Meet a Fluid Power Scholarship Winner—Jacob Powers

Programs like the Fluid Power Scholarships are made possible in part by the generous support of industry volunteers as well as NFPA Education and Technology Foundation and Pascal Society donors. Support these efforts by making a donation.

The NFPA Education and Technology Foundation has awarded fourteen $2,000 scholarships to students pursuing fluid power technology fields of study.

Here’s one of the winners, Jacob Powers. He is attending Spokane Community College and is enrolled in the fluid power program. We asked Jacob about winning the scholarship…

What does winning a Fluid Power Scholarship mean to you?
Winning the Fluid Power Scholarship helps me to pay for schooling and puts less financial burden on my parents. I am honored that the NFPA has decided that I am worthy of this scholarship. I think it’s great that the NFPA helps students pay for school.

Why did you choose to learn about fluid power?
I wanted to go to college, and I wanted to learn about something that would lead to a job that I think I would enjoy. I love cooking, but I was not sure if I’d like working in a restaurant. I love math but I did not see a clear progression from taking a bunch of math classes to joining the workforce. Fluid power seemed like a great option, because I would get to do math with obvious relevance to an incredible number of real-world applications.

What are your career aspirations? What type of fluid power job do you hope to get after you graduate?
I just want to do something that will enable me to be financially independent, and something that I think I will be content with for the foreseeable future. I still feel quite ignorant about what types of fluid power jobs there are, but as long as I am not sitting in a chair all day every day, and I get to apply some of the knowledge I have gained in school, then I think I will be satisfied. In the long term, working at Festo or a large hydroelectric dam seem like dream jobs.

The Foundation’s goal is to help individuals enrolled in technical schools and engineering schools pursue their interests in fluid power. For further information about the Fluid Power Scholarship program, contact Amy Zignego, Workforce Program Manager, at azignego@nfpa.com.