Now more than ever, academic scholarships to high-achieving students entering the engineering field play an important support role for the recipients. This year, 16 students in New York State colleges and universities will receive American Council of Engineering Companies of New York scholarships ranging from $2,500 to $5,000. The scholarships are being awarded based on the student's cumulative grade point average, college activities, work experience and an essay on consulting engineering. Eight of the students attending metropolitan area colleges were honored at an ACEC New York membership luncheon on May 19 at the Union League Club in New York City. The remaining eight students attending upstate colleges will be recognized at the council's winter conference in Albany in January. Since 2001, ACEC New York has awarded 97 scholarships for a total of $265,500. Following are the scholarship winners for 2009: Jaros, Baum & Bolles Scholarship - $5,000 * Grace Lee, Columbia University, New York, N.Y. Lee is a civil engineering student with a concentration in Structural Engineering and a minor in Architecture in Columbia's Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science. She has worked as an intern for engineering firms in New York and Rhode Island and is vice president of the student chapter of ASCE and a member of the Korean-American Scientists and Engineers Association. Walter Brown, P.E. Scholarship - $5,000 * Rachel Smith, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, N.Y. Smith plans to work toward a master's degree in Structural Engineering after she gets her undergraduate degree in civil engineering next spring. She has volunteered every semester since her freshman year for Habitat for Humanity, as well as other community outreach programs through her membership in Alpha Gamma Delta Sorority. AECOM Scholarship - $2,500 * Jacob Deyo, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, N.Y. Deyo is working toward a Civil Engineering Technology degree. His penchant for problem solving has been nurtured through summer jobs at engineering and construction companies. He has already had the opportunity to help design the waste water equalization system for the Hero Beech-Nut facility in Amsterdam, N.Y. Dagher Engineering, PLLC Scholarship - $2,500 * Alexandra Guernon, Union College, Schenectady, N.Y. Although she will earn a degree in mechanical engineering, Guernon admits a strong interest in bioengineering, and would like to attend graduate school so that she might be a consultant in both fields. Her student activities include the scholars program, scholarship chair of Gamma Phi Beta and president of the Society of Women Engineers. HAKS Engineers, Architects and Land Surveyors, P.C. Scholarship - $2,500 * Edwin Cox Jr., Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, N.Y. A civil engineering technology major, Cox wants to fast track to an MBA degree with a concentration in Enterprising so that he may one day own a consulting engineering firm. He is a member of ASCE and the Outing Club, and has done work for Habitat for Humanity. Hazen and Sawyer, P.C. Scholarship - $2,500 * Daniel Hesslein, Manhattan College, Riverdale, N.Y. A civil engineering student, Hesslein is very interested in sustainable design, particularly in renewable energy and reusable construction practices. He has participated in Night Run, where he makes and delivers sandwiches for the homeless, and participates in Relay for Life, a 24-hour walk to raise awareness for breast cancer. Langan Engineering and Environmental Services, P.C. Scholarship in memory of Maria Isabel Ramirez (9-11-01) - $2,500 * Joey Araman, Columbia University, New York, N.Y. With a strong sense of the artistic as well as the technical aspects of engineering, Araman is pursuing both a BA and a BS degree in Civil/Structural Engineering. As a member of the Society for Entrepreneurship and Technological Innovation and the Columbia Engineering Student Council, Araman has spent much of his time at Columbia fostering the entrepreneurial spirit among engineering students. Mid Hudson Region Scholarship - $2,500 * Jason Shaffer, Union College, Schenectady, N.Y. Highly praised by his professors and mentors, this future mechanical engineer is said to have the integrity and work ethic essential to be a professional engineer. During vacations and in his spare time, Shaffer has worked on several college research projects involving nano materials and micro-electrical systems. Mueser Rutledge Consulting Engineers Scholarship - $2,500 * Constantine Spanos, The City College of New York, New York, N.Y. The protégé of Robert Paaswell, director of the University Transportation Research Center (UTRC) and distinguished civil engineering professor at CCNY, Spanos is described by his professors as the best student in the 2010 class. Enrolled in the Macaulay Honors College University Scholars Program, he is interested in studying New York's transportation infrastructure and economic development along with the impact projects have on the natural environment. Parsons Brinckerhoff Scholarship - $2,500 * Christopher LaPorta, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, N.Y. LaPorta plans to use his bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering Technology to the benefit of a consulting engineering firm, with an eye to possible future ownership of his own firm. On summer breaks, he has worked for the Monroe County Department of Transportation and for a consulting engineering firm in Rochester. Pennoni Engineering and Surveying of New York, LLC Scholarship - $2,500 * George Kershaw, Union College, Schenectady, N.Y. Kershaw's discipline of choice is mechanical engineering. He has supplemented his studies with summer jobs at Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth, where he was in charge of 26 high school sophomores for six weeks, and also did scientific research in hydro-gels at Conte Polymer Science Center at the University of Massachusetts. At Union College, he is vice president of Delta Kappa Epsilon Fraternity and a member of the Scholar's program. STV Group Scholarship - $2,500 * Christopher Yee, Columbia University, New York, N.Y. Yee is working for his bachelor's degree in Earth and Environmental Engineering in the Fu Foundation School of Engineering. His summer positions have allowed him to do research on carbon dioxide capture for clean coal power plants and to analyze government data from all 50 states to evaluate the waste management practices. Stantec Consulting Services Inc. Scholarship - $2,500 * Anthony Vasile, The City College of New York, New York, N.Y. After working for more than a decade to earn the money to attend college, Vasile now wants to complete his studies for a bachelor's degree in civil engineering and begin working as a consulting engineer. He is a member of the Concrete Canoe Club, Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honor Society, the student chapter of ASCE and Chi Epsilon. Thornton Tomasetti Scholarship - $2,500 * Thomas Matarazzo, Manhattan College, Riverdale, N.Y. Honoring a tradition, Matarazzo will be the fourth member of his family to earn an Engineering degree from Manhattan College. Active in several student organizations, including Tau Beta Pi, Chi Epsilon, the Jazz Band and the student chapter of ASCE, of which he was president in 2008, Matarazzo is also a member of Engineers without Borders. Weidlinger Associates, Inc. Scholarship - $2,500 * Jafar Haider, The City College of New York, New York, N.Y. In April 2008, Haider, a civil engineering student, volunteered with other City College students to travel to New Orleans to work on the homes of Hurricane Katrina victims. As a member of Engineers without Borders, he traveled last August to Honduras to work with villagers to find clean water for their homes. He belongs to the student chapter of ASCE and Chi Epsilon, and works part-time as a SAT tutor. Western Region Scholarship - $2,500 * Nicholas French, Alfred State, Alfred, N.Y. French's cumulative average of 3.91 puts him at the head of his bachelor's program in Surveying Engineering Technology. He is on the Alfred State Student Senate executive board and is treasurer of the Surveying Club. He has worked for Parrone Engineering in East Rochester and for two landscape contractors.