Lale receives Knight of St. Patrick Award

2/11/2013 Gabrielle Irvin, ECE ILLINOIS

ECE senior Jeff Lale is one of the recipients of the 2013 Knights of St. Patrick Award, an annual award given by the College of Engineering to students who represent leadership, excellence in character, and exceptional contribution to the College of Engineering.

Written by Gabrielle Irvin, ECE ILLINOIS

Jeff Lale
Jeff Lale

ECE senior Jeff Lale is one of the recipients of the 2013 Knights of St. Patrick Award, an annual award given by the College of Engineering to students who represent leadership, excellence in character, and exceptional contribution to the College of Engineering. The award is one of the highest honors received by a student from the College. Eight students received the Knight of St. Patrick’s Award this year.

“I’m pretty surprised and honored to have received the award,” Lale said. “The process is extensive, and there are lots of students who are really qualified and who have committed a lot of work to the College of Engineering who don’t end up getting it.”

Lale was nominated by IEEE and Molly Tracy, associate dean for advancement for the College. After submitting an application, the Knights Selection Committee reviewed his nomination and selected him for an interview. He received a formal invitation to join the Knights on January 20.

He and this year’s other recipients will be honored at the annual Knights of St. Patrick Ball, which is held the Saturday evening of Engineering Open House—March 9 this year. An engraved plaque of the 2013 class will be hung in the main hallway of Engineering Hall. Lale will receive his own plaque, along with a small commemorative sword.

Lale has been an active member of multiple clubs and organizations within the College. Currently, he is the president of Engineering Student Alumni Ambassadors, an organization of students that represent the College and helps hosts alumni events. He is also the co-chair and senior computer engineering representative for the ECE Student Advancement Committee, a group of students who work to promote and enhance the ECE student experience.

He is a recipient of the Robert C. MacClinchie Scholarship, the Ernest A. Tolli Memorial Scholarship, and the Henry O. Koehler Memorial Scholarship. Lale accepted a job offer from Apple in November and plans to move to San Francisco in July. He will work for the iOS performance engineering team, focusing on user-visible performance for iPhones.

Lale plans to stay active in the Knights of St. Patrick and hopes that he can attend future EOH reunion events.

“I’m excited because it is a group of students who, when they become alumni, tend to be more active and engaged, which is something that I’m interested in partially because of my roles,” Lale said. “It’s nice that I might be surrounded by more people who are also interested.”


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This story was published February 11, 2013.