Nitsch is proud to fund an ACEC/MA Education Corporation scholarship for first-generation college students who are pursuing a bachelor’s degree in engineering and/or land surveying. Since 2023, we have partnered with the ACEC/MA Education Corporation (a 501(c)3) to provide an annual $5,000 scholarship in honor of our retired founder, Judy Nitsch. We were thrilled to announce the fifth recipient of this scholarship at this year’s ACEC/MA Engineering Excellence Awards Gala on April 14th.
About the 2026 Judith Nitsch Scholarship Recipient
Rillary Madruga Ferreira is a Civil Engineering student at the University of Massachusetts Amherst who brings purpose and compassion to her work. Her interest in engineering began while volunteering on a nonprofit farm and seeing infrastructure make a real difference.
Rillary is an active member of Engineers Without Borders, ASCE, and AGC, and worked as an undergraduate research assistant at the UMass Amherst Park Lab supporting wastewater treatment research. She also completed a full summer internship where she conducted environmental sampling and monitoring for remediation and infrastructure projects. Supervisors consistently describe her as dependable, collaborative,
and an excellent communicator.
Congratulations to Rillary on receiving the ACEC/Massachusetts Education Corporation Judith Nitsch Scholarship!
Learn More About the Judith Nitsch Scholarship
You can learn more about the Judith Nitsch Scholarship here.
If you’d like to join us in making an impact on our industry, consider donating to the Judith Nitsch Scholarship fund here (just choose the Judith Nitsch Scholarship Fund from the options). Nitsch is committed to funding one $5,000 scholarship per year, and any funding raised from other contributors – like you! – will go directly to funding additional scholarships!