Scholarships

SAME Blue Ridge Post

2025 Scholarship Program

The Society of American Military Engineers (SAME) is a professional Society which maintains the highest standards of professionalism, fosters the exchange of ideas, and encourages teamwork between military and civilian engineers and architects. As its Charter acclaims, The Society is “Dedicated to the National Defense.” The Blue Ridge Post (BRP) of SAME is made up of approximately 200 individual members and 25 corporate members.

The BRP is excited to announce we are again offering scholarships to graduating seniors and current college students (meeting the requirements listed below) enrolling or enrolled in a university or college-approved Engineering, Architecture, or other Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) degree program. Our goal is to encourage students to enter full-time undergraduate architectural, engineering or construction-related studies and for interested students to become member of SAME.

BRP will award scholarships ranging in monetary value up to $4,000 by 31 May 2025. You will submit your application through the online application process. Please feel free to distribute this information and scholarship requirements to other interested students.

For application consideration the following criteria must be met:

1. Completed applications must be received by 9:00pm Eastern Standard Time on 31 March 2025. Incomplete applications will not be considered.

2. Applications must include the following, and will not be considered if they are not attached with the application:
  a. A letter of recommendation from a SAME Sponsor, teacher, guidance counselor, coach, or civic organization leader. Letters of recommendation may not be from a family member.
  b. An endorsement from the applicant’s school counselor, academic advisor, or administrator which verifies their enrollment at an eligible institution (see items 3 and 4 below). Endorsements may not be from a family member.

3. Applicants must be enrolled in a school and have one-year of full-time academic instructions remaining in their enrolled school. For this application, “school” includes:
  a. High schools
  b. Two-year colleges or universities
  c. Four-year colleges or universities (through the undergraduate level), or
  d. Trade schools.

4. Students must be enrolled or have applied and are awaiting acceptance in either:
  a. a two-year, full-time associate Engineering, Architecture, or other STEM related studies program at a community college or preparatory school or,
  b. a four-year, full-time undergraduate Engineering, Architecture, or other STEM -related studies degree program in the fall term of 2025. Preference will be given to attendance at an ABET/NAAB (Accreditation Board for Engineering & Technology/ National Architectural Accreditation Board) accredited college or university.

5. Students must plan to continue their education in Engineering, Architecture, or other STEM discipline beyond the 2025/2026 school year, or to graduate with a degree in Engineering, Architecture, or other STEM discipline.

6. Applicants must attend a school or reside within 75 miles of Winchester, VA. If a resident of Winchester, VA, you may attend a school outside of this range.

7. Applicants must join SAME as a Student member; membership is free to all full-time students under age 25. Your SAME student membership must be active by 31 March 2025 for consideration. All applicants can join SAME here: Become a Member – SAME. Applicants are required to join the Blue Ridge Post as their SAME Post, and applicants who are not members will not be considered.

8. Applicants must be US Citizens.

9. Applicants must be of good character and positively contribute to their community.

Please note the following:

A. For the purposes of this scholarship, STEM degrees are those indicated on the list here: 2024 STEM Designated Degree Program List.

B. Applications will be ranked based on the following criteria:
  1. Their responses to 6 Essay questions.
  2. Their GPA, SAT, and/or ACT Scores relative to other applicants.
  3. The content of their letter of recommendation.
  4. The applicability of their STEM degree to furthering the SAME Mission.

C. The BRP will notify each student, winners and/or school of the scholarship recipients, no later than 31 May 2025. We will also notify non-selected applicants.

D. Financial awards are remitted directly to student’s college account without exception. The funds will be made available to the recipients once each college or university receives them for the Fall Semester 2025. Awards will be made on or about August 1. Formal recognition takes place at the BRP “2025 Scholarship Awards Luncheon” in Winchester, VA.

E. Decisions relating to Award are by the BRP only and are final.

F. Applicants who receive an appointment to one of the U.S. Military Academies (or affiliated preparatory schools) or are awarded a full scholarship at any ABET/NAAB accredited U.S. post-secondary institution of higher education, are not eligible to receive this scholarship. A full scholarship is defined as one that provides for payment of tuition, books, lab fees, and other related expenses. Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) scholarships are considered full scholarships.

G. Awarded scholarship cannot be deferred for future years and must be applied to 2025/2026 academic year.

The BRP prides itself on being able to fund multiple scholarships for the upcoming 2025/2026 school year. We look forward to receiving your responses. If you or your students have any questions regarding the scholarship process, please contact Donn Booker, Scholarship Chair at dbooker@sheladia.com or Adam Hanks, Scholarship Co-Chair at adam.hanks@aecom.com.

Note: This is a Blue Ridge Post Sponsored Program with all submitted applications reviewed and considered by the Blue Ridge Post Scholarship Committee.

Deadline for the scholarship applications: March 31, 2025 at 9:00 pm ET

Contacts:

Donn Booker, PMP, F.SAME and Adam Hanks, PE