She also served as a member of the gender equity expert panel for the U.S. Department of Education.
ATLANTA, GA, July 21, 2022 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Carolyn Thorsen has been included in Marquis Who's Who. As in all Marquis Who's Who biographical volumes, individuals profiled are selected on the basis of current reference value. Factors such as position, noteworthy accomplishments, visibility, and prominence in a field are all taken into account during the selection process.
Drawing inspiration from the example of her mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, all of whom played musical instruments, Ms. Thorsen developed a passion for piano and organ at a young age. While attending high school, she also fostered a talent in the subject of mathematics, which she eventually parlayed into her main career pursuits. After earning a Bachelor of Arts from Agnes Scott College, she began her professional journey as assistant librarian for Hartsville Memorial Library and as a music teacher for the Darlington School System. Subsequently, Ms. Thorsen received a Master of Education from the University of South Carolina while working as a teacher of mathematics and psychology in Hartsville, SC.
During the 1970s and 1980s, Ms. Thorsen gained valuable professional expertise as a mathematics teacher for DeKalb County (GA) School System and as an assistant to the Dean of Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology, During this time she completed a Master of Science program in the College of Industrial and Systems Engineering. She further distinguished herself as the Executive Director of SECME (Southeastern Consortium for Minorities in Engineering Inc.). Drawing on her considerable expertise, she later became associate director of the Center for Education, Integrating Science, Mathematics and Computing in Georgia Tech's College of Sciences where she served until her retirement.
In order to remain aware of changes in the field, Ms. Thorsen aligned herself with the National Education Association, the American Association of University Women, the American Society for Engineering Education, the National Association of Precollege Directors and the South Carolina Education Association, to name a few. She also served as a member of the gender equity expert panel for the U.S. Department of Education.
Throughout the course of her career, Ms. Thorsen is most proud of creating and directing a program that effectively enabled and encouraged middle and high school African American students to prepare for pursuing and completing engineering and science degrees. She is grateful for the grants she received from the Alfred P. Sloan and the National Science Foundation, Carnegie Corporation Foundation, NASA and the BellSouth Foundation. These grants allowed her to establish the SECME as well as support other projects under her supervision. For this work she received the Reginald H. Jones Distinguished Service Award, the highest award given for contributions to the national minorities in engineering effort.
About Marquis Who's Who®
Since 1899, when A. N. Marquis printed the First Edition of Who's Who in America®, Marquis Who's Who® has chronicled the lives of the most accomplished individuals and innovators from every significant field of endeavor, including politics, business, medicine, law, education, art, religion and entertainment. Today, Who's Who in America® remains an essential biographical source for thousands of researchers, journalists, librarians and executive search firms around the world. Marquis® now publishes many Who's Who titles, including Who's Who in America®, Who's Who in the World®, Who's Who in American Law®, Who's Who in Medicine and Healthcare®, Who's Who in Science and Engineering®, and Who's Who in Asia®. Marquis® publications may be visited at the official Marquis Who's Who® website at www.marquiswhoswho.com.
# # #