Meet a Tom Wanke Legacy Fund Scholarship Awardee - Kayla Vallecillo

Thomas Wanke was a monumental figure in fluid power, active for more than 50 years and influencing generations of fluid power engineers through his work at the Milwaukee School of Engineering, its Fluid Power Institute, and with the National Fluid Power Association.

Since making the announcement, total donations to the fund at the time of this writing, exceed $30,000. One significant milestone associated with that figure is that it qualifies for the maximum matching gift of $25,000 that was pledged by the National Fluid Power Association – meaning that the fund has more than $55,000 to use in supporting fluid power education.

­­In its third year, thanks to generous donations from Tom’s many friends, former students, and colleagues, three students received Tom Wanke Legacy Fund awards administered through the NFPA Education and Technology Foundation. Each of these students were awarded $2,500 toward their tuition expenses. 

When selecting the awardees of the Tom Wanke Legacy Fund, the judges were looking for students who were:

• Passionate in their academics
• Active in extracurricular activities
• Dedicated to obtaining careers in the fluid power industry

One of the winners, Kayla Vallecillo, is attending University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. We asked Kayla a few questions about winning the scholarship.

What does winning this Tom Wanke Legacy Fund Award mean to you?

I am deeply honored to receive the Tom Wanke Legacy Fund Award, a recognition that serves as a reminder of the important contributions to science and engineering that have been sparked by research of fluid power. Tom Wanke had an inspiring and active career in fluid power, and his lifetime contributions and achievements have inspired me to follow a similar path. Receiving this award has contributed to my academic journey in aerospace engineering, and I’m incredibly honored to receive an award which reflects the legacy of fluid power pioneers in modern science.

Why did you choose to learn about fluid power? 

The combination of the unknown and the practice of seeking solutions has led me to aerospace engineering–it merges the two extremes which I’ve obsessed over since I was a kid. From exploring the universe to understanding the chaotic nature of fluids and turbulence, fluid power lies at the basis of inspiring scientific innovation - and being a part of this movement is quite exciting. Through studying aerospace engineering and understanding how fluids can be utilized to enhance our interplanetary exploration efforts, I believe that fluid power could serve as a key component to my career focus.

What are your career aspirations? What type of fluid power job do you hope to get after you graduate?

After I graduate, I’m interested in pursuing graduate research and eventually working at my dream job: NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). At JPL, I can engage in groundbreaking work, developing technologies which will reach the stars and perform interplanetary research. Through exploring the field at depth, I hope to apply my knowledge about small-scale physical systems to large-scale projects and pursue my goal of creating something that goes to space.