Scholarship carries legacy of passion
 always give 100 percent.” Eric Victor Streich’s motto for life was also his approach to studying industrial and systems engineering at UW-Madison. In addition to his studies, Streich was a student member of the Institute of Industrial Engineers and active in the Greek system as a member of Sigma Phi Epsilon. Although an undergraduate, Streich was accepted into a graduate-level quick response manufacturing (QRM) class.
However, Streich discovered his real passion during two semesters in IE 476, Industrial Engineering Design. For his class project, he collaborated with the interventional radiology department at UW Hospital to develop a system to optimize patient flow. He even received a scholarship to aid in his work. From that point on, his goal was to work in healthcare.
Streich’s QRM experience became valuable in his first post-graduation job in the products division of the consulting group Virchow, Krause and Company (VKC) in Milwaukee. There, he quickly realized another talent: recruiting and training students. He became a UW-Madison recruiter for VKC and made presentations at his alma mater. He also played an integral role in developing the mentoring program offered to new hires. Broadening his focus, he became the director of student relations for the Milwaukee chapter of Association for Operations Management.
However, he never forgot his first passion: healthcare. In September 2006, Streich accepted a position that would allow him to achieve his dream of applying his engineering skills to healthcare: senior consultant on the GE Healthcare Performance Solution Team. Sadly, the dream was never realized. Four days prior to starting his new position, he died of a traumatic brain injury.
Streich’s parents, Richard and Betty Streich, decided that although their son could not pursue his passions, they could help others develop theirs—just as Streich did as a recruiter and mentor. They established the Eric Victor Streich Memorial Scholarship through the University of Wisconsin Foundation to support a first-semester senior in ISyE.
“Eric always encouraged everyone to give 100 percent, he valued education, he was an industrial engineer, and he was a Badger,” his parents say. “This scholarship is a perfect legacy.”
Streich’s friends, coworkers and former classmates rallied around the cause, establishing an Eric Victor Streich Memorial Golf Outing to benefit the scholarship fund. Nick McDonough, a fellow ISyE alumnus who worked with Streich at VKC, organized the outing.
“It exemplifies the kind of friend and colleague Eric was—he always tried to help everyone around him become stronger and more successful people,” says McDonough.
In 2007, about 90 participants raised roughly $3,500 for the fund. The next outing is being planned for fall 2008.
McDonough hopes to make the outing an annual event, as a way to honor his friend’s passion and loyalty. “He is a friend whom I always could trust to get full support anytime I needed it at work or socially,” says McDonough. “To me, that is what I remember and value the most.”.
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