Articles

UTA wins Distinguished Chapter Award

UTA wins Distinguished Chapter Award

By Edward Penton, P.E.
Texas Section, VP Technical
UTA Practitioner Advisor

The University of Texas at Arlington ASCE Student Chapter has been awarded the 2016 ASCE Distinguished Chapter Award for Region 6 by the ASCE Committee on Student Members. This award is made annually to the most outstanding Student Organization in each of the ten regions.

The Chapter was recommended for this award by the Committee on Student Members based on student activities. The Chapter built upon efforts from previous years by continuing participation in competitions like the Concrete Canoe and Steel Bridge. They also conducted membership meeting and officer meetings.

Members also gave to the community by volunteering with Habitat for Humanity to complete home repairs. Their outreach also included activities and presentations to high school students about civil engineering and ASCE.

It can take several years to produce lasting change in an organization. Luckily the chapter had the leadership of Derek Baker (President 2014-15), Prapti Sharma (President 2015-16), and Maria Frias (President 2016-17). Each has served multiple positions within the Chapter.

Baker and Sharma have continued to serve in leadership roles before and after serving as President. “Having former Presidents remain active in the Chapter has provided us with continuity and strengthened our membership,” said Frias.

She continued, “One of the most significant obstacles this year was to build upon what we had worked hard to establish in the last year. We made new events, such as ethics seminars and field trips, and added to some of the established ones, like orientation fairs.”

“Communication was essential, but we needed more to motivate the members,” said Baker. “As officers, we had to make the organization look like it was a fun one to be in (which it was), but also demonstrate that we are open to diversity in members. Not only does this widen our social circle, but it also attracts multitudes of students from different paths in life.”

“I wanted to increase student participation within our chapter so we continued to host some events from previous year like dodge-ball,” explained Sharma. “We worked to increase student participation in the annual joint meeting with the Dallas and Fort Worth branches. For that we send out emails, advertised it during general body meeting and reminded friends of the meeting.”

“We were successful in most of our events because of all the work the officers put in as well as the members,” said Sharma. “Also, without Dr. Williams’s guidance it would have been very difficult. I am very thankful to have him as our chapter advisor. He has guided us, motivated us and encouraged us to improve our chapter.”

It is a top priority of all levels of ASCE to keep people engaged after graduation. “Younger Members can help a lot with this, as that was their original mission,” said Frias. “Also have more 'national' based retreats/conference, where Students and younger members can go to network and bridge the gap between being a student and a professional.”

“Alumnus visits and participation in local student chapter events would also encourage students,” explained Prapti. “Mentorship program through local branches would be a very big advantage for students and younger members.”

Region 6 Governor Sean Merrell (Left) presents the Distinguished Chapter Award to the UTA Student Chapter. Derek Baker, Chapter President 2014-15 (Center) and Prapti Sharma, Chapter President 2015-16 (Right) receive the award.