Community Mission
The College Outreach Community leads collaborative efforts between SAME and academia to identify and resolve national security infrastructure-related challenges and supports Post’s efforts to mentor and develop future STEM professionals at the collegiate-level. The community serves as a bridge between academia, Posts, government (military and civilian), and the private sector. The community provides guidance to the network of student chapters across the Society, promotes internship opportunities from SAME sustaining members, and will establish a new engineering competition for students designed to address the nation’s grand challenges.
Overview
The SAME College Outreach Community strives to organize programs and present opportunities to future military and civilian members of the A/E/C profession that will foster networking within their professional community, build leadership skills, and provide job opportunities to recent graduates. Additionally, students with an active membership within SAME have at their disposal a wealth of knowledge and experiences from professionals throughout the A/E/C community of practice.
Executive Community Structure
Vice Chairs
Danielle Hughes, Communications
Jeffrey Allen, Academia Engagement
Staff Liaison
Sarah Feighery, Program Manager
2026 SAME Undergraduate Innovation Design Challenge
Submissions for the 2025-26 SAME Undergraduate Innovation Design Challenge are due by February 6, 2026. This competition, led by the College Outreach COI, evaluates design projects that are being developed by student members as part of their degree curriculums and highlights the innovative thinking of the next generation of STEM professionals.
Learn more about the Innovation Design ChallengeUpcoming National Webinars
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CMMC Pause: Compliance and Contract Risk Continue
The recent pause in CMMC Phase II delays the expansion of mandatory third-party assessments, but it does not eliminate applicable CMMC or underlying cybersecurity obligations, Phase I self-assessment requirements remain in force. -
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Meeting the Growing Needs for Energy Supply & Energy Security
This webinar will provide a review of the electricity energy supply industry both globally and domestically. In the domestic analysis, the expert presenter will provide a detailed review of the evolution of the electricity energy supply and an analysis of recent trends at different time scales. -
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Lessons Learned from Post-9/11 World Trade Center and Lower Manhattan Transportation Planning and Design
The events of 9/11 devastated critical Lower Manhattan transportation systems. In the early planning and rebuilding of the World Trade Center site, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey’s in-house planning and architectural leadership established a master plan framework which considered its impact far into the future. -
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The Hidden Cost: Why Schedule is the Biggest MILCON Premium
Mountain Home AFB in Idaho currently uses groundwater to meet the base’s water needs. The aquifer that supplies the groundwater is rapidly depleting and is expected to run out of water in 30 years. This webinar provides an overview of the 15+ year effort to identify new water supplies and how the base chose to get water from the C.J. Strike Reservoir along the Snake River, 14 miles away. -
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AI as Load Shock: Rethinking Energy Security and Mission Assurance
The rapid expansion of AI computing, electrification, and mission-critical digital infrastructure is fundamentally altering the energy security landscape. While AI is often discussed as a software capability or data challenge, its most immediate national security impact is physical: unprecedented, concentrated, and inflexible electrical demand that stresses grid infrastructure and traditional resilience assumptions.
Related TME Articles – College Outreach
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Meeting Mission Requirements Through Collaborative Delivery
If adopted by the government, collaborative delivery contract models could have significant benefits to federal agencies in managing risk and improving both cost and schedule certainty on military construction and civil works projects. -
Delivering for Diverse Operational Needs at Hill AFB
A new U.S. Navy Reserve Center at Hill AFB required careful design and execution coordination to meet multifaceted mission needs, along with maintaining flexibility and innovation in its design to stay on schedule. -
Grounded by Uncertainty: The Adverse Effects of Continuing Resolutions
Continuing resolutions create compounding delays in modernization, training, and procurement for the U.S. Air Force—hindering long-term planning, operational capabilities, and overall readiness, as well as posing significant threats to national security and the ability to maintain air superiority and respond to crises. -
Physical Security Lessons Learned From State Department FLEX Missions
The Department of State’s experience in working from austere locations across the Pacific and its mature doctrine for executing physical security in such environments can offer lessons for the U.S. Marine Corps as the service carries out expeditionary advanced base operations in the region.
