$100,000 in Scholarships Awarded at MCAA25, Plus McMaster University Crowned as Champions of the MCAA Student Chapter Competition

Twenty-three students were recognized with a variety of scholarships and for the first time, the scholarship total reached $100,000! McMaster University emerged as the victors for the Student Chapter Competition and returned to campus with a $10,000 prize, sponsored by DEWALT Industrial Tool Company, following their Final Four presentation at MCAA25. The MVP – Most Valuable Presenter was awarded to Parker Jenkins from Pittsburg State University.   

Pittsburg State University was selected as the 2024-2025 Student Chapter of the Year (also going home with $10,000) and their faculty advisor, Shannon Nicklaus, was recognized as the Educator of the Year with a $5,000 award. Two new chapters were also chartered at the MCAA Awards of Excellence Breakfast on Monday, March 5^th.

JRGF Scholarships

Brian Helm, President of the John R. Gentille Foundation (JRGF), congratulated the recipients of the following scholarships at the Awards of Excellence Breakfast at MCAA25. He noted that the students receiving scholarships were selected for their academic performance, leadership skills within their chapter, and interest in developing a career in the mechanical industry.

ATP Inspiring Future Leaders Scholarship
Kaleb Kruse of Kansas State University is the recipient of a $2,500 scholarship provided by ATP Learning Solutions. The scholarship was established to recognize, support and inspire students in the mechanical industry.

Robert J. Durr, Sr. – UA/NCPWB Partnering Scholarship
Garvey France of Purdue University received a $2,500 scholarship check in honor of Robert J. Durr, Sr., former chairman of the National Certified Pipe Welding Bureau Board of Trustees. Robert’s effort and dedication in creating a partnership between the United Association and the NCPWB resulted in the formation of the Joint Welder Testing Program. The scholarship is in its third year and is sponsored by the NCPWB.

Josam Endowed Scholarship
Tyler Currie of Alfred State College was awarded a $2,500 endowed scholarship. Provided that all qualification are met, Tyler will receive this scholarship again during his junior and senior years. Josam Company established this scholarship endowment to assist a student studying a major related to MCAA’s scope, who intends on pursuing a career within the mechanical contracting industry.

Ann Mattheis Memorial Scholarship
Daniel Kellen of Iowa State University was awarded a $2,500 scholarship in memory of the former MCAA Director of Career Development, Ann Mattheis. Ann’s dedication and contributions to building the GreatFutures program left an enduring legacy for multiple decades of students and for the overall members of MCAA. 

Alan P. O’Shea Memorial Scholarships 
Braidyn Hudson and Preston McDonald, both from Indiana State University, each received a $2,500 scholarship check in memory of Alan P. O’Shea, former Executive Director of the MCA of New Jersey. The scholarship is sponsored by MCA of New Jersey.

Robert T. Armistead Memorial Scholarships
Gina Carnovale of Kent State University and Bruno Portes of Fairleigh Dickinson University both received a $5,000 scholarship in memory of Robert “Bob” Armistead. In honor of Bob’s service as MCAA President, the selected winners are required to have served in the role as their local student chapter President. These scholarships were established by Armistead Mechanical, Inc. and the Family of Robert T. Armistead.

William A. Bianco, Jr. Memorial Scholarship 
Gabriel Biagioni of California State University, Chico received a $5,000 scholarship check in memory of a former President of the foundation and MCAA Distinguished Service Award (DSA) recipient, William A. “Bill” Bianco, Jr. The scholarship is sponsored by Kinetics.

The Bolton Family Scholarship
Shelby Gustafson of California State University, Chico was awarded a $5,000 scholarship to honor the significant contributions the Boltons have provided to the construction industry.  This scholarship honors the family’s dedicated volunteer work within the communities they serve in Rhode Island, notably their efforts in aiding children from Spanish and Portuguese-speaking backgrounds in mastering the English language within the school system and their improvement with the Ronald McDonald House. The scholarship embodies the values of service, community engagement and support for those in need that have been integral to the Bolton family’s legacy.

Donald V. Brown, Sr. Memorial Scholarship
Griffin Souder from Pittsburg State University is the recipient of a $5,000 scholarship sponsored by D.V. Brown and Associates, Inc., and in memory of its founder, Donald V. Brown, Senior.

DEWALT Patriot Scholarships
The DEWALT Patriot Scholarships, now in their fourth year, were created to recognize two veterans of the United States military who have valiantly served their country and have chosen to enter a career related to mechanical contracting. Thank you to DEWALT Industrial Tool Company for honoring our military and to our scholarship recipients for their service. Jaden Doebelin of Iowa State University (Iowa Army National Guard – Sergeant E-5 Military Occupational Special, Indirect Infantryman 11C) and Jeffrey Woodard of the University of Nebraska (United States Navy Hospital Corpsman Third Class- Fleet Marine Force Enlisted Warfare Specialist at 2^nd Marine Division) each received a $5,000 scholarship.   

EVAPCO, Inc. Engineering Scholarships
Yulien Liz of Fairleigh Dickinson University and Jennifer Tartaglia from the University of Maryland, College Park each received a $5,000 scholarship. EVAPCO, Inc. designed this new scholarship to recognize students whose goal is to pursue a degree in Mechanical Engineering or Civil Engineering, or a field of study relevant to mechanical contracting / equipment manufacturing that supports the mechanical industry.

FERGUSON – Women in the Mechanical Industry Scholarships
Olivia Kiefer from Iowa State University and Sophia Bernard from the University of Maryland, College Park each received a $5,000 scholarship, sponsored by Ferguson, to recognize high-achieving female students working towards a degree relative to the mechanical industry. The two students will also be invited to attend the WiMI Conference in Kansas City this June.

Geiling Family Scholarship
This new $5,000 scholarship was presented to Drew Figura from the University of Nebraska. This scholarship supports students pursuing careers in the plumbing and mechanical trades, helping to develop the next generation of industry leaders. The establishment of the scholarship represents a commitment to investing in the future of the plumbing and mechanical contracting community.

Foster McCarl, Jr. Memorial Scholarship 
Kyla Magee from the University of Nebraska received a $5,000 scholarship check in memory of the founder of our foundation, Foster McCarl, Jr.  

Reilly Family Memorial Scholarship
Brady Thompson from the University of Nebraska received a scholarship check for $5,000 in honor of Wayne, Emmett and Patrick Reilly. The John W. Danforth Company is the sponsor of the scholarship.

Trimble Future Estimator Scholarship
Kavan Limbasiya of Pittsburg State University received a $5,000 check for a scholarship that was developed to recognize a student who is not only interested in mechanical contracting, but specifically someone with an interest in being a mechanical estimator upon graduation. Trimble is the sponsor of the scholarship and has also donated complimentary use of the Trimble Estimation MEP software for our student chapter competition teams for the past few years.

Viega – Scholarship
Parker Jenkins of Pittsburg State University was the recipient of a $5,000 scholarship sponsored by Viega. Viega has graciously sponsored student chapter activities at the MCAA Convention for many years. The Viega scholarship is now in its third year.

Thomas J. Wanner Scholarship
Aidan Wolownik of Pittsburg State University received a $5,000 scholarship check in honor of former MCA/MSCA of Cleveland Executive Director, Thomas J. Wanner.  This scholarship is in its fourth year and is sponsored by MCA/MSCA of Cleveland. 

Educator of the Year

Shannon Nicklaus, faculty advisor for Pittsburg State University, was recognized as the 2024-2025 Educator of the Year. He was selected for this honor based on his mentoring, mechanical industry knowledge, chapter activity participation, and involvement in the creation of student-focused networking opportunities with local mechanical contractors through their MCAA Affiliate, MCA of Kansas City. In addition to a trophy, he received a $5,000 award.

Student Chapter of the Year

Pittsburg State University was selected as the 2024-2025 Student Chapter of the Year. Their faculty advisor is Shannon Nicklaus and Affiliate Association is the MCA of Kansas City. The Career Development Committee chose the winner based on a rubric that evaluates industry-specific educational opportunities, fundraising and community service efforts, recruitment tactics, and most importantly, mechanical contracting interest. Pittsburg State University received a trophy and a $10,000 award.

MCAA Student Chapter Competition

McMaster University won the top prize of $10,000 and a trophy for their outstanding work on this year’s Student Chapter Competition project, which involved submitting a proposal as the prime mechanical contractor for the MCAA Medical Research Project in New York City.  This included all piping, HVAC, Controls and additional work required by the bid documents.

New this year, we thank DEWALT Industrial Tool Company for sponsoring the prize money for the Student Chapter Competition.

It is also with gratitude that we thank Fresh Meadow Mechanical Corporation for supplying the project and our project partners Procore, Trimble and Ferguson for supplying real-life learning resources to the student participants.

California State University, Chico was the runner-up, placing second, and received a trophy and check for $5,000.

California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo and Pittsburg State University rounded out the final four. Each of these Honorable Mention finalists received a trophy and $2,500. Honorable mentions are listed in alphabetical order.

Six additional teams that just missed the final four were recognized with Merit Trophies and checks for $1,000. They are, in alphabetical order: 

• Fairleigh Dickinson University
• Indiana State University
• Kansas State University
• Kent State University
• University of Manitoba
• University of Wisconsin–Stout

Most Valuable Presenter

The Career Development Committee recognized the student who did the best job presenting their proposal, whether or not their team won. The audience members voted via a polling link between Final Four presentations and ultimately Parker Jenkins of Pittsburg State University was awarded a trophy, a $500 gift card, a complimentary seat in MCAA’s Preparatory Institute for Project Management (Pre-IPM), and the title of 2024-2025 Most Valuable Presenter. 

Student Chapter Charters

MCAA is proud of the substantial investments that all of us are making to further the education of the outstanding students represented in the student chapters. Two new chapters were chartered during the Awards of Excellence Breakfast at MCAA25:

Congratulations to all MCAA25 award winners and scholarship recipients!