Charles Kolar (’20 mech engr) has been named a recipient of the ISU Alumni Association’s Wallace E. Barron All-University Senior Award. The award honors outstanding seniors who display high character, outstanding achievement in academics and university/community activities, and promise for continuing these exemplary qualities as alumni.
If there is one thing you can say about Charles Kolar, it is that he never lets an opportunity go to waste.
Charlie is a student-athlete at Iowa State University, balancing a heavy class load in mechanical engineering while training to crush opponents on the football field as one of Iowa State’s most prolific tight ends in the program’s history. The son of two professors, Charlie will “do whatever it takes to earn the perfect score” according to one of his nominators. These words are true both on the field and in the classroom.
Charlie has earned many recognitions, including First Team All-Big 12 honors and All-American honors, and he is a National Merit Scholar. When he is not playing football, studying, or sleeping (of which he does little), you can find Charlie visiting Mary Greeley Hospital to volunteer or reading to children at a local elementary school. This volunteerism has extended to various projects throughout Charlie’s time on campus, including Marshalltown tornado relief, service with Victory Day and ExerCYse Time, and more. He is active in undergraduate real-world research, demonstrating the Iowa State innovative spirit, and is a member of the Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC).
In short, Charlie has a great love for Iowa State and the opportunities that it represents for both himself and Cyclones everywhere. As another one of his nominators wrote, “He shows up with incredible energy every day to make himself and his fellow teammates and classmates better.”
Story courtesy of the ISU Alumni Association.