More than just Scholarships

After reading the November Blog, which contained lots of information about the North Carolina Society of Surveyors Education Foundation including information about scholarships and all of the fund raising events I was left with one thought. What else is there to say? Actually, after I thought about it for a while, there is a lot more to say.

Most people think of the North Carolina Society of Surveyors Education Foundation as strictly an organization that raises money for scholarships. It’s true that the North Carolina Society of Surveyors Education Foundation is a Non-Profit Charitable Organization that conducts fund raising events and awards scholarships. However the Foundation also conducts many other activities that are designed to promote the advancement of the surveying profession by recruiting high school students into the profession, by supporting community colleges and by helping to establish a Bachelor of Science in Geomatics program at North Carolina A & T.

The foundation board members promote careers in surveying by attending the North Carolina Math Teachers Conference and the North Carolina Science Teachers Conference. At these events, the foundation reaches out to high school teachers who may have students who would be interested in surveying as a career but were not aware of the educational programs and the scholarship opportunities.

The teacher conferences also provide an opportunity to promote the TrigStar Program Contest. The TrigStar Program Contest is an annual high school mathematics competition sponsored by the National Society of Professional Surveyors based on the practical application of Trigonometry. The program recognizes the best students from high schools throughout the nation.

Lastly, the North Carolina Society of Surveyors Education Foundation is looking to promote cooperation and communication between all of the surveying programs in North Carolina by facilitating a Community College/North Carolina A&T Forum. Look for more information on this event in future blogs.

Jim Davis, Director