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, Anna Aler, is attending the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. We asked Anna a few questions about winning the scholarship.
What does winning a Fluid Power Scholarship mean to you?
This award means a lot to me because it gives me much needed help in paying the immense cost of college. Without the burden of paying for school I can focus more time on my future plans of increasing sustainability and creating communities for girls to feel comfortable participating in STEM careers. I am so grateful for the National Fluid Power Association’s kindness and generosity!
Why did you choose to learn about fluid power?
I originally learned about fluid power through an at home hydraulics science kit when I was younger. When I got older I wanted to learn about fluid power because I realized the outstanding efficiency that fluid power adds to machines and vehicles. I find the way fluid power has a high horsepower to weight ratio but is still safe to be very interesting. I believe it will be vital to my future career to learn about fluid power, and I know I can impact the industry by continuing innovations in the way fluid power is used to make vehicles which save energy and the environment.
What are your career aspirations? What type of fluid power job do you hope to get after you graduate?
I hope to work in a career that involves transportation. Since I want to improve sustainable energy use I think it would be cool to have a job where I design vehicles that use fluid power to make them more efficient.
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.
