College Outreach

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  • ASCE Philadelphia YMF works together with local college/university student chapters within the Philadelphia region to assist students with the transition from academics into the next steps toward their professional careers within the Civil Engineering industry. Philadelphia is fortunate to have a strong concentration of excellent Civil Engineering programs, each with ASCE Student Chapters, as listed below. Our mission is to utilize the benefits and resources ASCE offers to promote student involvement and provide support to each of the local colleges/universities within the Philadelphia Region in order to help Civil Engineering students develop into successful young professionals. This is done through scholarships, community service, career presentations, construction tours, Q & A panel discussions, student-professional events, inter-university challenges, mock interviews, and resumé workshops.

    The 2023-2024 College Contact Co-Chairs are: Alexis Gawelko, EIT and Kris Melag (He/Him).

    To learn more about them, visit Board Members

  • Upcoming Events and Schedule

    Upcoming Events:
      For recaps of past College Outreach, click HERE

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    • #ASCEMadeMe College Challenge

      For more information about the college challenge, along with task descriptions and point values, please follow the following link to the challenge rubric: #ASCEMadeMe College Challenge Rubric

      MISSION
      To engage students at local universities and colleges in the Philadelphia Region in the good work being done by civil engineers as well as the benefits and resources ASCE has to offer to student and young professional members.

      HOW IT WORKS
      ASCE Student Chapters in the Greater Philadelphia Region will perform tasks outlined in the rubric below to earn points during the timeline of this challenge. Chapters will accumulate points based on the rubric below, and the highest accumulated total at the conclusion of this challenge will be declared the winner. The points associated with items in the rubric will be weighted based on disadvantageous and advantageous factors for each ASCE Student Chapter, which will be determined by the ASCE Philadelphia YMF upon receipt of all applications. YMF College Contact Co-Chairs and/or #ASCEMadeMe College Challenge Committee will grade the submissions of the ASCE Student Chapters.

      CONDITIONS
      In order to participate in the challenge, the following requirements must be met:
      (1) The university/college must have an active ASCE Student Chapter with an executive board and faculty advisor.
      (2) The school must be recognized as a college/university in the Greater Philadelphia Region by the ASCE Philadelphia Section and/or YMF.

      REGISTRATION
      To register, a representative from the Student Chapter must submit a letter of interest (via email) stating their chapter meets the above conditions. The letter must include a point of contact (name and email) for the Student Chapter. Upon receipt and acceptance of the application materials, the Student Chapter will receive a confirmation email with all necessary forms and documentation for the competition.

      SUBMISSION OF COMPLETED TASKS
      Students must email Zach Abbas(zachariahabbas@gmail.com) and Cory Bogas(cbogas@hntb.com) with a description of the event, date, and any social media posts about it. Tasks must be submitted before the 15th of the following month.

      AWARDS
      The winner of the College Competition will be announced at the students’ welcome back event held in the fall, where young professionals and students from each school will be in attendance. The winning College/University will receive a certificate commemorating their achievements, along with bragging rights for the next year.

      The 2023-2024 #ASCEMadeMe College Challenge Winners will be announced at the Welcome Back Event in the Fall!

      PREVIOUS WINNERS
      • • 2019-2020: TEMPLE UNIVERSITY
      • • 2018-2019: DREXEL UNIVERSITY
      • • 2017-2018: DREXEL UNIVERSITY
      • • 2018-2019: DREXEL UNIVERSITY
      • • 2019-2020: TEMPLE UNIVERSITY
      • • 2020-2021: DREXEL UNIVERSITY
      • • 2021-2022: TEMPLE UNIVERSITY
      • • 2022-2023: VILLANOVA UNIVERSITY
      • • 2023-2024: TO BE ANNOUNCED AT THE FALL WELCOME BACK EVENT
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    • ASCE Student Member Resources

      The ASCE Philadelphia YMF offers a Mentor Program for undergraduate civil engineering students within the area. Please visit http://www.ymfphilly.org/mentor-program.html for additional information.

      For new graduates or graduating seniors, utilize all of ASCE's great benefits by participating in a Younger Member Group.

      For additional information and to explore all the great resources that ASCE has to offer visit their website at: https://www.asce.org/communities/student-members

      Become an ASCE member today to utilize all of the great benefits and resources ASCE has to offer. Best part is...it’s FREE (for current students)! Click HERE to join!

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    • Scholarships

      ASCE Philadelphia Section
      The Philadelphia Section of ASCE awards at least one scholarships to an undergraduate civil engineering students each year. The scholarship applications are due February 5th each year. Please visit https://sections.asce.org/philadelphia/awards for addtional information.

      Congratulations to the 2023 ASCE Philadelphia Section Scholarship Winners!
      Caroline Merrill, Temple University
      Paige Cutler, Clarkson University

      Other scholarships available to Civil Engineering students are as follows:

      ASCE National
      ASCE national offers eight (8) scholarships. Applications are due February 10th each year. Please visit https://www.asce.org/career-growth/awards-and-honors/scholarships for additional information.

      Philadelphia Engineering Foundation & Engineers' Club of Philadelphia
      PEF & ECP offer five (5) scholarships. Applications deadlines are to be announced. Please visit here for additional information.

      Joseph & Peggy McMahon Transportation Engineering Scholarship Fund
      One (1) Scholarship is awarded. Applications are open from January 1 through March 1st each year. Please visit here for additional information.

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    • ASCE Student Conferences and Competitions

      ASCE Student Conferences

      Region 2 Assembly
      The ASCE Region 2 Assembly is a one-day conference, which is typically held on a Saturday, for student officers, younger members, and Section/Branch members within the Region. The Region 2 Assembly typically includes large assembly presentations on Professional Development, ASCE resources, and various civil engineering related topics. There are also breakout sessions featuring presentations on similar topics, group discussions, or an activity.

      Please check back for more information regarding this year's Region 2 Assembly.

      ASCE Workshop for Student Chapter Leaders (WSCL) - Regions 1, 2, 4 & 5
      The Annual ASCE Workshop for Student Chapter Leaders (WSCL) is a two-day training workshop for student officers of ASCE Student Chapters. Student officers will interact with other student officers from around the region (primarily east coast) on topics related to running an ASCE Student Chapter. There are typical large assembly presentations and smaller breakout sessions with organized discussions. The event is held concurrently with the Workshop for Section, Branch, and Institute Leadesr (WSBIL) and the Younger Member Council Meeting (YMC). Student officers will also have breakout sessions with young member leaders, and Section/Branch leaders.

      Visit the ASCE WSCL Webpage for additional details, including registration.
      The 2024 Workshop for Student Chapter Leaders (WSCL) will be held on January 25 to 27, 2024 in Miami, Florida.

      ASCE Mid-Atlantic East Student Conference
      The ASCE Mid-Atlantic East Student Conference is a two-day conference featuring technical presentations, competitions, business meetings, social acitivites, and an awards banquet. The competitions typically held during the Conference include the Concrete Canoe and GeoWall competitions.

      The 2024 ASCE Mid-Atlantic East Student Conference will be held on April 13-14, 2024 at The University of Maryland.

      ASCE National Competitions

      ASCE Construction Institute (CI) Student Days
      CI Student Days give students the information and tools they need to stand out in a competitive job market while providing engineering recruiters with unique opportunities to get up close and personal with a stellar pool of candidates. This event allows the opportunity to bring classroom lessons to life through the participation in activities combining competition with networking, teamwork, professional advice, and real-world experience alongside the top engineering students and young professionals from across the country. Events include a real-world project team competition, project site tour, technical presentations, speed networking with company recruiters, and many other networking events. With this year’s program expansion, the Construction Institute will now accept 60 students, in comparison with last year’s 36 accepted students.

      ASCE National Concrete Canoe Competition
      The goal of this competition is to provide civil engineering students an opportunity to gain hands-on, practical experience and leadership skills by working with concrete mix designs and project management. Click here for additional details.

      ASCE Sustainable Solutions Competition
      The goal of this competition is to provide a fun and creative activity with both an academic and community service component to provide an engaging pathway to success and recognition at the national level. Click here for additional details.

      ASCE Steel Bridge Competition
      The goal of the Student Steel Bridge Competition is to challenge students to extend their classroom knowledge to a practical and hands-on steel-design project that grows their interpersonal and professional skills, e ncourages innovation, and fosters impactful relationships between students and industry professionals. Click here for additional details.

      ASCE UESI Surveying Competition
      Consists of four separate tasks, each involving three team members to demonstrate the ability to apply the techniques of land surveying. Click here for additional details.

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    • ASCE Student Reimbursement Fund

      Student Activities Reimbursement Fund (StAR)

      The Student Activities Reimbursement Fund (StAR) was established by the ASCE Foundation Board of Directors to assist students with expenses to participate in ASCE activities. This is a competitive application program for students who are interested in attending official ASCE conferences, the annual convention, or other ASCE meetings to advance their career, education, and leadership in the profession, community, and ASCE.

      DEADLINES
      • • August 1st (covering events October-December)
      • • October 1st (covering events January-June)
      • • May 1st (covering events July-September)

      GUIDELINES