Meet a Fluid Power Scholarship Winner – Marco Vanoni

The NFPA Education and Technology Foundation has awarded 23 $2,000 scholarships to students pursuing fluid power related fields of study.

One of the winners, Marco Vanoni, is attending Michigan State University. We asked Marco a few questions about winning the scholarship.

What does winning a Fluid Power Scholarship mean to you?

Winning the Fluid Power Scholarship proves to myself that I can achieve my dreams. It shows to me that someone else besides myself believes that I have potential and that makes me want to never give up. It truly means the world to me.

Why did you choose to learn about fluid power?
I was first introduced to fluid power when I was learning about my great uncle Vito. He was a student and professor at CalTech a long time ago and he specialized in sedimentation engineering. He was the first person in my family to go to college and he was an inspiration to my father who often tells me stories about him.

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

It has been my life goal to work in Formula One for at least a little while during my life because I have a huge passion for motorsport. But I would also generally like to work with something that helps the environment. There are many fluid power opportunities in each of these fields that I would love.


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 or mentor a robotics team as they work towards incorporating pneumatics in their designs. This year 16 judges from 13 NFPA member companies reviewed 50 student applications to the Fluid Power Scholarship program. If you are interested in learning more, please contact Haley Nemeth at hnemeth@nfpa.com.

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