Crowley Backs Puerto Rico Students in Engineering Competition

Crowley is supporting a team of 16 students at the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez (UPRM) by providing free shipping and logistics services for their entry in the American Society of Civil Engineer (ASCE) Concrete Canoe Competition in Jacksonville.

The engineering students designed and created a concrete canoe that floats and will race in a March 25 competition at the University of North Florida. The canoe, 20 feet long and 245 pounds, arrived in Jacksonville on Monday aboard the MV El Coquí ship from Crowley’s Isla Grande Terminal in San Juan.

The support continues Crowley’s commitments to the island of Puerto Rico, helping people through educational programs that provide access to practical, in-demand industry skills. The contest, hosted by the University of North Florida College of Engineering, challenges students to leverage their engineering knowledge and creativity while putting the engineering principles learned in the classroom into practice. The university is also home to the Crowley Center for Transportation and Logistics.

“The UPRM team represents the best-in-class and our future leaders,” said Sal Menoyo, vice president of Puerto Rico and Caribbean services, Crowley Logistics. “We are excited to cheer them on as they put their hard-earned skills to the test and go for their next championship title.”

The concrete canoe competition demands teams demonstrate their technical expertise in design, structural analysis and project management. After constructing the canoe, students compete in five rowing races to test its effectiveness in a challenge of knowledge, creativity and innovation.

“Crowley’s support has not only afforded us the opportunity to move our concrete canoe in a timely and safe manner to this year’s Jacksonville competition but played a crucial role in our overall project management process,” said Ariana Rodriguez, UPRM engineering student and 2023 concrete canoe team captain. “We are thankful to Crowley and everyone for believing in us from start to finish. This is just the beginning of our engineering journeys.”

With more than 200 members, the ASCE student chapter of UPRM is one of the largest and most competitive in the ASCE Southwest Region, made up of 25 universities from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, and Puerto Rico.

Crowley is the longest serving U.S. supply chain solutions provider in Puerto Rico, providing end-to-end services.