Fourteen Club Members Honored for Contributing to the Design of a Quick-Service Restaurant
Fourteen teens participating in Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Tarrant County’s (BGCGTC) Building Industry Leaders (BIL) program have a head for design and a head start on college tuition. The Club members collectively received $20,700 in scholarship awards for their outstanding efforts in designing a quick-service restaurant for the future.
BIL is a program built in cooperation with the Urban Land Institute (ULI) and Boys & Girls Clubs (BGC) nationally to educate and mentor BGC high school students on career opportunities in commercial real estate and give them the professional skills needed to become industry leaders and contributing members of their community. ULI is the largest international network of cross-disciplinary real estate and land use experts. Kimley-Horn — a national engineering, planning, and design consulting firm with offices across the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex — funded the scholarships; representatives from the firm also served as in-person mentors and hosted the BIL planning sessions at their downtown Fort Worth office. Kimley-Horn engaged its partner, Raising Cane’s, to participate by giving Club members a tour of its Plano headquarters.
From September 2024 through May 2025, Club members participating in BIL met bi-weekly to discuss building architecture, landscape architecture, construction, civil engineering, development, finance, and other topics. The teens then delivered a group presentation of their overall plan and design considerations.
“This year’s participants came ready to learn, grow, and get out of their comfort zone. They demonstrated leadership, teamwork, and dedication in their teams, working hard to learn complex design concepts and bring their ideas to life,” said Rachel Priller, civil analyst at Kimley-Horn. “These scholarships give our future leaders an opportunity to follow their dreams and bring diverse perspectives into the workforce. After working with them this year, we know they will make our world a better place!”
The $20,700 in scholarship awards represented a $7,000 increase over the 2024 BIL scholarship total; amounts awarded have increased since BGCGTC’s involvement began in 2018.
“This program gives teens real-world design experience and an opportunity to work with experts from a variety of fields so that they can explore future career opportunities,” said Daphne Barlow, CEO and president of BGCGTC. “We are proud of our talented Club members and grateful to all of the wonderful partners who make this and other scholarship opportunities possible.”
