American Concrete Institute (ACI) Student Fellowship Program

Purpose

The purpose of the Student Fellowship Program is to identify, attract, and develop outstanding professionals for productive careers in the concrete field.

Program Summary

This fellowship is offered to high-potential undergraduate and graduate students in engineering, construction management, and other appropriate curricula who are identified by the ACI-Member Faculty. The Student Fellowship can have a nominal term of up to two academic years, renewed annually, and may extend through graduate study. Annual renewal will be subject to renomination and reapplication. These awards are granted based on the availability of contributions received.

Beginning with the 2007-2008 academic year, ACI willalso be awarding an additional ACI Student Fellowship named the CharlesPankow Foundation ACI Student Fellowship. In addition to thecriteria listed below, the Charles Pankow Foundation ACI StudentFellowship awardees are required to, as a condition of acceptance, agreeto, and serve, at least one internship period (ten to twelve weeks) workingin a construction environment with challenging assignments. Thisinternship is to be served the summer before the academic awardyear. Thefellowship awardees are also required to submit a written report near theend of their fellowship period describing the value of the fellowship totheir development while a student and to their preparation for theirchosen career entry after graduation.

Each student will receive, during each academic year:

$10,000 educational stipend for tuition, residence, books, and materials
Appropriate certificates, recognition, and publicity
Paid travel expenses and attendance fees to two more ACI conventions
Assignment to an industry mentor
A summer internship, if desired (required to receive the Charles Pankow Foundation ACI Student Fellowship)

Finalists will have to option of being assigned to a ConventionGuide during their first ACI convention, if they so choose.

The administration of the Student Fellowship Program can be described by the following simplified sequence of events:

Faculty member/ACI member nominates student for program
Nominee submits all application materials to ACI ConREF by deadline
Application materials are sent to and reviewed by the Scholarship Council
Scholarship Council selects finalists
Fellowship Selection Team interviews finalists at convention
ConREF Board awards Student Fellowships

REQUIREMENTS AND DIRECTIONS

2007-2008 Online Reference Form

The following criteria apply to all fellowship applicants.The complete application requirements and directionscan be found on the application itself.

To be eligible to apply for this fellowship, the student must be recommended by a faculty member who is also an ACI member. To nominate a student, the faculty member simply sends an email to scholarships@concrete.org with the name, university, and email address of the student he/she wishes to nominate.
The student must be considered a full-time undergraduate or graduate student as defined by the college or university during the fellowship award year. Applications will be accepted from anywhere in the world but study must take place in the United States or Canada during the award year.
For your application packet to be considered for this award, each of the following pieces of information must be submitted by the deadline indicated:
*Completed 2007-2008 typed application form (handwritten applications will not be accepted)
*One-page resume (anything over one page will not be accepted)
*Essay (2-page limit, 1000 word maximum, name must be on first page, please include all scheduled classes for balance of academic year)
*Two (2) completed online reference forms
*All undergraduate and graduate transcripts (all universities attended during all undergraduate and graduate years)
*To be eligible for the Charles Pankow Foundation ACI Student Fellowship, the awardee must check the box on the application agreeing to serve at least one internship period (eight to ten weeks) working in a construction environment with challenging assignments and write a report describing the value of the fellowship. The internship is to be served the summer before the award year.
ACI staff does not contact applicants upon receipt of their application materials.
The application, essay and resume should be emailed to scholarships@concrete.org. All three documents should be sent together in one email package. Hard copies of applications, essays and resumes will not be accepted.
Transcripts are only acceptable if:
1) they are original documents. Unofficial transcripts, copies of transcripts, faxed, or emailed transcripts are not acceptable under any circumstance.
2) they are mailed directly from the university or
3) they are mailed by the student but are in a sealed envelope with a university stamp over the seal.
4) they are in English or accompanied by a translated English version as well as an explanation of the grading scale if different from the 4.0 scale used in the United States.
If transcripts sent to ACI have a different last name than what appears on your application (maiden name), be sure to note it in parentheses on the name line of the application.
Online reference forms are statements of evaluation of the applicant, in terms of potential for growth, character, leadership capacity, and career interest, which are required from two evaluators. One online reference form must be from your faculty nominator. We ask that the other be from an employer, if possible. All reference forms must be submitted in English. Only the online reference form will be accepted. Mailed, emailed, or faxed letters of recommendation will not be accepted. There is no need for more than two reference forms. Only the first two reference forms received will be included in your final application package. It is the applicant’s responsibility to ensure that all application materials are received by the deadline.
Finalists chosen for consideration of these awards must agree to attend an ACI Convention to be interviewed. Travel/hotel arrangements will be made through and paid for by ConREF. Each finalist will be advanced nominal funds for expected travel-related expenses. Fellowship recipients will be notified of their awards after the Annual ACI Convention held each spring.
Fellowship recipients have the opportunity to attend both the Fall and Spring ACI Conventions scheduled during the award year, to participate in a formal mentoring program, and optionally to take part in an expenses-paid, four to six week summer internship at a volunteer employer to be selected by ConREF.
All applicants must be proficient in the English language (or French as required in the Province of Quebec or Spanish in Puerto Rico). If one of these is not your native language, a written statement must be attached to this application attesting to this proficiency.
The deadline for all application materials is before midnight on November 15, 2006. Please be sure that your name is on every piece of material submitted.
If you meet the requirements of the ACI Graduate Scholarships, you are encouraged to also apply for them. A separate application (below) must be filled out and submitted. Only one set of transcripts and reference forms are necessary for all ACI scholarships and fellowships. If you submit both applications, your graduate scholarship application will be reviewed and considered only in the event that you do not receive an ACI Student Fellowship. You must hand in all applications by the deadline.
This fellowship can be withdrawn for failure to comply with any of the items above.