Welding Student Awarded Three Scholarships

A student at Pennsylvania College of Technology has earned three scholarships totaling $5,500 to further his welding education and is among 10 Penn College students receiving scholarships from the American Welding Society.

Kenneth A. Ellis, Williamsport, is a senior pursuing a bachelor's degree in Welding and Fabrication Engineering Technology. He received two scholarships from the AWS and earned another from the Fabricators and Manufacturers Association Foundation.

The AWS Foundation awarded district-level scholarships to 10 Penn College students. In addition to Ellis, they are: Eric J. Belokostolsky, Warwick, N.Y.; Sara M. Crawford, Eldred; Gregory J. Gerwitz, Cuba, N.Y.; Nathan D. Graver, Emmaus; Justin D. Grimminger, RR 3 Altoona; Brian J. Hebert, Kennebunk, Maine; Dominick F. Newberry, Greenfield Township; Timothy J. Schanken, Westminster, Md.; and Derek A. Weeks, Floyd, Va.

Penn College students received all five $1,000 scholarships awarded by District 3 of the AWS, which includes central and eastern Pennsylvania along with Maryland and Washington, D.C. "It demonstrates the confidence the AWS has in the type of students that are being turned out at Penn College," Ellis said.

In addition to a $1,000 AWS District 3 Scholarship, Ellis competed on the national level to earn the Arsham Amirikian Engineering Scholarship from the AWS Foundation. The $2,500 memorial scholarship honors Amirikian, who was one of the most innovative civil engineers of his time. It is one of 18 national-level scholarships awarded by the AWS Foundation.

Ellis also earned a $2,000 Begneaud Upperclass College Scholarship from the Fabricators & Manufacturers Association Foundation. It is one of five scholarship awards made by the FMA Foundation to college students.

Formerly a high-school welding instructor at the Carroll County Career and Technology Center in Maryland, Ellis relocated to Williamsport to earn a bachelor's degree. As a teacher, he had encouraged several of his students to attend Penn College and decided to enroll when he saw their success in landing high-paying jobs.

Ellis is the vice chair for the AWS student chapter at Penn College and is a member of the FMA. He completed a summer internship at CNH, the company that manufactures Case and New Holland agricultural and construction equipment.

For more information about the academic programs offered at the School of Industrial and Engineering Technologies at Penn College, call (570) 327-4520, send e-mail or visit online.