FAMA Awards Scholarship to California Student
The Fire Apparatus Manufacturers’ Association has awarded its 2014 Phillip L. Turner Fire Protection Scholarship to California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo student Gary Dominguez.
Dominguez graduated from University of California Santa Cruz with a degree in Business Management and Economics. He is currently a Fire Protection Engineering Graduate Student at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, and maintains a 3.925 GPA.
He received the $5,000 scholarship in recognition of his outstanding academic achievement and commitment to the fire service. The award is given annually by FAMA and has been sponsored since 2009 by FAMA member Akron Brass Co., a worldwide marketer and manufacturer of high performance life-safety, fire fighting and emergency rescue equipment.
A presentation was made at the FAMA Technical Committee meeting held in conjunction with the Fire-Rescue International conference in Dallas, TX. During the application review process, the FAMA Education Committee asked, “Why this person?” Gary mentioned in his application that, “My Dad was a career firefighter and retired as a Fire Chief. I grew up in the fire world and knew I wanted to be a part of it. It was my aspiration as well as my life goal to become a firefighter,” noted Dominguez.
However, after graduating with a 4-year degree from UCSC he injured his knees prohibiting him from becoming a career firefighter. He now is moving forward with a career in the fire protection field.
“His goal is to be a Fire Protection Engineer,” stated Lou Milanovich, FAMA Education Committee co-chair. “The funds from this scholarship will help Gary pay for his schooling to finish his final year of the Fire Protection Engineering MS program at Cal Poly SLO,” noted Milanovich.
"Akron Brass is honored to sponsor the Phillip L. Turner Scholarship. Education is a key part of the philosophy at Akron Brass, and we feel it is our responsibility to provide individuals like Gary an opportunity to build the critical skills and knowledge to be successful in life and as leaders within the fire and emergency service industry," stated Dave Durstine, Vice President for Akron Brass. "On behalf of FAMA, we wish Gary much success in his future endeavors."
About FAMA
The Fire Apparatus Manufacturers’ Association is a non-profit trade association committed to enhancing the quality of the emergency service community through the manufacture and sale of safe, efficient emergency-response vehicles and equipment. For more information, visit www.fama.org.
