2020 Winner

On October 29, 2019, KGS Group’s, Nicholas C. Kaminski, P.Eng., M.Eng., PMP, was awarded ACEC’s Allen D. Williams Scholarship, presented annually to a Young Professional employed by an ACEC member firm who demonstrates a commitment to the consulting engineering industry in their province or territory.

Nicholas believes engineers are instrumental in shaping the physical world around us, protecting public safety, and critical infrastructure. This is the reason he is proud to be a structural engineer who is making a measurable difference in his community. For Nicholas, consulting engineers also have a responsibility to share their wealth of knowledge through public service, which is why he ensures leadership, advocacy and volunteerism are key aspects of his life. His dedication to the consulting engineering profession and to his community are the reasons why Nicholas was selected as the recipient of the 2020 Allen D. Williams Scholarship.

A 2013 graduate of the Civil Engineering program at the University of Saskatchewan, Nicholas spent a year as a project coordinator with a construction firm before choosing to pursue a career in consulting engineering and joining KGS Group as a Junior Structural Engineer-in-Training. In 2017, he obtained his professional engineering designation (P.Eng.) in Saskatchewan as well as his project management professional (PMP) designation with the Project Management Institute.

Ongoing professional development is of the highest priority for Nicholas. He obtained his Public Sector Governor (PSGOV) designation and certificate with the Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy at the University of Regina in the fall of 2018. In the spring of 2019, he completed his certificate in Not-for-Profit Governance with the Institute of Corporate Directors and the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto. He also enrolled in the Master of Engineering (M.Eng.) program at the University of Saskatchewan in September 2017 and completed the program in September 2019. Nicholas accomplished all of this while upholding his full-time position at KGS Group.

While Nicholas assumes considerable responsibility in his professional life, he is also generous with his volunteer time, taking on significant leadership responsibilities in numerous professional and community organizations. He has supported the development of young professionals for many years through the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering and as a member of the ACEC-SK Young Professional Group, acting as Treasurer and taking over as Chair next year. In 2018, he was appointed by the Saskatoon City Council to the Public Library Board of Trustees and the Governance and Nominations Committee, and is currently the youngest member of the board. He serves on a total of nine boards and committees and in June 2019 was elected as councilor for the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Saskatchewan (APEGS), and as a member of the University of Saskatchewan Senate. In addition, Nicholas volunteers with Canadian Blood Services, Habitat for Humanity and the Regina Multicultural Council.

The scholarship commemorates Allen Williams, past ACEC Chair and Founder of Williams Engineering Inc. It provides the winner with funding to cover registration, airfare and accommodations to attend the annual conference of the International Federation of Consulting Engineers (FIDIC).

Read Nicholas' essay

Press release

 
2020 Allen D. Williams Scholarship sponsor