Catching Up with a Kiwanis Scholarship Recipient – Coastal Breeze News
Austin Hendricks at the University of Florida in April 2025
Austin Hendricks at the University of Florida in April 2025
Kiwanis Club of Marco Island is dedicated to making the world better by supporting our local youth by sponsoring Terrific Kids in Elementary School, Builders Club in Junior High School, Key Club in High School, and by giving scholarships to deserving graduates. While we see how much this support means to the children during their school years, we often wonder how they benefit from this support in college and beyond.
We were fortunate to receive the letter below from Austin Hendrick, one of our scholarship recipients who was also very active in Key Club at MIA.
Good afternoon Mrs. McChesney!
I just wanted to take a moment to give a big thank you to you and Kiwanis for the scholarships I received last year. Going into my second year now at the University of Florida as a mechanical engineering student, I’ve been involved in a lot – and I wanted to show you some of the things your sponsorship has helped me achieve.
First of all, after becoming an active member of UF’s American Society of Engineers (ASME), I received a leadership spot as a Design Team Chair; I was the liaison between UF’s Innovative Additive Manufacturing design team (a 3D-printing international-based competitive team) and ASME (the organization who supports it). Through this position, I also coordinated a showcase with 14 mechanical engineering design teams on campus with 170+ UF engineering student attendees. I also advised and mentored students across ASME design teams through presentations and 1-on-1 guidance – all of which aimed to support both technical and professional development.
After that successful year, I am now the Operations Coordinator where my main goal is to strengthen design team relationships with each other, the department, and with supporting organizations like ASME. Although the year is still beginning, we’ve already had tremendous results in bringing over $5,000 to our design teams through corporate sponsorships.
I’ve also been an important part of the UF Innovative Additive Manufacturing design team (IAM3D). After receiving my Solidworks CAD certification, I joined a team with the goal of designing and manufacturing a fully 3D-printed FPV drone that could pick up magnetic blocks and fly through a course at the international competition. In this project, I was one of two lead design engineers, co-designing the main body, electronics housing, and protective measures.
After many hours in the workshop and leadership efforts, I got the Vice President position now going into my second year. Since then, we’ve restructured our organization to appeal to a variety of engineers – over 40 people are now planning on attending our first meeting, and I’m now convinced we will have a strong prototype to bring to the competition in the spring. I’ve never been more excited!
I can’t thank you all enough for your investment in me, and I can assure you it will go a long way in my journey at UF and beyond. I miss you all very much!
Have a wonderful rest of your day,
Austin Hendrick
The achievements of Austin are quite impressive. We at Kiwanis Club of Marco Island congratulate him and wish him continued success.
Want to be a part of helping our youth grow to their highest potential? Join Kiwanis Club of Marco Island and experience this firsthand. Everything we do is “For the Kids.” For information about membership, contact Cindy Crane, Secretary at lucindaed@aol.com.
Austin Hendricks at the University of Florida in April 2025
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