Category: Career Development

Ali Brown, a junior at the University of Nebraska, has been awarded one of the two Ferguson-Women in the Mechanical Industry Scholarships.

Ferguson underwrites these scholarships, which recognize high-achieving female students working towards a degree relative to the mechanical industry.

Academic Experience

Ali has been a member of the MCA of Omaha-sponsored Student Chapter since 2017. She attended the 2019 GreatFutures Forum and the 2019 WiMI Conference. She is earning her degree in Business Administration & Human Resources.

In her scholarship application, Ali discusses why she shifted her focus from the engineering and construction management side of the industry to the business side. “Even though I am now a business major I still see the mechanical construction industry as an exciting industry to be in. I see the opportunities that there are for growth in all areas of the industry.”

Post-graduation, Ali sees herself working for a mechanical contractor in their human resources department. “I want to help with developing standards of practice as well as recruit new talent for my company. My goal in my career is to help people and I believe that I can achieve this goal through working in Human Resources.”

Ali is appreciative of her involvement with her student chapter and the connections she has made with contractors through the MCA of Omaha. “We work with our contractors to plan fundraising events, recruit new student chapter members, and much more. Through our chapter I feel like I have learned more about the industry than I ever thought I would know. I have been able to see how many different companies run jobs and other day-to-day activities between our different contractors.”

Waldinger Internship

Ali has been interning for The Waldinger Corporation, a member of the MCA of Omaha, MCAA and NCPWB, throughout her academic career. She has been involved in the administration, Virtual Design and Construction, and the accounting department. “I enjoy the culture we have at Waldinger. I especially enjoy the internship program we have; it exposes me to all facets of the company.” She is excited to continue her Waldinger internship this summer.

Ali reflects on her internship experiences and seeing the unique challenges and opportunities as a women in the industry. Ali thinks there are many challenges that come with being a woman in the mechanical contracting field. “Since it is so male dominated,” she said, “I feel like gaining the respect of coworkers is the biggest challenge that comes with being a woman in this field. Though it is a challenge I believe that also makes it an opportunity. The best way to grow personally is by taking challenges and turning them into opportunities.”

Women in the Mechanical Industry and the John R. Gentille Foundation congratulate Ali on this prestigious scholarship and thank Ferguson for their commitment to encouraging young women to be engaged in our industry.

This year’s MCAA Educator of the Year Award was presented to Cristina Cosma of the Wentworth Institute of Technology. The award, including a check, honors her mentoring ability, industry knowledge and involvement, and her active participation in MCAA’s Student Chapter program activities.

The students of the Wentworth MCAA Student Chapter sponsored by the New England MCA, Inc. (NEMCA) said, “a mentor’s role is to provide guidance, advice, encouragement, support, and resources. Cosma checks off all of these boxes and more.”

MCAA Student Chapter members credit Professor Cosma for the chapter’s fast growth and success, noting that “She puts a lot of time and effort into this chapter to ensure that we get the most out of it.”

Cosma has worked with chapter members to coordinate fundraising and community service events, including working with NEMCA on the annual golf tournament and facilitating an HVAC project for a neighborhood church.

Under Cosma’s guidance, the students have placed in the top ten of the MCAA Student Chapter Competition for the past seven years. Cosma has also helped increase chapter membership. According to chapter members, “Getting new members into our chapter is always something we struggle with. 90% of the students in our chapter hear about it through taking classes with Cosma. She will always advocate for MCAA and all of the opportunities it gives us students. She pushes us to attend all of our schools’ club involvement fairs to try and present our chapter and get new students to join.”

Professor Cosma maintains close relationships with NEMCA members and NEMCA Executive Vice President, Stephen Affanato, which has given the students many opportunities. For example, she has connected students with MCAA members for internship and co-op opportunities that led to full-time positions.

Cosma has “created an amazing opportunity when it comes to the students making lasting relationships with industry leaders. At any event Cosma urges us to step out of our comfort zones and talk to as many contractors as possible.”

MCAA and the John R. Gentille Foundation congratulate Cosma on her accomplishments, her chapter, and her contributions to the industry.

The Wentworth students say, “we can’t begin to thank Professor Cosma enough for all the help she has given this chapter, we seriously owe all of our success to her guidance.”

Congratulations to Hailey Brennan, the first recipient of the annual Josam Endowed Scholarship. Josam Company has established an annual scholarship to a sophomore in a MCAA Student Chapter, pursuing a degree in construction management, mechanical engineering or a similar field. Provided that all qualifications are met each year, the yearly recipient will continue to receive the scholarship in their sophomore, junior and senior year.

Hailey is a sophomore, studying Mechanical Engineering at the University of Maryland, College Park. Hailey joined her MCAA student chapter last fall and has since attended the 2019 GreatFutures Forum and helped lead her chapter to the final four of this year’s MCAA Student Chapter Competition.

Hailey has had an interest in the industry since middle school and began taking engineering courses in high school. “It was my choice to pursue HVAC as well, which is what really drew me toward a career in the mechanical contracting industry.”

While in high school Hailey was active in SkillsUSA, a career and technical student organization. The organization helped Hailey grow confidence in HVAC courses, and led to her interning with a mechanical contractor her senior year in high school.

She continued to pursue her industry interests while at the University of Maryland, and wants to continue to pursue a career in mechanical contracting throughout her educational and internship choices as an undergraduate.

She recently accepted a summer internship with MCAA member, Poole & Kent Corporation, in Baltimore, Maryland, where she will be working alongside Project Engineers on a hospital jobsite. Hailey found the internship through her student chapter connection with sponsoring local affiliate, MCA of Metro Washington.  “The local MCAMW events have provided me connections for internships and I have been happy to volunteer at MCAMW events to meet more of the local MCAA community.”

Hailey says she has given thought to completing an HVAC apprenticeship after graduation. “With my experience in mechanical engineering and business, completing an HVAC apprenticeship would put me on my way to becoming a business owner in the mechanical contracting industry.”

The John R. Gentille Foundation congratulates Hailey Brennan on this prestigious scholarship and would like to thank Josam Company’s CEO, Scott Holloway Sr., for the commitment to supporting younger students to keep them invested in the mechanical contracting industry.