the future and continuing his record of service. “I want to teach at a community college at some point in my life as I had a great experience when I attended community college,” he adds. “I will stay involved in the professional chapter of Latinos in Science and Engineering, as I want to give back for all those great opportunities that I took part of as an undergrad.”