ESAB Announces Recipients of AWS Foundation Scholarships

ESAB today announced that 11 recipients have received scholarships in the amount of $5,000 each from the American Welding Society Foundation. ESAB made the scholarships possible through collaboration with the AWS Foundation, which supports students working towards welding certifications, associate, and baccalaureate welding degrees.

“The scholarships, made possible through the ESAB Future Fabricators program, allow students to focus on education and training rather than the burden of paying for school,” says Eleanor Lukens, President of the Americas, ESAB. “AWS estimates that we need to fill an average of 82,500 welding jobs annually between now and 2028. Our support of the AWS Foundation scholarship program demonstrates our commitment to providing solutions for the welder shortage and shows how industry can positively impact students, educational institutions and manufacturing in America.”

“The AWS Foundation is proud to partner with ESAB to award scholarships to welding students across the country. By investing in their education and training, we are fostering their personal and professional growth while also helping to build a stronger, more capable workforce for the future,” said Monica Pfarr, Executive Director, AWS Foundation. After making donations to the AWS Foundation since the early 1990s, ESAB and the AWS Foundation established the current scholarships in 2021.

Student Success

The 2024-2025 ESAB AWS Scholarship winners are Samual Curley, Pennsylvania College of Technology; Chad Cutlip, Northampton County Area Community College; Deric Donovan, Central New Mexico Community College; Robert Gravel, Hill College; Nicholas Hutchison, Tidewater Tech; Kyle Nothstein, Pennsylvania College of Technology; Gage Orme, Brigham Young University-Idaho; Cody Sype, Ferris State University; Paul Wakeman, Texas State Technical College Waco; Joseph Wood, Brigham Young University-Idaho; Madison Yingling, Pennsylvania College of Technology.

“This scholarship will significantly help me during the second year of my welding engineering program at Ferris State University,” says Cody Sype, student at Ferris State University. “I am currently working at an internship this summer with Newport News Shipbuilding after finishing my freshman year. After my graduation in 2027, I plan to build my experience in the Shipbuilding Industry as a welding engineer, being an essential part of the shipbuilding process to protect our troops.”

“I am very passionate about welding,” says Nicholas Hutchinson, Tidewater Tech. “The ESAB scholarship will help me pay for my education, and it has taken a pressure off when it comes to pursuing my career as a TIG welder for Space X.”

“The cost of college can be stressful, but helpful companies such as ESAB make it possible for students to focus on their education and achieve their goals,” says Madison Yingling, Pennsylvania College of Technology. “After four years of school, I plan to join a company as a weld engineer, which would not be possible without support like I have received from ESAB.” 

ESAB developed its Future Fabricators Program for aspiring welders and fabricators to provide tools, equipment, scholarships, training and educational materials to technical and trade education programs from high schools to four-year welding engineering programs across North America. To read more inspiring stories from the 2024-25 scholarship winners and to learn more about ESAB’s support for welding education, visit ESAB’s Future Fabricators web page.