Dri-Air Industries, Inc., East Windsor, Connecticut, in conjunction with UMass Lowell, Lowell, Massachusetts, have announced the two recipients of the Charles F. Sears Endowed Scholarship, Zubin Pinkham and Ferry Irawan.
Zubin Pinkham was the first recipient of the scholarship, recently earning his master’s degree in plastics engineering from UMass Lowell, and prior to, his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering. In between those two programs, Pinkham served for five years as an infantryman in the United States Army. While serving, he was assigned to the 173rd Airborne Brigade and the 82nd Airborne Division with whom he spent six months in Afghanistan.
“This scholarship will allow me to focus even harder on my academics and achieving success as a student. I’d like to thank you again for your generosity and assure you that this scholarship has gone to a deserving and appreciative student,” Pinkham said.
Since graduation, he has moved to Minneapolis where he is currently employed as a plastics engineer at Trane Technologies. In his role, Pinkham serves as a subject matter expert in plastics and support teams in new product development, procurement and manufacturing. Additionally, he was named Massachusetts National Guard Non-Commissioned Officer of the Year for 2022 after winning the state’s Soldier of the Year competition in March and received a promotion to the rank of staff sergeant.
Ferry Irawan was selected as the second recipient, and he said: “I am honored and pleased to receive this scholarship; therefore, I want to take this time to express my gratitude for the opportunities it will provide me towards my educational journey. Your generosity and contribution are greatly appreciated. I am very fortunate to be in the position where I could conquer my dream of becoming an engineer at UMass Lowell.”
As someone who grew up in a less privileged community and was raised by a single mother who never finished middle school, attending college was only a pipe dream for Irawan. Scholarship opportunities such as this one opened doors for him to achieve the impossible.
Throughout Irawan’s undergraduate study at UMass Lowell and co-op experiences, he found a passion in the medical device development field, particularly for surgical tools and implants. An honor for Irawan, he can now further his education at the graduate level.
Irawan further commented, “Thank you again for your generous support to the UMass Lowell scholarship program and your contribution certainly has inspired me to give back to the community in the future. Hopefully, it will be in a form of a scholarship to help other hard-working students who are in financial burden.”
For more information, visit www.dri-air.com.
