"GO-Brennan" Scholarship Winners

Students Fabricate on YouTube.com for Scholarships

In February, the FMA Foundation established ten scholarships of $500 each to students seeking careers in manufacturing. The "GO-Brennan" Scholarships are tied to FMA's sponsorship of 16-year-old stock car driver Brennan Palmiter's 2008 racing season. Brennan, of New Smyrna Beach, Fla., is proficient in four types of welding, a skill he uses to motivate other young people to consider the industrial trades.

To kick off the program, Brennan appeared in a video on YouTube inviting high school, trade school, and college students to apply for the scholarships. The application process was quite untraditional: students created and posted their own videos explaining why they want to be in manufacturing, what career they seek, and where they want to attend school. They were also encouraged to include footage of themselves fabricating or welding metal.

The FMA Foundation is proud to announce the six scholarship winners. To view the winning videos, go here.

Brian Freeman is a young tube and pipe guru and a freshman at The University of Central Missouri, where he's majoring in industrial engineering technology. He likes to be in the shop and work with his hands. Brian's been welding and fabricating since his junior year in high school. His video shows a full-size dragster chassis that he built and had inspected and certified by the National Hot Rod Association. His goal is to be an industrial engineer in the heavy equipment or automotive field.

Alanna Cummings is studying sheet metal fabricating at Long Beach City College in Long Beach, Calif. In her video she displays the tools she used to cut, bend, and hammer sheet metal into a transition elbow for ductwork, a louver panel, and a toolbox. She also displays a copper enclosure with side artwork she crafted with a plaster cutter, and a copper water fountain with a slate backboard for the water to trickle down. Alanna's career goal is to become a journeyman, but first she needs to complete her associate degree at Long Beach City College. She has two children to look after, and believes that a good education and career will help make meeting her responsibilities a little easier.

Justin Johnson, is also taking classes in sheet metal at Long Beach City College in Long Beach, Calif. In his video he displays several items he's fabricated: duct fittings, a shepherd's pole for hanging plants, some decorative plant tables, a birdhouse, and a toolbox. This fall he'll be attending mechanical engineering classes as well as classes for MIG, TIG, arc, and oxyacetylene welding. His career goal is to be a project manager.

Kevin Delyser is a student at Wayne Technical Career Center in Williamson, N.Y. He's taking a metal trades class focusing on machining and welding. In his video he shows several items he's fabricated, including a vice and a drill gauge. Kevin also finds time to work at a machine shop as a CNC operator and setup person. This fall he'll be attending Monroe Community College in Rochester, N.Y.

Dave Larson also attends Wayne Technical Career Center in Williamson, N.Y. In his video, he shows off a vacuum chamber for taxidermy that he made using his machining and welding skills. He's currently employed at a tool shop where he's the only welder; he's been there since high school and works six days a week. Starting in September, Dave will be attending the welding program at Alfred State College / SUNY College of Technology in New York. His goal is to earn a degree in structural steel welding and make a career of building bridges, towers, and other "big stuff."

Gary Lawrence is taking classes in metal trades motorsports fabrication at Wayne Technical Career Center in Williamson, N.Y. He demonstrates on video how to turn a piece of aluminum with a 1/2" end mill and a Bridgeport milling machine. He also mills a part with a flag cutter he made himself, and shows us a pool cue made from 1-1/4" aluminum he turned down on a lathe. Gary is currently completing an internship in the CNC department at a local company. He's been accepted to Motorcycle Mechanics Institute in Phoenix, Ariz., where he'll start this September. His goal is to open his own shop and fabricate custom parts for motorcycles and eventually build custom choppers.