Meet a Fluid Power Scholarship Winner – Michael Castiglia

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, Michael Castiglia, is attending the University of Central Florida. We asked Michael a few questions about winning the scholarship.

What does winning a Fluid Power Scholarship mean to you?

Being awarded this scholarship further confirms to me that others are able to see my promise in this career field. Receiving this scholarship speaks louder than most anything else in this regard since, as the saying goes, the scholarship committee has put its money where its mouth is, demonstrating their faith in my continued success. The confidence that this gives me will help me push forward with doing more throughout and after my degree.

Why did you choose to learn about fluid power?
I first chose to learn about fluid power after a side comment from one of my physics professors on an application of fluid dynamics. As I was using it as an application for what was being taught in class, I realized just how powerful it could be and started to explore the concept further. Now, the more I learn about its uses in industry, the more I know that I want to work with it in some capacity.

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

Although my career aspirations are not concrete as of yet, I hope to eventually work for an equipment manufacturer. Before I do this, however, I plan on completing a graduate degree so that I can gain more experience in the field and come in with a more specific role than I would be able to without that degree. Based on my career aspirations, I believe this plan would work best for my specific situation.

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. 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.