Makena Silvey | Montana State University-Northern
Makena Silvey | Montana State University-Northern
Wabtec Doubles Down on “Women of Wabtec” Scholarship
Wabtec, a longtime partner and supporter of MSU-Northern, recently finished funding their first scholarship for MSU-Northern students with the aim of increasing the diversity of Wabtec’s workforce. The “Women of Wabtec” (WOW) scholarship was created for female MSU-Northern students who are currently enrolled in the diesel technology program, are in good academic standing, and are involved with their community.
The inaugural recipient of the scholarship was Makena Silvey, a diesel technology student who finished her final semester at Northern in fall of 2022. Makena was interning for Wabtec at the time she was awarded the scholarship, and she was excited to be its first recipient. “I was really thankful for it because it helps cover a lot of tuition. It’s been really beneficial and very helpful, and it was very kind of them to do. It was a huge weight off my shoulders.” said Silvey.
Rick Reynolds, Wabtec’s Vice President of Field Service and Locomotive Maintenance, said that diversifying Wabtec’s workforce has been a long-term goal for the company, and that creating the Women of Wabtec scholarship is the first step toward making that happen. “I’ve been in the industry for 20 years, and we’re still not where we want to be from a diversity standpoint, most notably with our female employees. So last year, we took action, and we were able to provide a full-ride scholarship to MSU-Northern.”
For her part, Makena has enjoyed the opportunities that her internship and scholarship from Wabtec have provided her. She currently works for the company as a Material Technical Advisor, and handles materials, parts, and shipments. She hopes to continue her tenure with Wabtec, and to eventually move on to engine manufacturing with the company where she will build locomotive engines.
Reynolds says that awarding the scholarship to Makena brought wins across the board. “Makena graduated in December, and she’s already received a full-time employment offer from us, which she has accepted. We’re planning to refresh that scholarship in January, fund two new candidates, and see if we can do it all over again.” The Women of Wabtec scholarship represents one more instance of the strong continued partnership between MSUN and Wabtec that stretches back decades, and Northern is proud to supply our industry partners with high-quality graduates.
In December of 2022, Wabtec notified the MSU-Northern Foundation of its intent to provide $140,000 in scholarship funding over the next four years. The majority of those funds--$120,000—will fund two full-ride, four-year WOW scholarships, each valued at $60,000.
Wabtec also agreed to be the executive sponsor of the “We Love Northern Ball” for a $10,000 matching grant. On February 11th, 2023, the 230 attendees of the “Ball” pledged a total of $10,050 in less than eight minutes to match Wabtec’s generosity. This was the key fundraiser of the evening, and the “Ball” set a new record of more than $60,000 in revenue that night.
Wabtec also provided an additional $10,000 to the foundation for 2023, with $5,000 to support projects at the College of Technical Sciences and $5,000 for residence hall improvements.
Original source can be found here.
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