Meet a Fluid Power Scholarship Winner – Mason Maile

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, Mason Maile, is attending NFPA Power Partner, the Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE). We asked Mason a few questions about winning the scholarship.

What does winning a Fluid Power Scholarship mean to you?

As far back as I can remember, I have been tinkering with machines and taking apart mechanisms to understand how they work. Likewise, as my high school career started coming to a close I had the deep desire to go onto college to study in the field of mechanical engineering. A desire which has been made possible in great part do to the generosity of associations like the NFPA. Thus, winning the Fluid Power Scholarship, to me, represents opportunity as it has enabled me to pursue an education in mechanical engineering without the lurking worry of student debt.

Why did you choose to learn about fluid power?
My curiosity in fluid power was first sparked while spending summers helping on my grandfather’s farm where the tractors I used relied heavily upon hydrologic systems to function. I was amazed seeing the exuberant amount of weight the tractor’s hydraulics could effortlessly lift and move around. As I entered into high school, I then continued to learn about fluid power systems through the various engineering courses I took.

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

Having a deep rooted passion for C.A.D and hard surface modeling, I look forward to pursuing a degree in mechanical engineering at MSOE. After college, however, I would love to obtain a job designing heavy machinery or tractors. Many of which optimize fluid power as an essential component. I find the sheer amount of work large machines can perform fascinating, and as a result feel a mechanical engineering career in such an industry would be equally amazing.

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.