ADRIAN — Adrian College sophomore student-athlete David Dell was recently named one of five winners of the 2024 PTDA (Power Transmission Distributors Association) Foundation scholarship, earning $3,000 to use toward his education where he studies mechanical engineering and physics.
Other scholarship recipients include Josh Bourbeau, Bismarck State College; Justin Christensen, University of Nebraska Kearney; Cayden Palmer, Frostburg State University; and Ria Sharma, Texas A&M University, according to ptworkforce.org.
The PTDA Foundation is committed to the recruitment of skilled professionals in the power transmission and motion control (PT/MC) industry. They have exhibited their dedication to the rise of new, proficient minds by introducing two scholarship programs to help employers and students further their talent and education.
“We developed the PTDA Foundation scholarships to promote the study of a power transmission or motion control related field in engineering, technology or business. The PTDA Foundation was pleased by the reception and the number of employee and student scholarship applications received for our inaugural year of this program,” Matt Pavlinsky, PTDA foundation president said in a news release from Adrian College.
The $3,000 in scholarship funding can be used to support each recipient’s pursuit of education in a PT/MC related field. Applications for 2025 scholarships will be available in January.
“I am math-minded, and mechanical engineering seemed like the perfect field for me to contribute to an industry like this,” Dell, who everyone knows as “Deller” or “DD,” said. “After graduation, I hope to work for a bearing and power transmission manufacturer. I look forward to completing my studies and entering the profession with the hope that I will be able to make a meaningful contribution to the industry that has been such a big part of my life experience.”
Dell plans to graduate in the spring of 2027.
The PTDA Foundation, whose work is funded solely by donations, was founded in 1982. Its core purpose is to champion education, outreach and research initiatives relevant to the PT/MC industry that enhance the knowledge and/or professionalism and productivity for industry stakeholders.
In addition to his academic honor, Dell also has earned the opportunity to represent Team USA at the 2025 FISU World University Winter Games in Torino, Italy — an international multi-sport event, organized for university athletes by the International University Sports Federation — alongside two of his hockey teammates.
Subscribe Now:For all the latest local developments, breaking news, and high school and college sports content.
Dell, Sebastian Smith, senior; and Dylan Gajewski, junior, will hit the ice for Team USA Men’s National Team. All three will represent Adrian College’s American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) Division 1 hockey team. Emily Baldus, also from Adrian College, will join the team as athletic trainer, and Gary Astalos will lead on the bench as the national team’s head coach.
The complete roster, which includes three goaltenders, seven defensemen and 13 forwards, is comprised of players that compete in American Collegiate Hockey Association Men’s Division I.
The U.S. Men’s National University Team begins its schedule of play on Jan. 12 against Poland. The Winter World University Games continue through Jan. 23.
