By John Lendrum
When the NPCA Educational Foundation was started in 1989, it was little more than a vision of industry pioneers. With the simple goal of attracting new people to the precast industry, the foundation set out on a mission to provide scholarships to aspiring young students looking to study applicable subjects.
Through the generous support of the NPCA community, the NPCAEF has been successful in this mission for more than two decades. More than 80 undergraduate students have studied civil engineering and construction-related curriculum thanks to the support NPCA members have provided. In recent years, scholarships were increased from $1,000 to $2,200 and the Daneen Barbour $2,500 graduate-level scholarship was introduced this year.
While the accomplishments of the foundation have been many, there is much more that can be done, and the NPCAEF Board of Directors has set out to achieve exactly that. Through a $3 million campaign designed to create an endowment, a host of education and technical training initiatives will be funded to do much more to transform the precast industry in the years to come.
All of us have seen the industry change over the years. The landscape has grown increasingly technical and competitive, particularly in the current economic landscape where there are fewer projects to go around. If you think back 10 years, or even five, it’s easy to see just how much change has truly taken place.
It is no longer sufficient to just reply to bids and wait for projects to roll in. Reaching out to the specifying community has become a must. Through our new initiatives, the foundation will reach those who impact our industry the most, including production personnel, engineers, architects, builders, and other specifiers and end users.
In total, four grant areas will be pursued, including growing precast markets through education; precast education of specifiers, owners and end users; workforce development, quality control and safety; and expanding education of architectural and engineering students. Through these activities, the foundation’s philosophy of introducing the features and benefits of precast concrete products and creating a more educated specifying community will be fully realized.
To date, the Foundation has made a $100,000 pledge to Concrete Industry Management’s National Steering Committee for developing and enhancing the CIM program at several universities, as well as grants of $10,000 and $9,350 to the NPCA Education Committee for the development of two separate PQS Level II Courses for plant employees. A grant of $7,175 has also been awarded for the development of an online PQS Level I Refresher Course.
With more than $800,000 in pledges committed, the goal of a $3 million endowment has become even more realistic. Once the endowment is in place, grants that impact our industry in the most meaningful way will be made strictly from the annual proceeds of the endowment.
It was Winston Churchill who said, “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.” True to this statement, your giving will support your bottom line, the industry and also give students a chance to fulfill their dreams of higher education.
To make a gift to the NPCAEF, contact Alice Tiemann by phone at (800) 366-7731 or at [email protected].
John Lendrum, president of the NPCA Educational Foundation, is co-owner of Norwalk Concrete Industries of Norwalk, Ohio; a former NPCA chairman of the board; and a winner of NPCA’s Robert E. Yoakum Award.
New NPCAEF Website
We encourage you to take a moment to visit the brand new NPCAEF website. The site has been redesigned to provide you up-to-date information on the foundation in an easy-to-navigate format.
Check it out today at: http://foundation.precast.org/
Q&A With NPCAEF Scholarship Recipients
TYLER GROTE
Q: Where did you receive your undergraduate degree, and when did you graduate?
A: I went to the University of Texas at Austin, and graduated in December 2009 with a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering and a minor in Business.
Q: What did you study in school and why?
A: I studied civil engineering because my dad and grandfather had been in the field for many years. They both inspired me from a young age with a love of buildings and bridges, and I was able to culminate that love into a degree that I actually enjoyed.
Q: What were the highlights of your undergraduate years?
A: I was lucky enough to get involved with several activities around campus, both in engineering and sports. Being able to compete in the NCBA World Series was definitely the highlight of my undergraduate years.
Q: What are you doing now and what are your goals?
A: I am enjoying life in Austin, Texas, with my wife and two dogs, and working as a structural engineer for CJG Engineers. In the next few years, I’d like to go back to school to pursue an MBA, and continue developing my career.
Q: If you could talk to the donors that made your scholarship possible, what would you say?
A: I would thank them for making it possible for me to meet so many people and experience all the things I got to experience in college. To be able to fund my education without having to work opened a lot of doors that I wouldn’t have had enough time to open otherwise.
AMY SHAW, first recipient of the Daneen Barbour graduate-level scholarship:
Q: Why did you apply for the scholarship?
A: It was important for me to apply for outside scholarships to help pay for my college education, especially with the ever-rising cost of an undergraduate degree. Needless to say, I was very excited when I heard I had won!
Q: What did you study, what will you study and why?
A: As an undergrad I majored in civil engineering and minored in mathematics. I’m planning on getting my Ph.D. in environmental engineering, with a focus in water resources. I discovered my interest in water resources during my undergraduate coursework and also while interning for an environmental engineering firm. I should receive my masters by May 2012, and my Ph.D. in May 2015.
Q: What were the highlights of your undergraduate years?
A: As an undergrad I played piccolo in the Vanderbilt marching band and also played in the pep band at basketball games, which were both very exciting in the SEC! I was also active in several clubs, including the Society of Women Engineers and Tau Beta Pi (the engineering honors society). I’m excited about starting graduate school and making connections with researchers on the forefront of water resources.
Q: What are your goals?
A: My goals are to complete my Ph.D. and hopefully make contributions to water resources management. In the process I hope I can mentor other young women interested in engineering!
Q: If you could talk to the donors that made your scholarship possible, what would you say?
A: Thank you for your support of construction-related scholarships, even though it is a hard time in the construction industry. I believe furthering students’ educations in the field will be an important part of the industry’s recovery, and you are helping to make that possible!
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