The NFPA Education and Technology Foundation has awarded 20 $2,000 scholarships to students pursuing fluid power related fields of study. One of the winners, Kaden Semlow, is attending the Cedarville University. We asked Kaden a few questions about winning the scholarship.
What does winning a Fluid Power Scholarship mean to you?
I am honored and excited to receive this scholarship. It is a great help to pay for my education so I can pursue my dreams in the field of engineering. I look forward to using my degree to create innovations in the fluid power industry.
Why did you choose to learn about fluid power?
From a young age, I have always enjoyed creating new things with Lego, and as I grew up, I joined a local robotics team. On this robotics team, I was able to help design our robot and fell in love with mechanical engineering. While I was on our team, we used power fluids to create elements of our robot, and I became fascinated with them and their use for manufacturing.
What are your career aspirations? What type of fluid power job do you hope to get after you graduate?
When I move into my career in mechanical engineering, I would love to join a team working on addressing the problem of carbon emissions in the manufacturing sector. I would love to design new hydraulic-powered machines to run in factories to help reduce the need for combustion engines. In addition to cutting carbon emissions, fluid power will allow for smaller manufacturing devices that can reduce the amount of space needed for factories while increasing efficiency.
A minimum GPA of 2.5 out of 4.0, 500-word essay, and letter of recommendation were required from each applicant. The NFPA Foundation’s goal is to help graduating high school students, and individuals enrolled in community colleges, technical schools and universities pursue their academic interests in fluid power.
One way NFPA members can get involved with scholarship programs is to volunteer as a judge to serve on the application review committee. This year 27 judges from 19 NFPA member companies reviewed 122 eligible student applications to the Fluid Power Scholarship program. If you are interested in learning more, please contact Haley Nemeth at hnemeth@nfpa.com.
