Molly Pryde is our first place winner, awarded a $10,000 scholarship by CFMA Silicon Valley. Molly is entering her fourth year at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, where she is studying Construction Management. Being both a creative and analytical problem solver, she felt the type of work offered in the construction industry matched her dynamic personality and would provide her with a rewarding career.

While at Cal Poly, Molly has excelled in academics, having received the Dean’s List Award for six quarters. She has been an active member of the Women in Construction Club, recently becoming a member of its executive board as the treasurer. Additionally, Molly has been a member of Cal Poly’s Project Management team for the ASC Competition in Reno, and also works as a peer tutor.

Over the past two summers Molly has had two internships, one as a member of the Webcor Concrete Group at a high-rise condominium tower in San Francisco, and one as a Project Engineer for Blach Construction. She has a certification in Procore and OSHA-10, and is in the process of obtaining her LEED Green Associate credentials.

Karilin Yiu Is CFMA Silicon Valley’s second place winner, awarded an $8,000 scholarship. Karilin is entering her fourth year at UC Berkeley, where she is studying Construction Management. Karilin is “committed to pursuing construction for the benefit of society to shape the built environment and bring prosperity to life through infrastructure.”

While attending UC Berkeley, Karilin participated on the Virtual Design and Construction (VDC) Competition Team, she attended the Associated School of Construction (ASC) Competition, and was a participant in the National Open ASC 2020 VDC Competition, where her team was awarded 2nd place. Karilin proudly represents the Associated General Contractors (AGC) and National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC) through both organizations’ scholarships.

Jesus Martin Duran is CFMA Silicon Valley’s third place, $5,000 scholarship awardee for 2020, which makes him a back-to-back winner, having also received this scholarship in 2019. He is currently a sophomore at Santa Clara University, working on his undergraduate degree for Civil Engineering, and planning to continue on to a graduate degree in Geotechnical or Environmental Engineering.

“Martin” served his country as Sergeant of the Infantry in the U.S. Marine Corps, picking up valuable and transferable skills for his chosen career path. He is further developing his skill set from his work as a Project Engineer for Preston Pipelines. Additionally, Martin volunteers as a big brother for Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, where he uniquely understands the benefits this program provides, having been a recipient of a mentor as a young man himself.

Francesca Giannotta is the fourth place, $3,000 award winner for 2020. She has just started her college journey, attending UC Santa Barbara, planning to Major in Environmental Engineering.

During high school, Francesca is proud to have participated with The Circle of Friends, a club devoted to integrating special education students into the general education population. As President of the club, she spear-headed Inclusion Night, an event to bring awareness for, and fun to, these students, where they participated in the events of the evening during the heavily attended Friday Night Football. Additionally, she served as her school’s ASB Commissioner of Culture and Climate, and finished high school with a 4.24 GPA.

Francesca is starting out her career learning the financial side of the construction industry as an accounting intern for Graniterock.