IECA Chapter Leader Resource Center

Guidelines for Starting Your Own Scholarship Program

IECA is excited about a new direction for its student programs, one that is intended to increase IECA's reach and relevance to students globally. For more details on this new direction, please click here

This page is designed to provide your Chapter with the information needed to establish a scholarship program for students who are interested in entering the erosion and sediment control industry. In the past, IECA has awarded several scholarships each year to allow interested and qualified students to attend the annual IECA Environmental Connection conference. It is IECA's hope that in the future, similar programs can be implemented on the Chapter level.

Below you will find resources you can use to start your own scholarship program.

As a graduate student you don't get exposed to the entire industry, like you can at this conference (EC '06). It really sparked my interest and gave me some good ideas on where I want to go with my career.—Lindsay Pyatt, Ryerson University

Purpose of Scholarship Programs

IECA's mission is to connect, educate and develop the worldwide erosion and sediment control community. Since students are the future of this community, scholarships which allow students to either experience the latest in products, machinery and innovative ideas or continue their education in an erosion related field are vital to the future of the erosion and sediment control industry.

Student Qualifications and Requirements

IECA's past scholarships have been awarded to students enrolled in a relevant program of study at a recognized college, university or trade school. These students have been required to submit the following materials for consideration by IECA's Scholarship Committee:

A letter describing his/her goals in the field of erosion control
A letter of recommendation from a school faculty member
A current transcript, including current curriculum and GPA

Scholarship Funds

IECA's previous program awarded scholarship funds to cover travel, food, and accommodation costs for a trip to the annual Environmental Connection conference. On the Chapter level, scholarships could be awarded to make it possible for students to attend and take part in one of the events your Chapter puts on during the year. Scholarships can also be awarded to help a student cover the costs of his/her education. Students will be grateful for any scholarships or other support a Chapter can provide.

For Chapters who choose to fund students to attend IECA’s annual Environmental Connections conference as part of their Scholarship programs, IECA will award one student a complimentary student membership and the student’s academic sponsor a complimentary E-membership. The membership will be good for one year from the date of issue. Chapters wishing to redeem these memberships will need to send all of the student’s and the sponsor’s contact data to IECA so that we can process the membership.

Fundraising

IECA raised funds through its Thrill of Achievement Conference Scholarship program. Members donated funds to support the students' trips to the conference. Chapters can raise funds however they wish. Using information from the Thrill program may help you decide on specific fundraising strategies.

Links to Sample Scholarship Documents

Below you will find documents used in IECA's past scholarship programs:

Information from Thrill of Achievement Program (28 KB doc)
Application from Thrill of Achievement Program (604 KB pdf)
EC '06 Scholarship Information (28 KB doc)
Sample Scholarship Committee Guidelines

Here are some examples of program materials developed and used by IECA Chapters:

Southeast Chapter's scholarship program (120 KB pdf)
Mid-Atlantic Chapter General Scholarship Information (34 KB doc)
Mid-Atlantic Chapter Sample Solicitation Letter (552 KB doc)
Mid-Atlantic Chapter Application Form (30 KB doc)

If your Chapter already has a scholarship or student resources programin place, please email details and links to meg@ieca.org.

Sample Scholarship Programs from Other Organizations

Association of California Water Agencies: http://www.acwa.com/news_info/scholarships/index1.asp
California Chapter of the Soil and Water Conservation Society: http://www.caswcs.org/ca_swcs_scholarships.html
California Water Awareness Campaign: http://www.wateraware.org/students.html