Meet a Fluid Power Scholarship Winner—Ben Quade

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 fifteen $2,000 scholarships to students pursuing fluid power technology fields of study.

Here’s one of the winners, Ben Quade. He is attending Iowa State University and is enrolled in the engineering program. We asked Ben about winning the scholarship…

What does winning a Fluid Power Scholarship mean to you?
I feel very honored to receive this award and be seen as someone who is committed to the fluid power industry. By receiving the award, I will be able to continue my education and interest in fluid power.

Why did you choose to learn about fluid power?
I chose to learn about fluid power because of a club opportunity at Iowa State University. My freshman year, the Fluid Power Club at Iowa State University was started, and I was curious to see what opportunities were available with fluid power. My only knowledge of fluid power was of folding hydraulic systems on farm equipment until I joined the club. I started to learn about the fluid power bike and listened to multiple speakers that opened up my eyes to the versatility of fluid power. This versatility sparked my interest because it can be used worldwide for almost any high-power application. Learning about fluid power has helped me grow my knowledge of the world and engineering systems.

What are your career aspirations? What type of fluid power job do you hope to get after you graduate?
My career plans are very open to change, but I may follow a couple of paths. Eventually, I plan to return home to my family farm to help while also working in the engineering world and using my education on the farm. My other path is very open to change, but I would like to be involved in the agricultural field, working on design and testing field equipment or production systems in a facility. Hopefully, my job would allow me to travel for a couple of weeks on business trips to grow my knowledge of the diversity within the agricultural world. I would love to experience how different parts of the United States farm and how other nations produce different crops.

The Foundation’s goal is to help individuals enrolled in technical colleges and universities 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.