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, Zachary Mancini, is attending Kettering University. We asked Zachary a few questions about winning the scholarship.
What does winning a Fluid Power Scholarship mean to you?
For financial reasons, I had considered attending a university without an accredited degree program for my preferred major. Receiving this NFPA Fluid Power Scholarship will help me afford to attend my preferred school (Kettering University) which has an accredited electrical engineering program. This opportunity will allow me to pursue my dream of becoming an electrical engineer.
Why did you choose to learn about fluid power?
As the Electrical Lead on my high school FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) team, I learned about fluid power through the use of pneumatics on our robot. Because my goal is to someday be an electrical engineer, I felt it was extremely important to understand how fluid power is used. This is especially true for its applications in vehicles, like braking, suspension, and steering. Additionally it will be important for me to understand the use of fluid power in the designing and manufacturing processes.
What are your career aspirations? What type of fluid power job do you hope to get after you graduate?
My goal is to get Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees in electrical engineering and to eventually become an electrical engineer in the automotive industry. I would like to be part of a team that designs new technology in order to improve the functionality and affordability of many types of vehicles. In the future, I feel the need will be for things to become even smaller and more precise, and I expect fluid power to be an important component of my career as an electrical engineer.
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.