Scholarship

2026 Scholarship Winners Announced Below!

2026 Scholarship Criteria

AACE Region 2 promotes advancing the study of cost engineering and cost management through the integrative process of total cost management. To promote this objective, AACE Region 2 is planning to award academic scholarships to full-time students pursuing a degree in engineering, construction management, or similar directed toward working in the construction or engineering profession. To qualify for this scholarship, students must meet the following requirements:

  • Must be enrolled full-time in an ABET-accredited college or university or an accredited engineering or construction management program in the Northeast or mid-Atlantic Region of the United States (ME, VT, NH, MA, CT, RI, NY, NJ, PA, DE, MD, VA, and DC).

  • Must have a minimum Cumulative grade point average of 3.0 on the scale of 4.0 = A, 3.0 = B, 2.0 = C, and 1.0 = D.

  • Must not be employed full-time as a professional.

  • Must be enrolled full-time in the upcoming semester at an accredited University and pursuing a related degree in engineering, construction management, building construction, business, or quantity surveying.

  • Must be willing to adhere to the AACE International Canons of Ethics.

  • Chosen recipients will receive one single payment to the University or college they attend with a maximum limit of $1,500.

Applications are due by January 25, 2026 at 11:59 PM

2026 Winners

Javier Catedral

Virginia Tech, Undergraduate, Construction Engineering and Management

Looking ahead, I aim to integrate my hands-on construction experience, formal education, internship exposure, and AACE resources to effectively represent owners in real estate development projects. By combining technical knowledge, financial insight, and strategic oversight, I hope to ensure projects are delivered efficiently, safely, and sustainably. This scholarship would not only recognize my dedication but also provide the resources and professional connections to advance toward these goals, ultimately allowing me to contribute meaningfully to the construction and real estate industry.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

Sarah Long

University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Undergraduate, Civil Engineering

My career aspirations have remained the same ever since I was a week into that first internship in wastewater engineering. I aspire to be a Water Resources Engineer, specifically studying stormwater and wastewater. Infiltration and inflow (I/I) is particularly interesting to me, and I would like to help municipalities foster healthy communities by mitigating combined sewer overflows and the contamination of groundwater. I look to become a Project Manager so that I can oversee a team of my own and serve as a role model, specifically for young women in STEM. I want to show them that it's never too late to get out of your comfort zone and make a change.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

Fatima Oriane Sow

Carnegie Mellon University, Graduate, Architecture / Engineering / Construction Management

The purpose of my work is to use architectural design and construction administration to facilitate building projects aimed at improving human living conditions in less economically developed countries. It does this by approaching materiality with intention, using community assembly practices, and promoting designs that support overall human health so that each project provides long-term health benefits to its community.

My research explores strategies for reducing HVAC energy consumption in orphanages in Burkina Faso through passive ventilation and efficient cooling materials. This work is guided by a larger question: how can we use context-specific design strategies to create sustainable, low-cost buildings in regions with limited access to modern technologies? My research incorporates vernacular building techniques, passive design principles, and the analysis of locally available materials, informed by an understanding of Burkina Faso’s climate and cultural heritage. This exploration has solidified my interest in sustainable building technologies and how they can empower communities in under-resourced regions to be self-reliant.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

Andrew Bae

Carnegie Mellon University, Graduate, Civil and Environmental Engineering

My career aspiration is to become a cost and project controls leader in transportation and civil infrastructure, focused on delivering projects that are both technically excellent and financially disciplined. I want to work at the intersection of engineering, data analytics, and decision making, improving how agencies and firms estimate, plan, manage risk, and control costs across the full life cycle of large capital projects such as highways, transit, and rail.

AACE International aligns tightly with my goals because it treats cost engineering and cost management as an integrative discipline. The Total Cost Management perspective matches how I want to practice: linking scope, schedule, cost, risk, and performance so teams can make transparent tradeoffs early, then monitor and control outcomes as conditions change. I am especially motivated to learn practitioner standards and methods for estimating, change management, risk analysis, and forecasting, and to apply modern analytics to strengthen those workflows rather than replace them. Just as importantly, AACE’s emphasis on professional ethics is consistent with my values, since cost engineering decisions affect safety, access, and stewardship of public funds.