Page 15 - Nov-Dec2022 Vol 40 No 5

Once at UT, her dedication as a student was tested by a
personal situation, as noted by Jennifer Retherford, Ph.D., P.E., TCAPWA SCHOLARSHIP INFORMATION
UTK Distinguished Lecturer. Retherford said during the Spring • The TCAPWA Scholarships were established to promote the profession
2021 semester, “Brianna was faced with a challenging decision of Public Works and to assist Public Works employees or their children
and sought to continue her academic studies while caring for a in Tennessee. Two $2,000 scholarships will be awarded again in 2023.
close loved one. “ • Payments will be made directly to the institution the recipient will
“We negotiated a strategy for her to experience our face-to- attend.
face class remotely and she succeeded in the course. She was • If the winner has the TN Promise Scholarship, awards will be made to
dedicated to self-directed study and was engaged in online the winner when acceptable receipts are submitted for books, fees, etc.
office hours and email correspondence, returning to campus • Both undergraduate and graduate students are eligible for
the following fall semester and showing (in-person) the same consideration. It is expected that applicants are students pursuing a
aptitude and drive,” Retherford said. “She is very likely to succeed field of study related to Public Works.
towards her ultimate professional goals of engineered design and • Past recipients are not eligible to apply for this year’s scholarship.
project management.” CRITERIA
She’s been employed by both the Greene County YMCA 1. Preference in awarding each scholarship is given to those applicants
(where she was assistant summer camp director) and the who are either TCAPWA members (including student members) or
Lindsay Young Downtown (Knoxville) YMCA, where she said full-time employees of a TCAPWA Agency Member who are working in
she “enjoyed getting to watch members’ fitness journeys” while a Public Works related field. Non-member employees working for an
keeping the facility clean. A favorite job has been at The Math Agency member shall have worked in the Public Works profession for at
Place, a UT tutoring center where “my favorite part was when least one year.
one of my peers I was tutoring got the “A HA” moment when 2. Consideration shall also be given to applicants who are dependent
they finally understood a topic they had been struggling with.” children of TCAPWA members or employees of TCAPWA member
Her co-op and internship experiences include a five-month agencies.
co-op in general contracting at Brasfield and Gorrie, and 3. Applicants must be pursuing higher education and enrolled in an
an internship with Vaughn & Melton consulting engineers, accredited college, university, community college, or technical school
where she enjoyed “acquiring real world experience through with intentions to work in a Public Works or related field such as
observation of different types of projects in the field and in the engineering or public administration.
office.” Additionally, Lay has received UT’s Lawrence S. Barker 4. Undergraduates must have an overall GPA of 2.5 and graduate
Jr. Award for academic merit in the Department of Civil and students must have an overall GPA of 3.0.
Environmental Engineering, and the Distinguished Tennessean The application process for 2023 will begin in the Spring.
Award for outstanding academic performance.

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