Lovell Named UMass Amherst 21st Century Leaders Award Recipient

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The University of Massachusetts Amherst will honor the exemplary achievements, initiative and leadership of some of its most talented and accomplished undergraduates and graduate students during Commencement 2023 on Friday, May 26 at McGuirk Alumni Stadium.

This year’s 10 undergraduate recipients of the 21st Century Leaders Award were chosen in recognition of their strong academic records and exemplary achievements. They also further distinguished themselves through intellectual accomplishments and will be recognized for the prestige and honor they bring to the University of Massachusetts Amherst, both as undergraduates and as alumni joining the larger community.

Kathryne “Kitty” Lovell, of Westford, who is graduating with a degree in civil and environmental engineering and is a member of the Commonwealth Honors College, has been named one of the 21st Century Leaders Award recipients. 

Throughout her four years at UMass Amherst, Lovell was the driving force behind transformative community building activities in the College of Engineering. In her first year, eager to increase female participation in the organization, she became vice president of the university’s Associated General Contractors (AGC) chapter. In two years of AGC leadership, she promoted impactful activities highlighting diversity, equity and inclusion in the construction industry.

Later, as president of UMass Engineers Without Borders, Lovell collaborated with other engineering groups to organize the first annual engineering formal at UMass Amherst, which sold out. She also spearheaded a new local volunteer project that brings funding, engineering expertise and labor to organizations in need. As a senior, Lovell successfully led a group to lobby for funds for unconscious bias and microaggression training for engineering students and faculty.

Lovell’s commitment to positive change culminated in her unconventional honors thesis: “Engineering Education: An Evolution, a Revolution,” through which she is coordinating and documenting initiatives to foster a sense of community and belonging in the College of Engineering.

Upon graduation, she will work as an engineer at Woodard & Curran in Northampton, Mass., and remain involved in public policy while addressing environmental challenges through engineering.

This story was originally published by the UMass Amherst News Office.