DFI Educational Trust and Terracon Announce a New Scholarship Fund

Terracon and new DFI scholarship
Terracon presents a $50,000 check to DFI. Left to right: Theresa Engler, executive director, DFI; Bernie Hertlein, senior consultant GEI and DFI Educational Trust board member; Liz Smith, senior principal, Terracon; and Andrew Verity, national account manager, Terracon

Hawthorne, N.J. (January 30, 2020):  Deep Foundations Institute (DFI) Educational Trust and the Terracon Foundation announce the establishment of the DFI Educational Trust/Terracon Consultants Scholarship Fund, which will provide scholarships to engineering students attending any U.S. college or university. The endowment was established through a generous $50,000 National Partner Grant from the Terracon Foundation. The Foundation’s pledge will be used to annually award a $2,000 scholarship.

The Terracon Foundation encourages employees to submit grant requests each year for organizations focused on education and the built and natural environment. Andrew Verity, national account manager for Terracon’s transportation and infrastructure sector and member of the DFI Educational Trust Board of Trustees, championed the grant application.

“As a trustee and advocate for the DFI Educational Trust, I was honored to recommend the organization for a Terracon Foundation grant,” says Verity. “The Trust is committed to supporting students in the fields of study related to the deep foundations industry by providing scholarships and opportunities to meet and work with deep foundations industry leaders.”

Verity presented the check to Theresa Engler, executive director of DFI, on January 13.

“DFI is extremely thankful for the Terracon Foundation’s support of the DFI Educational Trust,” says Engler. “The future of our industry depends on encouraging promising young engineers to consider careers in the deep foundations construction field. Through the generous support of DFI member companies such as Terracon, the DFI Educational Trust has awarded more than $1,200,000 in scholarships to more than 300 students in fields of study related to the deep foundations industry.”

Several DFI Educational Trust Scholarships, including the Terracon Consultants Scholarship, will be awarded this year through the Trust’s At-Large Scholarship program. The 2020 application period for these scholarships will open on April 1, 2020. More information is available at www.dfitrust.org.

The Terracon Foundation was established with a goal to reach out and become a real part of the lives of Terracon employees and the communities where they live and work. Terracon is an employee-owned engineering consulting firm with more than 5,000 employees providing environmental, facilities, geotechnical, and materials services from more than 150 offices with services in all 50 states. Terracon currently ranks 24th on Engineering News-Record’s list of Top 500 Design Firms.

Deep Foundations Institute Educational Trust is an independent, 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization established in 2006 by the Deep Foundations Institute (DFI) as its charitable arm. The mission of the Trust is to support and encourage individuals in the fields of study related to the deep foundation industry by providing scholarships and opportunities to meet and work with deep foundation industry leaders. Deep Foundations Institute (DFI) is an international association of more than 3,500 contractors, manufacturers, engineers, suppliers, academics and owners in the deep foundations industry.