Did you know that the Lyles School of Civil Engineering has a specific fund to help us recruit students to civil engineering and also help us retain current students? For over a decade, the EXCEL Fund has provided direct support for our efforts to develop outreach programs for K-12 students, recruit outstanding high school students to study civil engineering, and help us retain and support current students as they move into their professional careers. These engagement programs are vital to helping potential students and parents understand the essential role of civil engineering in our world.

Thanks to our EXCEL Fund donors, we partnered with the Women in Engineering Program to encourage interaction between current female CE students and female high school juniors and seniors. In addition, we participated in an event that had nearly 1,000 sixth-grade students from Tippecanoe School Corporation at the STEM Conference for Kids. They had the opportunity to interact with our American Society of Civil Engineering student members who taught a session about earthquakes and tunnels, using hands-on activities.

Civil engineers have a lasting — but often unrecognized — impact on our society. Through the EXCEL Fund, we strive to bridge this knowledge gap while also instilling excitement about the profession and the many opportunities it presents.

In addition to outreach efforts, the EXCEL Fund provides funding to the External Relations Office. This office guides and assists current students in preparing for civil engineering careers through resume development, interview preparation, engagement with civil engineering firms and much more.

For example, the Industry Opportunity webpage (bit.ly/CE_IndustryOp) offers Lyles School students access to more than 300 companies offering internships, co-ops and full-time positions. Our students certainly utilize this site; more than 70 percent participate in a co-op or internship. These opportunities greatly enhance our students' educational experiences and make them highly recruited, as evidenced by our 95 percent placement rate.

A well-funded EXCEL program will sustain our success well into the future, helping us attract the best and brightest students to the Lyles School of Civil Engineering and aiding our students' transition to become successful alumni, many of whom will lead our industry into the future.

We have many achievements to be proud of, and the EXCEL Fund helps us achieve even more!

If you or your company would like to learn more and support the EXCEL Fund, please contact Hailee Juergens in the CE Development office at hljuergens@purdueforlife.org.