Last year, SME awarded more than $1.5 million in scholarships including scholarships from all division and the SME Foundation; of that, SME gave $370,000 to 494 students. In this week’s e-news, three recipients discuss what this has meant to them and their future in the mining industry.

Emily Street is a current student at Michigan Technological University where she is studying mining engineering and minerals processing. She heard about SME scholarships through SME e-mails and through her advisor, Dr. Nathan Manser. “Dr. Manser always offers to write recommendations and encourages students to join SME,” said Street.

“SME scholarships have greatly eased the financial stress of university tuition and fees for me. Without SME scholarships, I would have had to work full-time throughout my education. The scholarship allowed me to fully immerse myself in my studies, without having to worry about bills,” said Street.

Street is active in her student chapter and has served as president. She has coordinated trips to Minnesota for tours on the Iron Range, a trip to SME's 2022 MINEXCHANGE Annual Conference & Expo in Salt Lake City, UT and a trip to the Minnesota SME Section Conference. The Michigan Tech chapter also competed in the metals and aggregates design competitions, MOVE Mining, welcomed guest speakers from industry and offered local mine tours.

“SME has been an amazing resource for our chapter. Michigan Tech has only recently brought back its ABET-accredited mining engineering program, and the support of SME has helped our students to grow into strong leaders with a vast professional network, which we are very grateful for,” said Street.

Baxter Jones graduated in May from Virginia Tech where he earned a degree in mining engineering. He heard about SME scholarships through information sent out by professors and faculty at his school. Jones was a member of Virginia Tech’s SME student chapter and served as the student president for one year. Jones said, “The generous support from SME helped me achieve my goal of graduating school debt free.”

Jai Anand currently studies mining engineering with a focus on the implementation of machine learning, artificial intelligence and industry 4.O technology in the mining sector at the Indian Institute of Technology (Indian School of Mines), Dhanbad. He heard about SME scholarships from his SME chapter seniors, his faculty advisor and a visit to the SME website.

Anand said of the scholarship, “I belong to a lower-middle-class income family and my financial situation is not good. I am honored to be a recipient of the Stantec-McIntosh Engineering Scholarship and the Coal and Energy Division Scholarship. Thanks a lot to the SME scholarship committee for its support and generosity to award me a scholarship for my college education. It significantly reduces the economic burden in my quest to train to be a valuable employee in the mining industry. My educational pursuits would not have been possible without the generous support of the SME scholarships. I am always indebted and grateful to SME.”

Anand is active in the SME IIT ISM Student Chapter where he has served in several leadership roles and facilitated many events and projects including Khanan ’21, where he collaborated and obtained 10 sponsorships from local mining companies. Khanan is an annual mining conference sponsored by the Indian Institute of Technology.

“It has always given me immense pleasure to be a part of such a prestigious society like SME, which has supported me throughout my career. SME is a family and support system that walks beside everyone in their journey to success. I genuinely believe that the students who participate and contribute to the chapter/SME leave with better personalities and a lot of skills that will serve them well throughout their careers,” said Anand.

What did these scholarship recipients have in common? They were all committed to their chosen field of study, active in their student chapters, and sought out the opportunity that SME provided through scholarships. To read the requirements and apply for an SME student scholarship, visit the SME website: https://www.smenet.org/studentresources.