CEM student Shalom Dukhande, recipient of the American Infrastructure scholarship in 2019 and Clark Construction scholarship in 2020.
Student scholarships truly help our students suceed and excel in their education. We are grateful for industry and alumni that generously support our students. A Construction Engineering and Management (CEM) Spring 2022 graduate, Shalom Dukhande received the American Infrastructure scholarship in 2019 and Clark Construction scholarship in 2020. Shalom shared with us about how his scholarships have positively impacted his education and life goals.
My scholarship has played a tremendous role in helping finance my college education.
Shalom further says, "as an out-of-state student, receiving a scholarship has made it so much easier for me to venture out of my home state and come to Virginia Tech, where I can learn and study at one of the best construction schools in the country. Additionally, my scholarship has helped me relieve some of the mental stress of paying off my college loans post graduation."
"My aspirations for the future include working for a large-scale construction firm that specializes in commercial or residential construction", he explains. "I would love to begin working as an assistant project manager after graduation, where I could get more hands-on experience in the construction industry and learn from other project managers. Eventually, I would like to become a project manager myself and hopefully work my way up from there."
What gets him excited about CEM and his future possibilities is, "that you never truly know what the path ahead of you will entail. Every single project will bring forth new ideas and challenges, while also introducing you to completely new people. Having the ability to be a part of such a dynamic industry makes me want to continue working in order to see what lies ahead. Getting to spend time on construction sites and seeing your work come to life in front you is also incredibly rewarding."
One of the classes at Virginia Tech that really got him excited was the Intro to CEM course. "This course was really my first experience into the construction industry, and it taught me some of the basics that I am expanding on in my higher-level classes. I am still in touch with my professor from this course, and she has served as an excellent resource for me so far. This past summer, I got the opportunity to be an intern at Burns and McDonnell, which was an incredible experience. Just being able to learn from real people in the industry and getting to be involved in large-scale construction projects has taught me so much about how the industry operates. This upcoming summer, I will be interning with Skanska in New York City, and I am incredibly excited to see what I can learn from them as well."
