Meet a Fluid Power Scholarship Winner & Tom Wanke Legacy Awardee – Emily Bolin

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, Emily Bolin, is attending Grace College, and was selected for a Tom Wanke Legacy Fund Award. We asked Emily a few questions about winning the scholarship.

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

Winning the Tom Wanke Legacy Fund Award is a tremendous honor. It has motivated me to learn more about fluid power and how it can benefit society. It also serves as a reminder of Tom Wanke’s impact on fluid power and the community, inspiring me to follow in his footsteps. In his honor, this award will go to continuing the education of fluid power, creating a positive impact on society.

Why did you choose to learn about fluid power?
As a former competitive Junior Olympic gymnast, I vividly remember a meet supporting the Make-A-Wish Foundation, where another gymnast told her story as a cancer survivor with a hip disarticulation. Despite having a full-length artificial leg to replace the amputated limb, she was still able to compete due to her advanced prosthetic that utilized pneumatics. I was amazed to see her perseverance working with mechanics and fluid systems as she competed and continued to live an active lifestyle. Since then, I have been fascinated with fluid systems working with the human body and want to learn more.

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

Hydraulic and pneumatic technology development in prosthetics is new and promising. Although not yet widely used or commercially available, thanks to these advances, prosthetics can now mimic biological action and are now lighter, more flexible, more comfortable, and more durable to the user. As these advances further develop, the more expensive products become commercial. Upon graduation, I intend to help forge the path for availability while helping aid in the developmental process and design for hydraulic and pneumatic prosthetics so that advanced prosthetics may be available for the average user.

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.

Through the Thomas Wanke Legacy Fund Awards, the NFPA Education and Technology Foundation aims to increase both the number of students studying fluid power, and also the quality of fluid power education in our nation’s universities – two goals clearly aligned with and ennobled by Tom’s life and legacy.

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.