Dani’s Declassified Guide: Award Application Success and Resources

By Danielle Schroeder

This is a part 2 from “Dani’s Declassified Guide: Scholarship Success and Resources” that was included in the STEM Crew Magazine Fall 2023 Issue.

As someone who has been selected for several awards as both a student and now as an early career professional, I have learned a great deal about award applications Below are six tips from my personal experience on individual award applications that I hope can help you!

1. Review Eligibility Criteria and Requirements

There are so many awards out there, so one of the best tips I can give is to take the time to review the award packet or call for applications thoroughly to check that you are eligible for this award. Unlike job descriptions, I would not recommend taking the time to submit to an award if you don’t meet the qualifications listed, such as years of experience, society membership, or age requirements For example, the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) includes the following in their call for award applications: “Nominees who do not meet requirements listed in the Qualification section of the intended award will be disqualified ” Ensuring you are eligible before starting any award application is important because it takes a lot of time to assemble an excellent one

2 Prioritize Securing Letters of Support and/or Being a Nominator

There are many parts to award applications, but two of the most crucial are letters of recommendation and a nomination Not all awards require these, so it is important to read through the award instructions as given If they require a letter or multiple letters, I recommend prioritizing this to give your letter writers ample time to write these letters so they can be submitted on time! A good practice is to provide at least 3 weeks of notice before it is due to respect the time of whomever you ask. While some applications allow you to self-nominate, I highly recommend having someone nominate you whenever possible.

Also, don’t forget to send the person who took the time to write you a letter, a thank-you email, or a handwritten note after you receive the award!

3 Reach Out to Previous Award Recipients for Advice

As most places announce their award winners publicly, it is easy to find out who has won a specific award in the past. The first award I ever applied to was SWE’s Outstanding Collegiate Member, so prior to the award submission deadline, I reached out to a previous winner of this specific award with a few questions She was super helpful, and I would bet that most past award winners are more than willing to answer questions about their experience!

4. Keep Past Award Essays and Applications in One Place

This tip boils down to working smart, not hard Award applications tend to ask you similar questions, so I have been able to reuse paragraphs from my past award applications in newer applications which saves time

Some questions I have seen:

Describe the nominee’s contributions to the profession

Was there one particular individual or event that inspired you to become an engineer?

I keep my past award applications and essays in a Google drive folder, but any central place is good

Also, as someone who still struggles with imposter syndrome and talking about my accomplishments, this folder can also be used to hype yourself up after a long day!

5. Show the Numbers

When filling out the actual award application, the best advice I can give you is to quantify your impact whenever possible This means taking “Created opportunities and provided resources for curriculum support and hands-on learning throughout the Philadelphia region about civil engineering” to “Created opportunities and provided resources for curriculum support and hands-on learning for over 1000 students at 9 different schools throughout the Philadelphia region about civil engineering” As I am passionate about STEM Outreach, I have been tracking my hours of student outreach impact in an application called Notion since 2019 This has given me awesome metrics that I often use in my award applications As you can see “Since 2019, Danielle has frequently led and volunteered at STEM Outreach events ” is great to include However, adding in numbers like the following example really shows the positive impact I have made: “Danielle has impacted over 3000 students in 2019, 1000 students in 2020, and over 1400 students in 2021 through her involvement with in-person and virtual STEM outreach events.”

Finding something outside of your work and tracking your impact quantitatively can set your award application apart!

6. Do Not Be Afraid to Apply Again!

I applied for a few awards, like one of the SWE WE Local awards, but I did not receive them the first time The following year, I updated the application, got several folks to review it (including a past award recipient), resubmitted it, and was awarded it then. If you don’t receive an award one year, don’t let that keep you from applying again the following year!

Feel free to contact me at DaniTheEngineer Blog@gmail com with any questions about award applications Good luck with your future award applications!

AbouttheAuthor

Danielle Schroeder, PE, ENV SP is a Civil Engineer in the Transportation Industry in Philadelphia, PA She graduated from Drexel University in 2017 and received her B S and M S in Civil Engineering through Drexel’s accelerated degree program She is a licensed professional engineer in Pennsylvania and a certified Envision Sustainability Professional (ENV SP) She is highly involved in several professional organizations including the Society of Women Engineers (SWE), Women's Transportation Seminar (WTS) , and the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) For her work with these organizations and her extensive outreach work, Danielle was honored as one of ASCE's New Faces of Civil Engineering in 2021 Danielle focuses on the rehabilitation of the physical infrastructure of the past through her job, and she inspires future STEM professionals through her STEM outreach. She has inspired thousands of students through her in person and virtual STEM outreach events since 2019. As the first engineer in her family, she uses her well-established blog STEMchangemaker org and her social media pages to share advice based on her journey as an engineer in the transportation industry and to educate the public that engineering is an excellent career choice for women In her spare time, Danielle enjoys traveling, snowboarding, playing tennis, and taking long walks with her partner, Doug, and their rescue dog, Nemo