WMIA Education Foundation Scholars for 2013
WMIA-Scholarships.JPG

The Wood Machinery Industry Association Foundation provides scholarships for talented and worthy students seeking careers in wood technology, machinery and related fields.

The 2013 WMIA Scholarship recipients are Brett Stickler, Christopher Cowles, Hunter Morrison, Jonathan Hamilton, and Michael Morrissey. The WMIA Educational Foundation accepts applications for its scholarship program each February.

2013 WMIA Education Foundation Scholarship Winners

WMIA Education Foundation Scholars for 2013Brett Stickler
I am currently enrolled as a sophomore at Pittsburg State University in Pittsburg, KS. There I am working towards getting a B.S degree in Wood Technology. Before college, I graduated from Douglass High School in Douglass, KS but before then I went to Rolla High School in Rolla, MO. In high school, I attended the Rolla Technical Institute in which I built two projects that placed first at the State Competition, and one proceeded on to the AWFS National Competition in Las Vegas and placed first in its category. After my freshman year of college I did an internship in St. James, Missouri at Cohen Architectural Woodworking which was a great learning experience. The internship pushed me to soak up every bit of knowledge I can about woodworking and it sent me back to Pittsburg State with a higher zeal for the art. I thank WMIA for awarding me a scholarship; without it my dream of pursuing an education in woodworking would not have happened.

WMIA Education Foundation Scholars for 2013Christopher Cowles
This is the second year Christopher Cowles will be receiving the WMIA Scholarship. Christopher is a senior at Western Michigan University studying to become a Woodworking Industrial Technology Instructor at the Secondary Education level. Christopher has a cumulative GPA of 3.6 and has been on Western Michigan University’s Dean’s list for six consecutive semesters and will graduate Cum Laude status after completion of student teaching in the Woodworking classroom at Comstock High School in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Christopher serves as a First Year Experience Seminar Co-instructor for WMU, is an for the Kalamazoo Peace Center, a New Product Development Engineer Intern at Getman Corporation and also holds various other student work positions for the university while being a full time student. After college he hopes to find a teaching position where he can inspire young adults to find an interest in Woodworking and Industrial Technology career paths and be able to fill his woodshop with help from WMIA!

WMIA Education Foundation Scholars for 2013Hunter Morrison
My name is Hunter Morrison and I am finishing my degree in Wood Technology at Pittsburg State University, after which I plan to attend graduate school to further my education. Once I complete school I would like to have my own business building fine furniture. I have been taking classes in woodworking since my freshman year of high school and have even won several awards for my projects including one for a segmented table made from maple, purple heart, and blood wood. It consisted of approximately 1,200 pieces and was turned on a lathe. Outside of school I am very active with hobbies that include snowboarding, rock climbing, pole vault, hunting, mountain biking, hiking, camping, and wood turning.

WMIA Education Foundation Scholars for 2013Jonathan Hamilton
I am Jonathan Hamilton, a senior at Hebron High School, in Carrollton, Texas. I plan on attending Pittsburg State University in Kansas in the fall majoring in Wood Technology. My Junior and Senior year of high school, I took woodworking classes at the Dale Jackson Career Center. The classes were interesting and I found that I had a natural aptitude for working with wood. The summer of my junior year, my team and I entered the WoodLINKS Ready to Assemble (RTA) competition and won 2nd place National. I was also selected to work at PIN Inc. last summer where I learned more about a career in Wood Technology. As a hobby, I enjoy turning wood on a lathe to create pens. I have created many versions of wood pens as gifts and for sale to friends and family. I am excited about pursuing a career in Wood Technology where I can work in a field that I truly enjoy. I am honored to be a recipient of the WMIA Educational Scholarship and appreciate your support.

WMIA Education Foundation Scholars for 2013Michael Morrissey
My name is Michael Morrissey; I am currently a junior at Pittsburg State University studying wood technology. I started into woodworking my junior year of high school and haven’t been able to stop since then. I have worked at a custom molding shop called Old World Woodworking, and will be interning at Brochsteins in Houston, TX this summer. I hope to be able to go into project management, or possibly even engineering and design. I really enjoy AutoCAD, but I also like to be able to get out into the shop and make things myself. In the two years that I have been at Pittsburg State I have learned so much about so many different things and I am eager to continue learning more. I would like to thank WMIA for continuing to give me support that allows me to attend such an excellent school.

Learn more, or donate to, the WMIA Education Foundation.

Have something to say? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.