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The NFPA Education and Technology Foundation has awarded 20 $2,500 scholarships to students pursuing fluid power related fields of study. One of the winners, Tina Trinh, is attending the Oregon State University. We asked Tina a few questions about winning the scholarship.
What does winning a Fluid Power Scholarship mean to you?
Being awarded the Fluid Power Scholarship is truly an honor which I am eternally grateful for. As a first generation American and college student, navigating my college journey has been difficult. However, I am thankful for individuals such as NFPA who believed in and are taking a chance on me. Through my career and education my goal is to create inclusive spaces for minorities in STEM and to advocate for ways to make manufacturing processes more environmentally sustainable. The support of this scholarship has provided me the opportunity to address each of these challenges with confidence and is a reminder that my goals are not only possible, but fully attainable.
Why did you choose to learn about fluid power?
My interest in fluid power began when my robotics team fundraised enough to buy new inventory for the next season. Upon seeing how other teams used pneumatics, I became excited to discover how we could make our robot more efficient and reliable. Pneumatics on a small scale of our 18x18 robot allowed us to solve many issues such as motor overheating, weight distribution, and more. From then on my interest to discover other applications of fluid power have only grown from then!
What are your career aspirations? What type of fluid power job do you hope to get after you graduate?
Through first-hand experiences from family members working in manufacturing and research, where I explored the environmental impacts of fast fashion, I discovered that despite its clear ethical importance, industries often neglect worker safety and environmental responsibility. As an industrial engineer, I aim to address these issues. By understanding how people and machines coexist, I am excited to work in a field where I can apply my passion to make a change to design systems that reduce workplace injuries and mitigate industries' environmental impact.
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 34 judges from 26 NFPA member companies reviewed 241 eligible student applications to the Fluid Power Scholarship program. If you are interested in learning more, please contact Haley Nemeth at hnemeth@nfpa.com.
