MONTANA TECH AWARDS FIRST-EVER EARLY IMPACT ALUMNI AWARDS

Montana Technological University will award two university alumni the first-ever Early Impact Alumni Awards on Friday, May 5, 2023. Awardees are Johanna Ostrum, Chief Operating Officer at Transitional Energy, and Micaul Querciagrossa, a Family Medicine Physician Assistant at Intermountain Health.

The Early Impact Alumni Award is given to Montana Technological University alumni who have already made a lasting impact to their community, Montana Tech, and their profession. This award celebrates alumni who have made an early impact after graduation and shown tremendous potential in their professional field. Awardees are great examples to current students at Montana Tech that their potential with a world-class education from Montana Technological University is limitless.

"I am tremendously excited to announce Johanna Ostrum and Micaul Querciagross as our first-ever recipients of the Early Impact Alumni Award," noted Sean Ryan, Director of Alumni Engagement. "Both Johanna and Micaul are testaments to the lasting impacts Montana Technological University graduates make on their community, Montana Tech, and their professional fields. Both of these incredible alumni are accomplished industry professionals and serve as inspiration for current and future students that with a degree from Montana Tech, you can make an immediate impact."

Ostrum built Transitional Energy from the ground up and has been instrumental in winning grants, executing a pilot project in Nevada, and creating a new market for small, modular geothermal energy. Johanna has nearly two decades of experience in various engineering, regulatory, policy, and management positions in the energy industry. With a B.S. in Geological Engineering from Montana Tech, Johanna has brought an intradisciplinary and collaborative approach to every position she has held. Johanna has contributed to every part of the energy development value chain with various roles at Noble Energy, SM Energy, Extraction Oil & Gas, and Clean Air Task Force. Johanna currently volunteers as the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Task Force Chair at Geothermal Rising and sits on the Board of Directors of the Energy Leadership Institute.

Querciagrossa provides healthcare at the Montana Tech Student Health Center and on the sidelines of local football games. Micaul is a Butte native who graduated from Montana Tech in 2014 with a bachelor's in Biological Sciences. Upon graduation, Micaul received the Most Outstanding Biological Student Award. She graduated with a master's in Physician Assistant Studies from A.T. Still University in Mesa, AZ, in 2018. In 2019, Micaul was voted to Butte's 20 Under 40 in 2019. She serves as a board member for Uptown Hoops, a nonprofit 3-on-3 basketball tournament in the streets of uptown Butte.

The Montana Tech Alumni Association will present the awards to Ostrum and Querciagrossa on Friday, May 5, 2023, at a luncheon on campus.