UNK student wins ISA scholarship
The Industrial Supply Association (ISA) announced that University of Nebraska at Kearney student Taylor Beck was chosen to receive the 2013-14 Gary L. Buffington Memorial Scholarship.
Beck is pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Distribution with a minor in military science, and is scheduled to graduate in May 2014. She is a member of UNK’s Army Reserve Officer Training Course (ROTC), the Nebraska National Guard, Epsilon Pi Tau honor society, and played on the UNK women’s basketball team in 2011-2012.
“I have known Taylor for the past three years as her advisor and instructor in two upper division classes. She has excellent leadership skills that have been observed in several different areas on campus,” said James L. Toppen, associate professor in the UNK Industrial Distribution program. “Taylor is a member of the University of Nebraska at Kearney’s ROTC. She has continued to advance in rank. She completed her summer training experiences with excellent scores. These leadership skills have carried over in several other areas.”
Beck has been active in the school’s student Industrial Distribution Organization, serving as a mentor to younger female students, and also participated in the campus-wide Big Event, an annual community outreach project where students helped restore the Nebraska Firefighters Museum. She also volunteers to present the colors during the playing of the national anthem at campus sporting events.
During the summer of 2012, Beck participated in an internship program at Consolidated Electrical Distributors (CED) in Omaha, Neb. “I will say that Taylor was quite possibly the hardest working, most willing intern that I have had the pleasure of supervising,” said John Anderson, profit center manager with CED Omaha.
To help prepare for a management career in distribution, Beck has taken several classes on leadership as part of her ROTC training and through the ID program.
“Every day I walk out of this class thinking in a different way about how to solve a problem,” she said about a class on leadership in business and technology. “It has made me evaluate myself in terms of what kind of leader I want to be and I have gained more confidence by knowing what I want to do.”
The Gary L. Buffington Memorial Scholarship was created in 2003 as a memorial to former I.D.A. Executive Vice President Gary Buffington. It is awarded each year to a rising senior in a qualified undergraduate industrial distribution program. The ISA Educational Foundation selection committee evaluates candidates from colleges with programs in industrial distribution.
The ISA Educational Foundation will award the $10,000 scholarship during the opening session of the ISA Product Show & Conference in San Diego on June 1.
Companies or individuals that wish to contribute to the Gary L. Buffington Memorial Scholarship fund may do so by submitting a check payable to the ISA Educational Foundation and mailing it to: ISA, 100 North 20th Street, Suite 400, Philadelphia, PA 19103.
INDUSTRIAL SUPPLY MAGAZINE
The March/April issue of Industrial Supply magazine features an in-depth cover story about Joyce Lansdale and Vallen. Plus, we're featuring articles by contributing writers Dirk Beveridge, Frank Hurtte, and David Kahle, as well as interviews with numerous product and distribution industry experts.
