Winner of the 2021 Applied Engineering Sciences Distinguished Alumni Award, Michigan State University College of Engineering
Holly D. Aikens came to MSU as a student in the Fall of 1989 and in many ways - she has never left. While on campus, she lived in Bailey and South Wonders halls and became a member of the Applied Engineering Sciences Society and Zeta Tau Alpha sorority, where she served as treasurer and helped manage household expenses of around $500,000 annually.
She graduated with an Applied Engineering Sciences degree in 1993 and has been supporting and/or recruiting Spartan Engineers for jobs in industry ever since. First, she was a recruiter at Detroit Diesel (1994-1999) and since 2000, she has been a recruiter for Ford Motor Company Purchasing. She particularly focuses on AES students in the supply chain cognate.
Aikens has been Ford's full frame buyer (chassis) since December 2014.
She helps AES students get internships and jobs in several areas, including manufacturing, supply technical assistance, and global data and analytics.
Aikens has been a member of the AES Alumni Board since 2002 and has chaired the board for the past two years. She is a continuous source of mentoring to undergraduate and graduate students and served as a capstone judge from 2018 through 2020.
She and her husband, Scott, who earned a 1992 bachelor's degree in biology at MSU, have twin,15-year-old daughters and live in South Lyon, Michigan.
Aikens enjoys reading, golf, walking with her dogs and her husband, and being involved with her daughters' high school golf and swimming activities.
"Our family has many Spartans and are huge sports fans," she said. "I attended my first football game when I was in high school. My father surprised us with a visit from Sparty at our wedding! Both my husband and I went to the 2014 Rose Bowl with the alumni tour. Our twin daughters hope to be future Spartans, too!"