NEWS

High school students who plan to join Louisiana Tech University’s Instrumentation and Control Systems Engineering Technology (ICET) program have a new scholarship opportunity.

As the result of a collaboration between Union Pacific Railroad (UP) and Project COMPLETE (Controlling, Operating, and Measuring: Pathways for Learners to Engineering Technology Employment), five $500 scholarships are available for incoming freshmen to the ICET program. Applicants must have at least a 3.0 high school grade-point-average, at least a 21 composite ACT score, with a minimum score of 19 in math and 18 in English, and who submit a 300-500-word essay describing future career plans.

“We are excited about Union Pacific’s financial support of students both at Louisiana Tech and at Louisiana Delta Community College (LDCC),” said Project COMPLETE Manager Alicia Kiremire.

The collaboration between Louisiana Tech and LDCC is meant to expand pathways into the instrumentation workforce for high school students in North Louisiana. Project COMPLETE is funded by the National Science Foundation Advanced Technological Education Program.

“Union Pacific has been building America for nearly 160 years, and we understand the importance of having a well-trained and capable workforce,” said Union Pacific Senior Recruiter Derwin Davis. “Individuals with an education in Instrumentation and Controls Systems could be a good fit as an information technologies (IT) telecom technician or assistant signal person. These roles are critical to our communication, inspection, safety, and signaling systems throughout the 23 states where we operate.”

The ICET program at Louisiana Tech prepares students to meet the demands of an increasingly automated society. Students get hands-on experience working with sensors, programmable logic controllers, robotics and electrical power and graduate with the skills to work in a variety of disciplines such as aerospace, broadcasting, electronics, IT, management, and nuclear engineering. 

Applications for the scholarship must be submitted by April 1. Apply for the scholarship at http://bit.ly/union-pacific-scholarship.