HARRISONBURG, Va. (ROCKTOWN NOW) — Julia Larson, a third-year engineering major at JMU, is one of 49 students nationally to receive a $5,000 scholarship from the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES).

“I feel extremely grateful about being awarded the scholarship,” Larson said. “I am grateful to the donors as well as the NCEES for deciding that I was a worthy candidate to invest in.”

Larson plans to use the money for JMU fees but mostly for graduate school, where she plans to study biomedical engineering. She is also interested in working on prosthetics to help international landmine victims and U.S. veterans.

Larson wrote an essay about her interest in becoming a professional engineer and her plans for using the degree to be considered for the scholarship.

NCEES awarded $245,000 in scholarships to students in 48 states and the District of Columbia this year with the ACEC Research Institute. The NCEES Professional Licensure Scholarship aims to make engineering and surveying careers and professional licensure more accessible to students and address workforce shortages facing the industries.

“Professional licensure at its core helps ensure the health, safety and welfare of the public,” said David Cox, the CEO of NCEES. “By partnering with the ACEC Research Institute on this important scholarship program, we are supporting deserving engineering and surveying students by helping them stay in their programs and on a path to professional licensure.”