Kirkland college student earns manufacturing scholarship
Published 3:57 pm Wednesday, December 16, 2015
Fifteen students pursuing careers in manufacturing, including Lois Felker of Kirkland, each earned between $2,500-3,500 toward their post-secondary studies from Nuts, Bolts & Thingamajigs, the foundation of the Fabricators & Manufacturers Association, Intl. (FMA).
Felker is studying welding technology at Lake Washington Institute of Technology in Kirkland.
“We are pleased to award scholarships to these deserving students and are happy to assist them in reaching their academic goals,” said Edward Youdell, president of Nuts, Bolts & Thingamajigs. “They recognize that skilled manufacturing careers can be rewarding financially and fulfilling personally and will help them be more competitive in the current job market.”
“The most difficult U.S. jobs to fill today are those in the skilled trades and engineering,” Youdell said. “With majors in robotics and automation, CNC technology, structural and pipe welding, sheet metal fabrication, engineering, and precision machining technology, these students will be prepared for the skilled labor openings that American manufacturers must fill.”
To be eligible for the scholarships, applicants were required to be full-time students meeting a specified minimum GPA, and enrolled in an engineering or manufacturing-related course of study, or a trade or technical program leading to a career in manufacturing. Students were responsible for submitting academic records and an engineering or manufacturing-related program description with each application.
In addition to the scholarship, each winner also received from NBT’s industry partner SolidWorks Corporation a copy of its Student Design Kit CAD software package. The Student Design Kit is an easy-to-learn, Windows-based 3D CAD application that gives students the ability to create “real-life” 3D designs they can easily manipulate.
Since 1990, FMA’s Foundation has awarded scholarships annually to students in courses of study that will lead to careers in manufacturing. For more information visit http://www.nutsandboltsfoundation.org/Scholarships.
