Students & Young Professionals

Advance your career in water at ACE25. Join AWWA in Denver at one of the largest gatherings of water professionals around the world to learn current industry topics, innovations, issues, and trends to help solve immediate and future water challenges.

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Advance Your Career in Water

ACE attendees will learn about emerging issues in our industry and connect with a diverse group of water community peers. ACE is intended to challenge our students and young professionals to think critically about our industry (present and future) and to establish lasting connections with peers. There is nowhere like ACE when it comes to finding professionals and peers facing the same issues as your organization and learning how others are addressing the same challenges.

ACE features many student and young professional-focused events, including our AWWA Job & Education Fair, the Fresh Ideas Poster Competition, and the Students and Young Professionals Reception. We invite young professionals of all levels to attend these events (and to compete) to network and meet like-minded peers working in the water community.

As we build a better world through better water with AWWA, we hope to bring as many young minds as possible to ACE to connect with companies, utilities, and thought leaders. We offer a discounted rate for students, which can be accessed when you register for ACE. Supersaver registration is open until April 18. Register now to receive the best rate.

Event Highlight

AWWA Job & Education Fair

2:00 – 5:00 p.m | Location: Exhibit Hall AWWA Career Center

Network with top companies and select universities in the water community at this event. The job fair is a fantastic opportunity for you to meet with thought leaders and professionals working in the water community. This fair will include Flash Resume Review and Interview with AWWA (3:30 – 5:00 p.m.). Bring your resume for review and practice your interviewing skills. Our partner, Water Equation, is providing professional headshots.

Make the Case to Attend ACE

ACE enables students and young professionals to attend professional development sessions, educational sessions, workshops, and more. AWWA provides a thorough justification toolkit for students and young professionals who wish to attend ACE to help you plan and budget for your trip to the conference. Our toolkit will guide you through selecting workshops, exhibitors, and other programming you would like to attend and how to justify the expenses to your employer or university.

Download Toolkit

Student & YP Events

Monday, June 9, 2025	7:30 – 8:15 a.m.	First Time Attendee Program New to ACE? This is a great opportunity to meet other first-time attendees and learn how to navigate this amazing conference so that you get the most out of your experience. Pre-registration required. Light breakfast included
	10:15 -11:30 a.m.	Student & Young Professionals Scavenger Hunt Location: Colorado Convention Center Here is a fun way to meet some of your peers and explore the Exhibit Hall at the same time. Stay tuned for the exact Meeting Room Location, where you will learn the rules and get started.
	11:45 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.	Lunch with the Boss/Committee: Student & Young Professional Meetup Speak to industry leaders and experts face-to-face. This is a great opportunity for you to engage in conversation with water community leaders who will inspire you, take your career to the next level, or learn about a committee you can join. Registration is not required; just grab lunch and show up.
	3:30 – 5:00 p.m.	Lightning Session: Fresh Ideas Poster Participants Location: Colorado Convention Center Every year the Section poster winners compete with each other at the ACE Fresh Ideas Poster Competition. Join us to watch the best and the brightest from AWWA’s Sections in a fast-paced lightning session as the Fresh Ideas Poster participants preview their poster presentations.
Tuesday, June 10, 2025	10:00 –11:30 a.m.	Fresh Ideas Poster Competition & Display Location: Exhibit Hall The future of water is here! See the best and the brightest from AWWA’s Sections compete live.
	2:00 – 5:00 p.m.	AWWA Job & Education Fair (Highly Recommended Event) Location: Exhibit Hall AWWA Career Center Network with top companies and select universities in the water industry at this event.
	3:30 – 5 p.m.	Flash Resume Review & Interview Location: Exhibit Hall AWWA Career Center Bring your resume for review and practice your interviewing skills. Water Equation will be providing professional headshots.
	6:00 – 8:00 p.m.	Emerging Leaders Reception Location: Lucky Strike Join us for this fun and interactive evening while you make lasting connections among your peers and industry leaders. Open to all students and young professionals (light appetizers and drinks provided).
Wednesday, June 11, 2025	8:30 – 10:30 a.m.	Young Professionals (YP) Committee Meeting Location: Room number to be announced Open to all students and young professionals (35 and under). Join the AWWA YP Committee to discuss and provide your perspective on the conference activities, career connections, publication and scholarship opportunities, student chapters…. and learn about engagement opportunities.

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Volunteer for Our Students & Young Professionals Activities!

We are looking for volunteers to help us facilitate our student and young professional-focused events at ACE! Please sign up to be a Boss, Judge, or Committee Representative in the form below. (Please note that these volunteer positions are NOT affiliated with the ACE25 Local Host Volunteer program. Volunteers for the Student/YP Activities will not qualify for comped time unless they are part of the Local Host Volunteer program).

Boss

If you have experiences, lessons learned, and advice that you can share with our students and young professionals over lunch, we are looking for you!

Judge

If you have technical knowledge in the sector that would have an understanding of concepts and scientific methods the participants will be sharing about their projects at the Fresh Ideas Poster competition, please sign up to be a judge. Judges must not have any affiliation with any of the competition participants.

Committee Representative

Any member of a AWWA committee that can speak to what your committee does, share the mission, extend the invitation to join a meeting and looking to add new committee members.

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Track Spotlights for Students & Young Professionals

Build your dream agenda and see how you’ll elevate with us at ACE!

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Poster Session

Take advantage of this great opportunity to interact directly with presenters. Poster presentations will be held in a dedicated session room with the posters rotating in groups, sorted by topic. The poster authors will be present for the full duration of each poster session to provide attendees with the opportunity for in-depth discussion about their topic.

Water Education and the Workforce

This session focuses on developing a skilled and diverse workforce capable of addressing complex issues, such as aging infrastructure, emerging technologies, and sustainability. Training and education programs play a pivotal role in equipping professionals with the necessary expertise to navigate the modern water landscape. By fostering innovation, promoting inclusivity, and investing in continuous learning, the water workforce transformation aims to create a resilient and forward-thinking community capable of meeting the demands of a rapidly changing water community.

Water Quality Challenges

Discover the latest cutting-edge information related to contaminants in drinking water. These sessions focus on the latest results and approaches to meeting drinking water issues and provide case studies and lessons learned. Topics include the latest advances in treatment methods for PFAS, algae, manganese and inorganics, non-point source pollutants, microbial, and emerging contaminants, DBPs, and premise plumbing. Sessions also explore the relationship between drinking water, wastewater, reuse and stormwater from a water quality analysis and treatment perspective.