Flatiron, one of the nation’s largest transportation and infrastructure contractors, has awarded scholarships to eight high school students from Oakland and Benicia as part of its Build-A-Bridge program in California.
In Oakland, four seniors from Lionel Wilson College Preparatory Academy participated in the program. Winner Salvador Vasquez was awarded a paid summer internship with Flatiron and a $3,000 college scholarship. Mauricio Ruiz won a $1,500 scholarship and Inosencio Casanova and Erika Andrade each took home $250 scholarships.
Vasquez is an intern at the BART Oakland Airport Connector project. Once his internship is completed this fall, he will attend San Jose State University.
The Flatiron Build-A-Bridge program and its education outreach efforts across the nation are part of a companywide effort to introduce students to the construction industry as a career option and provide scholarships to those who are interested in studying engineering in college.
The Build-A-Bridge program offers students the opportunity to receive industry training from Flatiron employees and compete for college scholarships and a paid internship.
The Benicia and Oakland scholarship recipients participated in a 15-week Build-A-Bridge course that included instructional classes designed to teach engineering and estimating fundamentals, as well as the bid process. The program culminated in a final project, which included a paper, presentation and bid package that simulated a real job.
The students presented their projects to a panel of Flatiron judges, who selected the internship recipient and distributed the scholarship awards among participants.
For more information about Flatiron’s Build-A-Bridge program, contact Christina Newton at (707) 742-6019.