Environmental Engineering Student Wins Stipend

Utah State University graduate student Jade Snyder Echard will receive a $10,000 stipend from a national organization that encourages students to pursue Master of Science degrees in environmental engineering. 

The Environmental Engineers of the Future organization, known as E2F, awards stipends to students around the country on the premise that, after completing their education, they apply for positions at firms that support the stipend program. 

Sponsored by public agencies and private engineering firms, the program aims to prepare students for successful careers in municipal water, wastewater, solid waste, air quality, water resources, hazardous waste, sustainable engineering and energy recovery. Since the start of the program in 2005, nearly $1.3 million have been awarded to approximately 80 graduate students.
Supporting partners include Black & Veatch, Carollo Engineers, the City of Phoenix Water Services Department and other firms and public agencies. Funding from the stipend can be used for tuition and living expenses. USU is one of 65 participating universities with an accredited program in environmental engineering qualified under the E3F program.

The stipend is Echard’s second major award this year. In February, she received a $1,500 graduate scholarship from the American Water Works Association. Her faculty advisor is Professor David Stevens, and her long-term mentor and faculty advisor is Professor Ryan Dupont.

Echard earned a bachelor’s in civil engineering from USU and is currently working on master’s in environmental engineering. She belongs to several student organizations, including the Society of Women Engineers, the Water Environment Association of Utah and the Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honor Society. She currently interns at Stantec Engineering and has interned at Carollo Engineers, Central Valley Water Reclamation Facility and WesTech Engineering. Her goal is to design innovative solutions for drinking water and wastewater problems.