On Monday, May 10, three Joshua High School graduates were awarded the Baird, Hampton & Brown Engineering Scholarship, presented to individuals enrolled at an accredited university pursuing a degree in civil, electrical, or mechanical engineering.
Five years since its official inception, the initial idea to set up this scholarship stemmed from personal experience. BHB’s Senior Civil Engineer, Bill Baird, had a nephew graduate from high school in 2016 in hopes of attending The University of Texas at Tyler’s college of engineering. “He was applying for scholarships but wasn’t having any luck. Therefore, Uncle Bill stepped up and decided to give this boy a scholarship.”
Taking some of the financial pressure off their nephew gave Bill and Terresa Baird the idea to offer a similar opportunity to deserving graduates, and hence established the Baird, Hampton & Brown Engineering Scholarship.
The Bairds continue to take great pleasure in contributing towards Joshua High School’s annual Senior Awards Ceremony. “My daughter teaches for the school district, my wife used to be a substitute there, and we know quite a few school board members. We’re quite invested in the Joshua ISD community,” said Baird.
As the first year to award this scholarship to more than one individual, Baird is honored to have this tool encouraging participation in the engineering industry and ultimately guiding awardees into a career they love.
“I’ve been an engineer a long time and I still love coming to work every day. That’s part of the reason I get a lot out of this process.”
As an added bonus, Bill’s nephew and inspiration for this scholarship will be joining BHB as a Civil Engineer-In-Training starting this summer.