MTSU’s celebrated program reaches out to 220 area girls through ‘Ladies in Concrete’ event

MTSU CIM Ladies in Concrete4.jpg A combined 220 middle and high school girls attended the Middle Tennessee State University Concrete Industry Management Ladies in Concrete event at MTSU in Murfreesboro, Tenn., in early May. The four-hour event was sponsored by CIM Patrons — a group of alumni and industry professionals who volunteer their time to promote, recruit and fundraise for the CIM program. (MTSU photo by J. Intintoli)

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — It was an eye-opening field trip experience at Middle Tennessee State University for Madden Eller, Aarna Suman and more than 200 of their peers.

It was an event where they wore hard hats and pink safety vests they took home along with a backpack with goodies inside.

A welding project was one of the sessions a combined 220 middle and high school girls participated in during the May 3 Middle Tennessee State University Concrete Industry Management Program Ladies in Concrete event on the MTSU campus in Murfreesboro, Tenn. Along with an emphasis on safety, they attended sessions on concrete finishing, welding, mix design, hand tools and more during the four-hour event sponsored by CIM Patrons. (MTSU photo by J. Intintoli)

These items were specifically for 220 middle school and high school girls, who learned about potential concrete industry careers during the first Ladies in Concrete event hosted by the nationally recognized MTSU Concrete Industry Management program.

MTSU CIM held the recruiting event in early May targeting seventh- through 12^th grade girls. They attended seven sessions on concrete finishing, welding, mix design, hand tools and more at the School of Concrete and Construction Management Building on the east side of campus.

Middle school students came from Central Magnet, Christiana, La Vergne, Oakland and Rockvale. High schools participating included Central Magnet, Oakland, Riverdale, Blackman, Smyrna and Cane Ridge, a Metro Nashville Public School, in Antioch, Tennessee.

High school girls and a teacher attending the Middle Tennessee State University Concrete Industry Management Ladies in Concrete event at MTSU in Murfreesboro, Tenn., in early May await instructions from Gara “Gee” Harris, the Ready Mix truck driver working for Irving Materials Inc., on how to safely climb into the large IMI vehicle. A combined 220 middle and high school girls participated in seven stations during the four-hour event to showcase career opportunities available in the CIM program and industrywide. The event was sponsored by CIM Patrons. (MTSU photo by J. Intintoli)

CIM Patrons sponsored the four-hour event, with employees — including former professor and CIM Director Heather Brown and numerous MTSU CIM alumni — participating and leading sessions.

Eller, 17, of Murfreesboro, a rising Central Magnet School senior, said she had “never considered a job (in the concrete industry) before now. It (Ladies in Concrete) was interesting and informative. There are a lot of diverse, different areas of focus — and it’s all girls.”

Suman, 13, of Murfreesboro, a rising Central Magnet eighth grader, “has done a few things like this with my dad (Shankar Suman), who’s an engineer, in our garage and at Home Depot. I liked getting the hands-on experience with tools.” After the welcome session featuring safety as the main topic, her group headed to climb into the large Ready Mix truck and later performed a welding project.

Ladies in Concrete proved successful, with CIM Director Jon Huddleston and CIM Coordinator Sally Victory learning that two attendees committed to enrolling in the program before leaving the event. CIM also awarded three $2,000 scholarships. CIM Patrons provided lunch and giveaway items.

Aarna Suman, left, of Murfreesboro, Tenn., a rising Central Magnet School eighth grader, receives help measuring a wood block from Middle Tennessee State University senior Concrete Industry Management major Jennie Love, during a featured session at the CIM Patron-sponsored Ladies in Concrete event in early May in the School of Concrete and Construction Management Building on campus in Murfreesboro. Girls from four Rutherford County middle schools and six area high schools participated in the four-hour event. (MTSU photo by J. Intintoli)

Jon Huddleston, Concrete Industry Management program director — Jon Huddleston

“I’m sure there will be more committing to CIM, but since it was open to seventh through 12^th graders, some still have a few years to make that decision,” Huddleston said. “We’re ecstatic about the number of girls participating and learning about our industry and our program.”

CIM Patrons are a group of alumni and industry professionals who volunteer their time to promote, recruit and fundraise for the CIM program. They are a nonprofit organization serving the program through financial, marketing and mentoring assistance. To learn more, visit https://www.cimpatrons.org/about/.

To learn more about CIM, one of five such programs nationwide and one of 11 College of Basic and Applied Sciences’ 11 departments, call 615-494-7658 or visit https://www.concretedegree.com/the-cim-program/.

— Randy Weiler (Randy.Weiler@mtsu.edu)