Above Photo: At the check presentation were, from left, Dr. P.T. Leelani; Dr. Breanna Bailey; Dr. Mohammad S. Alam, dean of the College of Engineering; Dr. Joseph Minor; Stephen Skrobarczyk ’11; Dr. Jong-Won Choi; Daniel Mazoch ’11; Dr. Amir Hessami; Dr. Osama Al-Hamdan; Victor Murillo ’15; and Dr. Francisco Aguiniga.
Fred C. Benson Endowed Civil Engineering Scholarship Completed by Local ASCE Chapter
by Elaine Barnes
Coordinator, Alumni and Donor Communications
The Corpus Christi chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers recently made a donation in the amount of $680 to the Fred C. Benson Endowed Civil Engineering Scholarship, bringing the scholarship to full-endowment level.
Directly impacting a Texas A&M University-Kingsville student studying civil engineering through the Frank H. Dotterweich College of Engineering, ASCE’s gift solidifies the lasting legacy of a beloved former university faculty member, Fred C. Benson, whose family has a longstanding history of engineering affiliation with the Texas A&M University System.
Expressing why ASCE felt compelled to complete the endowment, Stephen Skrobarczyk ’11, ASCE Corpus Christi chapter president explained, “The biggest mission of ASCE is to educate engineers. At least every other month – usually, it’s monthly – we try to provide an opportunity for engineers in the area to do an educational hour, and we have outreach for students and the public, and philanthropy events, so this scholarship ties into the student aspect of our goals.”
Reviewing its own scholarship program, Skrobarczyk stated the ASCE Corpus Christi chapter recognized a decrease in the amount of applicants they were receiving. When a chapter member mentioned the ASCE’s previous contributions to the Fred C. Benson Scholarship, they agreed that utilizing their available funds to complete the endowment at A&M-Kingsville would be more impactful.
As a Javelina himself, Skrobarczyk was unaware of the scholarship opportunity during his time at the university, but is excited to see it support current and future students in the civil engineering department. “I had a lot of unmet need when I was in school, and I got lucky and worked enough to pay off my loans right after I graduated,” he concluded, “so if this helps a student or two, even if it just makes their loan burden less, then that’s exciting to me. And the cool thing is, the [endowment] keeps going.”
The scholarship has produced over $17,000 in scholarships for university students since its creation in 2004, and it is truly fitting that ASCE – being one of the first contributors in starting the endowment – has now completed the minimum, which will allow the ability to distribute $1,000 to a civil engineering student who meets the required qualifications. This financial relief is met with sincere gratitude by its recipients and honors the endowment’s namesake, who believed in the uninhibited success of Javelina students whole-heartedly.
To learn more about ASCE and its mission, please visit their website here. You can learn more about the Corpus Christi chapter specifically by visiting their Facebook page here.
Inspired to support Javelina students by creating an endowed scholarship? Visit here for more information.