Every summer, the Annual IRMCA Scholarship Golf Outing brings together friends, colleagues, and industry partners for a day of fun, camaraderie, and generosity. Beyond the fairways and greens, the true purpose of this event is to invest in the future of our industry by supporting students who are pursuing careers in construction, engineering, and other concrete-related fields.
Since 2009, the proceeds from this outing have funded an annual scholarship that has helped launch the next generation of leaders. The impact of these awards is more than financial: It’s a vote of confidence, a connection to our industry, and a boost that allows recipients to focus on their education and career goals.
Thanks to the generosity of our members, sponsors, and outing participants, we’ve been able to award scholarships to talented students year after year. In the Q&A below, we check in with two of our past scholarship recipients to see where their paths have taken them.
Their stories are proof that your participation makes a real difference. A difference that continues to ripple through our concrete industry and surrounding communities.
Dominic Raffin, P.E. - Staff Engineer at Arcadis
2017 IRMCA Scholarship Recipient
1. What has happened academically and professionally since you received the IRMCA scholarship?
I worked for an industrial contractor in Portage, Indiana for two years following graduation. Then I moved to Florida to work for a land development company for a couple years and finally met my current employer, Arcadis. At Arcadis, I am a Project Manager supporting municipalities on major water and wastewater projects.
2. Since graduating, what has been your interaction with concrete?
Concrete has been ubiquitous through my career, regardless of the industry. For the time I worked in Indiana, I had fostered great relationships with member companies of the IRMCA such as Ozinga, Smith Ready Mix, and imi. Now in Florida, I still work with concrete contractors specifically in the realm of [concrete] flatwork.
3. How did the scholarship help you and your academic goals?
I cannot stress this enough: As someone who paid their way through college, earning scholarship money can be a massive relief both mentally and financially. Thanks to scholarships like the IRMCA's, I was able to keep my college debt low and pay it off in the first 6 months of graduating. Now I have a Civil Engineering degree, a PE certification, and zero debt. All three were personal goals of mine after graduating. Also, I will add that the golf outing was a great time too. I had never golfed before that day and now I'm a casual, very mediocre golfer.
Price Knowles - Bridge Engineer at Butler, Fairman & Seufert, Inc.
2022 IRMCA Scholarship Recipient
1. What has happened academically and professionally since you received the IRMCA scholarship?
I was in my first semester of Junior year. I ended up loading up my schedule and finishing school a semester early in December of 2023 with a B.S. in Civil Engineering and passing my F.E. Exam shortly before graduating! I had interviews with multiple companies in the Indy area and ended up landing a position as a bridge engineer at BF&S in their Indianapolis location. I was torn initially between transportation inspection and bridge design. I had a heavy background in civil site and residential earth work projects throughout high school so I loved being on the job site. I turned towards bridge engineering because it involves every aspect of civil engineering. I’m able to design structural components as well as tying in alignments for roads and grading. I also get a little taste of hydraulics and environmental impacts. It’s helped me to be a very well rounded engineer.
2. Since graduating, what has been your interaction with concrete?
My interaction with concrete has been significant. With my bridge design position, I work closely with designing prestressed concrete beams (box beams, ASSHTO I-beams, Hybrid bulb tee). This involves deciding strand and reinforcement/stirrup patterns along with debonding of strands. I also design the deck and or slab if the structure utilizes a reinforced slab. Designing the transverse and longitudinal steel. Moving towards the substructure like piers and end bents along with footings. I am constantly in the INDOT Design manual looking for references to aid my design. One really specific design that I do reference is ACI 318, when we design substructures for prefabricated trusses. We design the concrete strength: Pullout, tear out of bearing bolts, attaching the truss to the substructure.
3. How did the scholarship help you and your academic goals?
I strongly believe [the IRMCA] scholarship helps students aid them in being recognized for their efforts. It’s nice to be recognized for your determination and efforts towards your future career! I also believe scholarships backed by industry leaders like IRMCA help students get their feet into the working world and hopefully find connections to potential career paths and friends to aid them in their work! Side note: I am still using an IRMCA coffee cup every day at work!
As we look ahead to this year’s outing, we hope you’ll join us again to help support these bright futures. Your swing could be the start of someone’s career story.
Register your Golf Outing Foursome Today! https://www.irmca.com/golf-outing-2025
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