The 2003 Robert Bercaw Scholarship is awarded to Trevor Gene Campbell of Indianola, Iowa.  A recent  graduate of Indianola High School and Central Campus in Des Moines, Trevor has been active in sports and church activities along with being employed while attending school.  Trevor was also awarded the Senior Achievement Award in Welding at Central Campus, recognizing his outstanding achievement and completion of the full Central Campus program. 

“Trevor is a very hard worker and role model for other class members,” says Ralph T. Young, Central Campus Welding Instructor.  “He has a very good work ethic that has helped him see a purpose for learning and perfecting various [welding] techniques.” 

Trevor has participated in wrestling for eleven years and this year was his 4^th year qualifying for the State Wrestling Tournament.  He has also been active in the youth program, encouraging and motivating younger students. 

“The endurance and confidence wresting brings has been most helpful to me,” Trevor comments. “I have learned to focus independently and am very driven, self-disciplined, and dependable.”

Those same traits have earned him accolades from his supervisors at work and at school.  Some of the jobs he has performed include laying sod for a landscape company, pouring cement, farming, building bridges for a large construction company, working at the Iowa State Fair Waste Management Company, and many other jobs.  In the summer, it isn’t unusual for him to work 16-hour days.   

“Trevor is a very hard worker, willing and quick to learn, pitches in to help without being told, and does above and beyond what is asked of him,” says David Glascock, one of his employers.  “His work ethics are very good and he carries a maturity about him that is above his age.”

“Trevor very much wants to attend school and graduate with a welding degree.  He is a very goal oriented young man who sets goals and works hard to attain them,” says Wesley D. Creason, Athletic Director at Bondurant High School and Trevor’s former coach.

Trevor is the son of Glenda Campbell of Indianola, Iowa, and Bryan Campbell of Kansas.  Bryan is also a welder.  

Of his goals for the future, Trevor says, “After completing courses at the Hobart Institute, I plan on working very hard for several years and hope to have the chance to teach others how to search for their dreams within their welding future.”

The Robert Bercaw Scholarship is one of three scholarships awarded each year at the Hobart Institute of Welding Technology.  Robert Bercaw was the first welding instructor for the Hobart welding school in 1930 and dedicated much of his life to establishing excellence in welding education.  Candidates for the scholarship must have graduated from high school within the past seven years or have obtained a G.E.D. equivalent in that time.  Scholarships are awarded for the twenty-one week Structural Welding Program and must be applied toward tuition.  They do not include room, board, equipment, or supplies.  Once a scholarship is awarded, the winner will be notified by HIWT and given a choice of starting dates within a five-month period based on the HIWT scheduled starting dates for classes.  If the winner does not enroll within that five month period, the scholarship will be canceled and awarded to the second most qualified individual as determined by the independent Selection Committee.  Individuals may apply for only one scholarship in a twelve month period and current HIWT students are ineligible.  

The two other scholarships are the Howard B. Cary Scholarship (application deadline August 1) and the Raymond C. Dunlavy Scholarship (application deadline December 1).   The Hobart Institute also honors scholarships awarded by other organizations or individuals including the American Welding Society, the Joseph Capra Scholarship, and scholarships that are presented on a local basis.  The Hobart Institute does not discriminate on the basis of disability, race, color, religion, sex, national origin, or age.  Application brochures may be obtained from the Institute web site at http://www.welding.org/scholarship.pdf or by calling 1-800-332-9448, ext.5215 or (937) 332-5215.