CTA President Dorval R. Carter, Jr., CPS CEO Pedro Martinez, Chicago Scholars and Walsh-Fluor Design-Build Team announced that three Chicago Public School seniors have been awarded scholarships from the “CTA Elevating Futures Scholarship Fund,” which provides assistance to CPS students who want to pursue construction and engineering related college educations and future careers. This scholarship program provides $5,500 each year for four years to economically disadvantaged students who plan to pursue studies in Science, Technology, Engineering, or Math (STEM) for engineering and construction-related degrees. This year’s winners will join eight additional students who were awarded the scholarship in past years, and are now pursuing degrees in the construction and engineering fields. Walsh-Fluor is sponsoring the scholarships and offering students the opportunity to apply for paid internships on the RPM project. The 2023-2024 CTA Elevating Futures Scholars are:

Jonathan Vazquez, West Elsdon

Jonathan Vazquez graduated from John Hancock College Prep last spring. He was on the honor roll, and studied advanced pre-engineering, construction and several STEM courses. In his high school career, he was a member of the Spanish Honor Society, participated in Model UN, and played on the varsity soccer team. Including these commitments, Jonathan also worked several jobs outside of school and is a participant in the ACE (Architecture, Construction, and Engineering) Mentor Program. Since childhood, Jonathan has helped his uncle every summer on construction projects. Through his experiences, and learning how engineering can be environmentally focused while helping communities, his passion grew. Jonathan wants to major in civil engineering and hopes to one day have his own construction company. He will attend the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Austin Washington, Kenwood

Austin Washington attended Kenwood Academy where he was enrolled in several STEM courses including pre-engineering and construction and AP classes, and was a member of the National Society of Black Engineers. He participated in several sports and a variety of STEM and leadership organizations including SMASH STEM Scholars, Obama Youth Job Corp/Urban Alliance, Jack and Jill of America, NAACP, and The Fellowship Initiative through JP Morgan Chase. He is the president of his chapter for Top Teens of America and is involved in numerous other experiences in volunteering and leadership. Austin will attend Morehouse College this fall and will major in mechanical or construction engineering. He hopes to travel the country and build affordable housing for those in need as an engineering consultant.
For more information about this program, visit CTA’s web site at transitchicago.com/rpm or Chicago Scholars’ web site at chicagoscholars.org/elevatingfutures