Society of Manufacturing Engineers Scholarships

IOScholarships and Society of Manufacturing Engineers Celebrate National Scholarship Month with Thousands of Dollars for Students in STEM

National Scholarship Month, is a national campaign designed to raise awareness of the vital role scholarships play in reducing student loan debt and expanding access to higher education. To celebrate IOScholarships is joining forces with the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME) to open opportunities for diverse students in STEM. SME Education Foundation has awarded $18 million to over 5,000 students since 2005. Graduating high school seniors as well as students pursuing two-year, four-year or graduate degrees in manufacturing or engineering are eligible to apply for scholarships.

“We are excited to celebrate National Scholarships Month with SME as we strongly believe that scholarships will provide education and hand-on opportunities to encourage young students to continue their manufacturing education at community college or a four-year university “said Maria Fernanda Trochimezuk IOScholarships Founder.

“IOScholarships has access to scholarship opportunities for Latinas in STEM’ said Ana Quinonez.

Ana is a multiple time scholarship recipient from the SME Education Foundation having won the Clinton J. Helton Manufacturing Scholarship in 2022 and 2023. Ana was raised in Mexico and Colorado. She is the first in her family to attend college.

She currently attends the University of Colorado Boulder and is majoring in Mechanical Engineering. She is an SME student member and is also involved in several other student organizations.

“It’s more important than ever to make an impact on education access, and college completion for diverse students in STEM,” said Trochimezuk. “Scholarships are a lifeline for millions of Latino and Black students who are disproportionally underrepresented in the STEM industry and they will help create a more creative and diverse STEM workforce.”

Scholarship Qualifications –
* Must be a permanent resident or citizen of the United States or Canada.
* Must have minimum of 2.0/4.0 GPA or higher.
* Must be on a path toward an associate, bachelors or graduate degree in manufacturing engineering, technology, or closely related field at an accredited college or university in the United States or Canada.
Criteria

Applications are accepted Nov 1st Feb 1st. They are then evaluated by Scholarship reviewers. Students are notified in the summer (July / August) if they receive a scholarship

Award Duration –
1 to 4 Years

Number of Recipients –
150.

To Apply
One online application allows students to be considered for all scholarships that they would be eligible.

Deadline –
November 1 / February 1.

For more information regarding scholarship and internship opportunities visit www.ioscholarships.com and to learn more about National Scholarship Month opportunities read the following article from Diversity in STEAM magazine

ABOUT IOSCHOLARSHIPS

By conducting a free scholarship search at IOScholarships.com, STEM minority and underrepresented students gain access to a database of thousands of STEM scholarships worth over $48 million. We then narrow this vast array of financial aid opportunities down to a manageable list of scholarships for which students actually qualify, based on the information they provide in their IOScholarships.com profile. They can then review their search results, mark their favorites, and sort their list by deadline, dollar amount and other criteria. We also offer a scholarship organizer which is completely free to use, just like our scholarship search. There are scholarships out there for diverse students in STEM. So take advantage of National Scholarship Month and search for available scholarships today!

For more information about IOScholarships visit www.ioscholarships.com

About Society of Manufacturing Engineers

The SME Education Foundation inspires, prepares and supports the next generation of manufacturing and engineering talent through its Student Summit event series, SME PRIME® (Partnership Response In Manufacturing Education) initiative and Student Scholarship program.

The philanthropic arm of SME, an internationally recognized nonprofit organization serving the manufacturing industry, the SME Education Foundation has had a significant impact on hundreds of thousands of people since its inception in 1979. 

A national 501(c)(3) organization, the Foundation draws upon SME’s international membership — as well as its almost 90-year history and thought leadership in manufacturing-focused conferences and events, media production, and training and workforce development — to attract and develop a skilled manufacturing workforce.

The SME Education Foundation annually awards millions of dollars in scholarships to graduating high school seniors, undergraduates and graduate students pursuing two-year, four-year or advanced degrees in manufacturing or engineering. 

Learn More about SME Education Foundation.

About Maria Trochimezuk

Source Hispanic Outlook in Education Magazine

Her platform IOScholarships is part of the National Scholarships Provider Association (NSPA) and has assisted about 11,000 students in obtaining STEM scholarships. NSPA helps students who become involved with IO learn more about “applying for scholarship money to aid in their post-secondary education,” Trochimezuk cited.

She asserts that for a Latino student to earn these scholarships and grants, “it takes applying for scholarship as if it was a part-time job.” Hence, she says high-school students must be persistent in applying for these scholarships. Consider, for example, when you’re a senior applying to be part of the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, which “provides a community and hub, and help with recommendations but also with guidance.”

While Pell Grants and filling out FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) applications help, she noted, students must “create a financial plan to attend college debt-free and that means applying for scholarships, talking to school counselors, and creating an integrated approach.”

The high school students who participate in IOScholarships are overwhelmingly Latino and from other minorities. In fact, 80% of its participants are Latino, 15% African-American and the remainder, other minorities. White students can participate, but the vast majority of scholarships on the site address the needs of minority students.

Trochimezuk is based in Playa del Rey, in Los Angeles, California and started the non-profit with her own funds. Then, she obtained funding through a grant from Google’s Ureeka Powerup Program, which supports Latino-owned businesses. Much of its budget, she said, is “bootstrapped,” meaning she raises funds on her own and taps some of her own money.

She cited that students must put in personal information to “better match them to scholarships based on their skills, GPA and financial need”. She described the website as very easy to use, and in less than five minutes, students can see options of which scholarships to apply for.