The SEAW Scholarship Committee is responsible for administering SEAW’s scholarship program, which has awarded over $258,000 to students since its inception in 1985. The committee markets the scholarship program, reviews applications, interviews candidates, and recommends scholarship awards.

History

The SEAW Scholarship was launched in 1985 when two $1000 scholarships were awarded to local undergraduate engineering students. The scholarship funded approximately 40 percent of the annual in-state undergraduate tuition at the time. Most of those scholarships have been awarded to students studying at universities in Washington State, predominantly at UW (40%) and WSU (22%). The current award of $5000 remains about the same percentage of in-state tuition cost compared to the inaugural scholarship.

Process

The SEAW Policy and Procedures Manual Article X dictates the scholarship eligibility criteria, which consists of being a US citizen, Washington State resident, a senior undergraduate or graduate student, and a demonstrated commitment to the Structural Engineering profession. The criteria we use to assess the applicants reflects these requirements. For example, the analysis system for transcript review is weighted towards students’ record in structural-specific coursework. In addition, applicants are evaluated based on a personal essay and references from professors and employers. Applications are reviewed individually by members of the Scholarship Committee. The interviews give us a chance to get to know the applicants and consider their commitment to the Structural Engineering profession.

The scholarship committee is active generally from January to May. Scholarship recipients are typically announced at the Seattle Chapter SEAW Spring Social in June.

Chair: Kevin Solberg

Committee Members: Jessica Jennes, Bill Mooseker, Ben Piermattei, Damiano Seghetti

SEAW State Board Liaison: Matt Leslie

Past Committee Chairs: (Coming soon)