Virginia Tech Industrial and Systems Engineers student chapter celebrates 11th annual Torgersen Leadership Summit
The Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers student chapter at Virginia Tech hosted its 11th annual Torgersen Leadership Summit (TLS) on November 15. TLS is held annually in honor of the late Paul Torgersen, president emeritus of Virginia Tech, former dean of the College of Engineering, and professor emeritus in the Grado Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISE).
“Each year, TLS reminds me just how deeply Dr. Torgersen’s legacy lives on with our students,” said Eileen Van Aken ’88, ISE department head. “The summit gives our students an opportunity to learn directly from industry leaders, and our student TLS team once again created an experience that I know will stay with attendees long after their time at Virginia Tech.”
Paul Torgersen’s grandson, Paul Torgersen Jr. ’12, opened the summit with remarks reflecting on his grandfather’s enduring impact as an educator, mentor, and leader. For the keynote, Rishi Jaitly, founder of Virginia Tech's Institute for Leadership in Technology, participated in a podcast-style conversation guided by ISE junior and TLS Chair James Fitchett, with topics ranging from the importance of professional skills to not being afraid to ask tough questions.
This year, student organizers built on the TLS legacy by inviting several past keynote speakers back to campus for a candid leadership panel that connected lessons from prior summits to today’s workplace. Panelists included ISE alumni Chuck Debusk ’79, a principal at Kinetic Resolution, LLC, and Dan Surber ’10, CEO at Alpine Consulting, as well as Don Taylor, the executive vice provost at Virginia Tech and former ISE department head.
Other panelists included Michael Foss, Michael Giuliano, and Rhonda Vetere, industry leaders in executive coaching, data science, and entrepreneurship who have all been previous TSL keynote speakers.
Attendees learned how to position themselves as leaders through a series of interactive workshops and sessions including by Gabe Kafity ’19, a solutions architect at Amazon Web Services; Emily Stokes ’20, an optimization and solution design engineer at Locus Robotics; Ojas Amberkar ’23, an associate at PwC Strategy; and Michael Foss, founder and CEO of CoachFoss LLC.
“For me, this was one of the most transformative experiences I have had the pleasure of working on and learning from,” Fitchett said. “At Virginia Tech, we are incredibly lucky to have an internal and external network of individuals who are genuinely committed to shaping the next generation of systems thinkers and transdisciplinary leaders. Attendees gained not only practical guidance, but also a clearer sense of how to navigate and lead within a rapidly evolving world.”
Written by Sarah Shrader, marketing and communications intern in the Grado Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering
Paul Torgersen Jr. '12, grandson of the late Virginia Tech president emeritus Paul Torgersen Sr., shares insights on Torgersen's life and commitment to excellence. Photo by Atlas Vernier for Virginia Tech.
