COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT
ACEC Dallas participates and supports in a variety of community initiatives that support educational opportunities that foster mentorship for the next generation of future engineers.
CURRENT COMMUNITY INITIATIVES
Bytes for Kids – A Program by the Texas Engineering Research Forum (TERF), a 501c3 entity
ACEC Dallas is proud to partner with TERF in its efforts to support STEM in our public schools. Bytes for Kids works directly with the Dallas Independent School District to send our ACEC Dallas Engineers to their schools to meet and talk with 5th graders about the field of engineering. The presentation targets the importance of math and science and explains how engineering touch their daily lives starting with the water coming out of their faucets, the roads, bridges and sidewalks they use to get to school etc. In efforts to create excitement and a goal to do well in both math and science through the school year we offer the student’s a chance to win a NEW Apple iPad Mini! At the end of every 6-week grading period if they get an A in Math and/or an A in Science they get to put their name in the drawing for the chance of being the winner at the end of the year. In addition to the two drawings in Math and Science the teachers also choose a Most Improved Math winner and a Most Improved Science winner. This makes a total of four iPads given to each school. This past year we worked with nine DISD schools and gave out 36 iPads.
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We raise money for both our Bytes for Kids 5th Grade Program and for our all of our scholarships through the Bytes for Kids Golf Tournament which is held in October each year. For more information on this event please contact Karen Khan at karen@acectx.org.
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Dallas ISD Scholarship Program – Sponsored by TERF
The ACEC Dallas selects three seniors from the current Dallas ISD graduating class to each receive a $2,000 scholarship. The criteria the board uses to select the scholarship recipients included SAT or ACT scores, GPA, and statement of financial need. Students are asked to submit two letters of recommendation, an unofficial transcript (AAR) and a 200 300 word essay on What people and/or events in your life led you to choose to study engineering?
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ACEC Dallas Summer Intern Program – partnered with TERF
Each year, the ACEC Dallas provides a Summer Intern Program in an effort to bring the best and brightest students into the Dallas Area to work and learn, as well as encourage young engineers to come back to Dallas and make it their home after graduation. Through the year’s we have had up to 60 participating interns in one summer. Each summer we put together a site tour for the students to visit as well as invite them to our July member luncheon program. This is a great opportunity for the students to network with potential future employers. We also offer a scholarship award to three students each year who participate in our summer program. The winners are announced at our July member meeting.
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IEEE Future City Competition
The ACEC Dallas sponsors the Most Innovative Use of Engineering award for the North Texas Region Engineers Week Future City Competition. The mission of the competition is to provide a fun and exciting educational engineering program for seventh- and eighth-grade students. It combines a stimulating engineering challenge with a "hands-on" application to present their vision of a city of the future. By participating in this program, students foster engineering skills, such as teamwork, communication and problem solving skills while interacting with other students, teachers and engineer mentors. At the same time, the community is enlightened about the multi-disciplines within the engineering profession, and students are inspired to explore futuristic concepts and careers in engineering.
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