The Precision Metalforming Association Educational Foundation (PMAEF) and the Tennessee District of PMA are excited to announce the 2022 educational scholarship recipients! These recipients have shown an interest in continuing their careers in manufacturing through enrolling in academic courses or taking part in an apprenticeship/training program.

- PMA Educational Foundation: $500

- Tennessee District: $500

- Total: $1,000

Madison's father has been in construction since she was born. He works with her grandfather, who had started a small family foundation company. Growing up, a good portion of her time was spent with her dad in that office. Playing with the sand was for the next job, and building cardboard box boats are some of the memories that will stick with her for the rest of her life. She thought her dad was the coolest dad when he would pick her up in the big Ram flatbed truck. He always asked her, "Why do you want me to pick you up in that nasty thing?" She never gave him a straight-up answer and often changed the subject. Once she started to drive, there were no more rides in that truck. To help satisfy that lost feeling, every time her dad visited the hardware store, she would ask him to pick up the same air freshener he used in the truck to have one in her car. Still, to this day, the smell helps her relive that memory and satisfies her want to be in the work truck. 

After a long day, her father would be so embarrassed when he came home all beaten up and dirty. She never saw an issue with it; she would have thought he would want to flaunt that he had been doing some hard work. Madison never understood why she had felt that way until she was getting older and trying to figure out what she was doing with life. She did the regular senior thing, visiting colleges and going through the mental battle of figuring out what she would be doing for the rest of her life. Every campus she stepped onto would flood her body with an uneasy feeling. 

However, when Madison visited Arkansas Welding Acadamy, she knew where she needed to be and what she wanted to do with her life. She wanted to try welding as her first thing in trade because her close family and friends already have a foot in the welding world. On the way home from the visit, she was surprised to find out that her mom used to work with her grandfather and dad in the construction business. Madison is hoping to utilize the scholarship to give back to her dad.

- PMA Educational Foundation: $750

- Tennessee District: $750

- Total: $1,500

Humberto’s interest in manufacturing started like most students. He enjoys working with his hands and understanding how technology works. He was fortunate to take courses that involved PLCs, CNCs, and other industrial machinery during high school. These classes and professors made him realize that manufacturing is a possible career path. In his junior and senior years of high school, he did Co-ops during his last class of the day.

Another reason he chose to go into manufacturing engineering is because he enjoys robotics and automation. He and his partner were the state champions in a robotic and automation competition for SkillsUSA in high school. This is a big achievement for him because it was the first time he saw other students competing at such a level. Humberto believes he would be a good fit for this scholarship because of the time he has remaining in college. He plans to continue interning in different industries to gain more experience to go along with his formal education.

- PMA Educational Foundation: $500

- Tennessee District: $500

- Total: $1,000

William’s interest in machining stems from his aspirations of becoming a mechanical engineer, and learning how to properly machine is a fundamental step in that process. He plans to work as a mechanical engineer who mainly works on cars in the future. He has earned some awards throughout his education, such as the National Sojourners Award, Academic Achievement Award, and The Military Order of the Purple Heart Award. These awards demonstrate his dedication to whatever he does. With this scholarship, William hopes to help others with the knowledge he plans to gain while studying at college.

- PMA Educational Foundation: $500

- Tennessee District: $500

- Total: $1,000

Wesley's interest in manufacturing has evolved exponentially over the past 20 years in the industry. He began as an assembler/packer at a vinyl siding company and was quickly promoted to an extruder operator. After staying in this role for a few years, he decided to pursue the training he needed to become a maintenance technician. He enrolled and completed the Industrial Maintenance Technician program at Tennessee College of Applied Technology from 2014 to 2015. Since completing this program, he has worked in the industries of food service, military contracting for countermeasures, and now metal stamping, all of which have exposed him to different processes and equipment.  

Currently, Wesley is employed with Quality Metal Stamping in Henderson, TN, as the company's only controls technician, which didn't exist before his employment. In this role, he is responsible for maintaining all electrical equipment and many other maintenance-related issues as needed. His primary role in controls at this facility is the daily programming of Programmable Logic Controllers (PLC) and Human Machine Interfaces (HMI) for all machines. In addition, he programs the machines for improvements in functionality and efficiency. As a result, they can collect data and implement new ideas and processes to improve the overall productivity of their facility. 

Wesley's career plans and long-term aspirations are to become more valuable to his employer as an IoT (Internet of Things) specialist and a project engineer. In these roles, he would greatly benefit his employer by being able to see and improve upon the data they collect, the processes they use daily and become even more influential in implementing ideas for better productivity and efficiency. Wesley would enjoy working alongside engineering, maintenance, and tool makers to help improve upon the machines themselves to have a longer lifespan and be easier to work on and operate. He would immensely enjoy data analysis in the IoT role to improve many things from the beginning of the process to the customer in the way of time management, tracking and repeatability of quality.