Austin Benson named outstanding senior at Iowa State University

2016 Jan 14

The College of Engineering named Austin Benson the outstanding senior for fall 2015. Benson, graduated with a degree in computer engineering during the university's commencement held December 19.

Austin Benson, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, didn’t have much downtime when it came to leading a successful undergraduate career in computer engineering. Graduating Summa Cum Laude, he has also been recognized with many academic scholarships, including Hewlett-Packard awards, and he has been inducted into multiple honorary societies: Cardinal Key, Phi Kappa Phi, Tau Beta Pi, Eta Kappa Nu, and Golden Key International, as well as being in the highest 2 percent of engineering seniors. Benson has been involved in Phi Kappa Psi as vice president, scholarship chair?, judicial committee member, and membership development chair, and he led many charitable events. Benson has had multiple high-profile software development internships with companies like IBM, Amazon and Google. After graduation, Benson will be pursuing a career as an entrepreneur as the co-founder of a Des Moines-based startup company called SaveIt! Inc. The company’s mobile application SaveIt! was recently presented by Iowa State at the Associate for Financial Counseling and Planning Education conference in Florida.

“The brevity of life does not permit us to hesitate if we are to follow our dreams. Let us embrace the opportunity of graduation by taking the risks necessary to reach our highest aspirations; confident in the gifts bestowed upon us during our time at Iowa State University.” – Austin Benson