SSOE Group Announces First Recipient of Frank Forde Allen / SSOE Memorial Scholarship
TOLEDO, Ohio, August 19, 2013 – SSOE Group (www.ssoe.com), a global engineering, procurement, and construction management (EPCM) firm, announced today the selection of the first ever recipient of the University of Toledo Frank Forde Allen / SSOE Memorial Scholarship. Fully funded and supported by SSOE, the University of Toledo College of Engineering, and the Allen family and friends, the scholarship fund was set up in memoriam to former SSOE employee Frank Forde Allen and has reached full endowment.
Frank Forde Allen attended the University of Toledo’s College of Engineering and was expected to graduate after the Winter Semester in 2009. Frank was an electrical engineering co-op student in SSOE’s Facilities Department and tragically passed away in a motorcycle accident on his way to lunch with coworkers in 2008. Frank’s family received his diploma posthumously that year and Frank’s father Cliff, mother Mary Jo, and sister Lauren each received an engineer’s ring after the ceremony.
For the last four consecutive years, SSOE has sponsored a memorial golf outing to help fund the Frank Forde Allen / SSOE Memorial Scholarship Fund. These events have played a large role in helping to fund the scholarship along with support from the University of Toledo College of Engineering, SSOE business partners, the Allen family, and the many friends of Frank and his family. The foundation seeks to provide financial aid to a University of Toledo College of Engineering student who either graduated from Willoughby South High School, Frank’s alma mater and/or is a current co-op student with SSOE.
John Colley, Electrical Department Manager in SSOE’s facilities department expressed his excitement for the new scholarship recipient, “Frank was a bright electrical engineering co-op that worked in my department during his time at SSOE. I am thrilled that another young engineering student has the opportunity to develop technically and professionally with SSOE”.
In honor of the 5th anniversary of Frank’s passing, the University of Toledo College of Engineering awarded the scholarship to Calvin Mayer, a civil engineering student at the University who began working in SSOE’s Toledo, Ohio office as a co-op student in January 2013. Calvin is a member of the Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity as well as the University of Toledo chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) where he previously served as the chapter treasurer and webmaster. Calvin is currently pursuing his bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Toledo and has an expected graduation date of December 2015.