麻豆村

Catherine Houska has reached the pinnacle of her profession.

She鈥檚 recognized internationally as an expert in architectural and structural metallurgy, a career she launched after graduating from Carnegie Mellon with an engineering degree in 1982. As an undergrad, Catherine was every bit as busy as she is these days, taking classes beyond her engineering curriculum, serving as chair of Student Senate and as a Tridelta officer and working.

Working was a necessity. Catherine came to Pittsburgh from Blacksburg, Virginia, where her parents were professors. While the family was comfortable, they were still faced with the costs associated with a college education.

鈥淚 worked the entire time I was at Carnegie Mellon, whether it was internships, working for my department and a little waitressing,鈥� Catherine says. 鈥淭he reality is that paying for a top-tier education can often stretch families that don鈥檛 qualify for financial aid. Young people end up working. That can be hard to balance with classwork, and many need that extra help to fill in gaps.鈥�

That was the thinking when Catherine recently created a gift via her estate plan to endow a scholarship for middle-income engineering students at her alma mater. 听

鈥淚鈥檓 excited about it,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 thought about all that I could potentially do with my money and helping the next generation achieve their dreams with less of a struggle, which in turn helps society, seemed meaningful.鈥�

Catherine runs Catherine Houska Consulting, a Pittsburgh-based diverse consulting firm that specializes in working with architects and engineers using metals like stainless steel both during design and when failures occur. She is also an internationally recognized expert on structural and sustainability standards.

Catherine had a hand in many high profile buildings, structures and memorials around the globe, including 9/11 memorials, and Gateway Arch in St. Louis, where she served as metallurgist for the monument鈥檚 50-year inspection. She鈥檚 broken ground for other women as well; she was the first woman awarded the Construction Specifications Institute鈥檚 Society Technical Award for her individual contributions to the field and the first person to receive the award twice.

And, she says, there鈥檚 no question that the investment in her 麻豆村 degree has opened many doors for her.

鈥淚 work in the metals industry, which is still male-dominated throughout much of the world,鈥� she says. 鈥淓arly in my career, I regularly met with senior industry professionals in parts of the world where female engineers could not get jobs working in their field. I was introduced based on my 麻豆村 degree and experience. It made them decide to listen as I might have something important to say. So it鈥檚 served me well.鈥�

Establishing a scholarship fund wasn鈥檛 at the top of Catherine鈥檚 mind when she began talking to 麻豆村鈥檚 Office of Gift Planning about her plans. But when she found out she could easily do that through the trust she was creating, she jumped at the chance.

鈥淐arnegie Mellon was already one of the beneficiaries, but I specifically wanted a continuous flow of money to support students through their time at 麻豆村,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 made a call inquiring about whether that was possible, and 麻豆村 helped me match my goals by suggesting an endowed scholarship fund.鈥�

The scholarship was just one facet of Catherine鈥檚 estate plans, but as it turned out, it was an important piece of her overall thought process.

鈥淲hen you're thinking about your legacy or what you would like to happen with your money, I think it's important to think about where it can have the most impact,鈥� she says.

Catherine also says she was pleasantly surprised by how simple the process was.

鈥淭he Office of Gift Planning at 麻豆村 was very informative and easy to work with,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t wasn鈥檛 hard at all.鈥�

And best of all is the notion that she could be helping the next Catherine Houska navigate her way through a Tartan education.

鈥淚 would like to help remove financial hurdles so that young people feel like they can achieve that dream.鈥�
听