A Journey of Service and Scholarship

Giving back to the community is a critical part of any ASME section’s work. Dawson Durr is a Trinity University senior and president of the school’s student section. He is looking forward to graduating in May with a bachelor’s degree in engineering science and leaving a legacy of good works in the San Antonio area.

The native of Murphy, Texas, Durr coordinates service projects with the Texas Ramp Project’s local group. The organization works with volunteers from across the state. 

They meet on Saturday mornings and build wheelchair ramps. People who can’t afford to hire professionals rely on these safe, wooden structures to help them stay in their homes and avoid steps’ limitations.

The Ramp Project

During his first year as president of the ASME section in September 2024, Durr and other students began the initiative. “[Our section] got involved and started doing one ramp a month—on the last Saturday of each month,” he explained.

Before the school year even got going, Durr and the section vice president met with those who run the local Texas Ramp Project. Durr described the group as a bunch of well-intentioned volunteers, “a lot of church groups, and others,” that get together and use 2x4s and plywood to build wheelchair ramps.

The Texas Ramp Project has done this work for over 40 years and has built close to 32,000 structures. On its website, the group asks if you “ever changed a person’s life in a single day?” It then explains its mission is simple. The group builds wheelchair ramps for disabled individuals who can’t afford to hire someone or simply can’t do it themselves.

Durr said that he and about 10 other students volunteer for a few hours once a month so that people in need can “get in and out of their houses.” It’s just been a really wonderful experience, Durr said. The students started off just working on projects that were fairly modest—10 to 15 feet long. “And, this past April, we completed a ramp that was 67 feet long,” Durr reported.

The people at the Ramp Project do all the legwork. “They go out and survey [the] homes beforehand, and they come up with the plan,” Durr added. The work includes arriving at the designated house with premade modules that become the “bones of the ramp,” he said.

Each week the group works on its backlog of requests, completing about 200 accessibility ramps a year. And the Ramp Project brings all the supplies—such as nail guns and other necessary tools. 

Durr, and the section vice president, helped the larger organization celebrate its 40th anniversary of helping. “It was a lot of fun” representing ASME at the event, he said.

Future Plans

Durr became involved in the ASME student section during his first year at Trinity. He got more involved and took on the treasurer position in his sophomore year and became president when he was a junior. His first project was working with ASME to formally register the section and ensure good standing with the Society.

Having worked closely with other students for all four years of his college engineering career, Durr understands the challenges. “It does feel like a juggling act,” he admitted as he reviewed coursework, internship commitments, his passion for cycling, and various ASME obligations.

And the most discouraging aspect is getting students—from a small school—to participate in events. “It’s really just understanding that [those] who are coming are being benefited, and that really makes it worth it to me,” he said.

It was ASME that helped, in part, pay his tuition. Durr explained that he applied for an ASME scholarship and encouraged as many students as possible to do the same. “I really had no idea if I would get anything at all,” he said. “I looked at the previous [winners], and I was like, wow, these people are just so awesome.”

He admitted he felt he was just taking a shot in the dark. Durr submitted at the very beginning of the year. Then summer came around. “I hadn’t heard anything back, so I’d kind of forgotten a little bit about it,” he added.

“But then I got the email saying, hey, check your scholarship portal, you received something. I’m like, oh, cool, maybe a $500 scholarship,” he said. “Then I open it up and see that it’s the Kenneth Andrew Roe [Scholarship].”

And, as he tells it, he was at work at his most recent internship, and he was so excited he just jumped out of his chair. “Immediately, I ran to the break room and called my mom and dad,” Durr said. “I’m like, ‘Guys, I got this scholarship,’ and my dad, whenever he answered, he’s like, ‘You never call me. What’s wrong? Are you in an accident or something?’ I’m like, ‘No dad, I just got a huge scholarship.’”

Durr is just one student out of 139 who the ASME named as the 2025-2026 Scholarship Awardees. In fact, he called his $13,000 scholarship “a game changer.” Durr said he wasn’t even able to consider a master’s program before this money. Recently, Durr accepted a job at an engineering firm where he will concentrate on roadway and transportation projects.

Cathy Cecere is membership content program manager.