FSSA Educational Foundation 2024-2025 Scholarship Recipients

Each year, the FSSA Educational Foundation awards scholarships to talented and worthy individuals within the fire suppression industry. Congratulations to the following 2024-2025 scholarship recipients:

Samantha Farren
University of Maryland College Park

Hello everyone, I am a Senior in the Fire Protection Engineering [FPE] Department at the University of Maryland. I proudly serve on the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committees of both the Fire Protection Engineering Department and the A. James Clark School of Engineering. I served as the marketing chair for the Society of Fire Protection Engineering Students Chapter at the University of Maryland for the academic year 2023-2024. My occupational goals include transitioning from the pathways program into a full time position  as a Fire Protection Engineer supporting the National Aeronautics and Space Administration whilst maintaining my status as a volunteer Firefighter/EMT-B and Rescue Technician.

My overarching goal as a Fire Protection Engineer is to combine my scientific knowledge in all areas of FPE with my technical experience as a first responder to ensure our separate fields, within the same industry, make coordinated advancements in order to best offer fire protection to people across the world.

Tyler Kleinsasser
South Dakota School of Mines and Technology

Tyler Kleinsasser is a dedicated student at the SD School of Mines and Technology. His early interest in construction and engineering, fostered by family influence and a children's safety program, laid the foundation for an accomplished academic journey. Throughout his college career, he has achieved a 4.0 GPA and actively engaged in a wide range of projects, including several humanitarian initiatives. After graduation, Tyler strives to pursue a challenging and rewarding career and prepare to eventually start his own consulting company. He aspires to mentor others, share his knowledge, and give back to the next generation, fostering growth and development in the field.

In his spare time, Tyler enjoys learning about technology, playing games, reading, and outdoor activities. Tyler expresses his thanks and profound appreciation to the Fire Suppression Systems Association for their support and belief in his potential!

Caleb Pierce
Oklahoma State University

My name is Caleb Pierce and I am a junior at Oklahoma State University. I am earning my degree in Fire Protection and Safety Engineering Technology and am a member of the honors college. I am the current OSU Chapter of the Society of Fire Protection Engineers president. I have also served in the Fire Protection Society and the American Society of Safety Professionals. Along with my studies, I am a teaching assistant and have worked on classes including Sprinkler Design and Industrial Safety. I am also doing undergraduate research and writing a paper on corrosion in fire sprinkler systems.

This summer I am interning with Jacobs at their world headquarters in Dallas, Texas. I look forward to pursuing a career as a fire protection engineer and earning my PE license.

Emily Herrera
Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Emily Herrera is a junior majoring in Aerospace Engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. For the past 10 months, Emily has been doing research for the Fire Protection Engineering Department at WPI. Her work consists of quantifying smoldering via image processing techniques. She is responsible for applying Lumetri Color Panel to isolate smoldering of fire using Premier Pro video editing software and processing the edited videos through MATLAB code which quantifies the pixels containing smoldering and flaming.

During the 2024-2025 school year, Emily plans to continue doing research with the FPE department and will begin taking classes in the Fire Protection Engineering Master's program with the goal of graduating with her Master's in Fire Protection Engineering in May of 2027. Her career goal is to use both her Aerospace Engineering Bachelor's and her Fire Protection Engineering Master's to work on improving the safety of spacecrafts and aircrafts.

Elliot Paisner
University of Maryland College Park

Elliot M. Paisner II is a senior majoring in Fire Protection Engineering at the University of Maryland, College Park in the A. James Clark School of Engineering and minoring in Disability Studies. Paisner serves on the University of Maryland ADS Student Advisory Board as the Undergraduate representative to the board. Over the summers of 2023 and 2024, Paisner interned for the Smithsonian Office of Safety, Health, and Environmental Management in the Fire Protection Division. As part of Paisner's work, he had the opportunity to complete a Wildland Urban Interface study on the National Zoological Park Rock Creek Campus in downtown DC as well as examined fire protection solutions for collection storage facilities amongst other projects.

Paisner is an Eagle Scout and a 4th-generation volunteer firefighter serving and volunteering with the Laurel Volunteer Rescue Squad in Prince George's County. He is a student member of the Society of Fire Protection Engineers UMD Chapter and will serve as the president during the 2024-25 school year.

Kyle Bender
Towson University 

My name is Kyle Bender and I am a 19 year old sophomore at Towson University. I graduated from Sparrows Point High School in 2023. I am currently a volunteer firefighter at Providence Volunteer Fire Company. Fire protection and safety has become a passion of mine and I am interested in working in the fire protection industry.

Outside of school and firefighting I enjoy playing sports and working out. Currently I work as a lifeguard in the summer and enjoy helping others.

 

 

Colin Chen
University of Maryland College Park

Colin Chen, from Baltimore, Maryland, is currently a rising junior majoring in Fire Protection Engineering and minoring in Project Management at the University of Maryland College Park. Last summer, Colin interned for Jacobs Solutions at their Conshohocken office as a Fire Protection Engineer Intern.  Here, he was introduced to major fire protection components such as NFPA standards and building codes. He was also able to conduct a site survey for the first time for Amazon AWS in Manassas, Virginia, and along with this, collaborated on many projects in the field of fire protection. This summer, Colin is interning for Arora Engineers at their New York office as a Fire Safety Engineer. He is getting more experience with Revit and other software that will help him in his future endeavors.

On campus, Colin is a member of the Society of Fire Protection Engineers of UMD, a member of the UMD Club Badminton Team, an active member of the Taiwanese Student Association, as well as a member of the Maryland Promise Program. Colin would like to thank the Fire Suppression Systems Association for recognizing him with the scholarship and for the continued support of his academic pursuits. Without the proper support and scholarships, it would be very difficult for him to pursue his dreams.

Alonzo Farrer
Eastern Kentucky University

My name is Alonzo Farrer, and I am currently pursuing a Bachelor's degree in Fire Protection Engineering. As a proud Charlotte native with 13 years of experience in the fire protection industry, I have dedicated my career to enhancing public safety. I own and operate Farrers Fire Protection and Farrers Fire Sprinkler, both licensed in North Carolina and South Carolina. I hold a NICET Level III certification in Water-Based Systems Layout, along with several other licenses related to fire suppression and fire extinguishers, showcasing my extensive expertise in the field.

My goal is to become a licensed Fire Protection Engineer, and I am deeply committed to advancing fire safety technology and protocols to better protect lives and property. Being accepted into the FSSA Scholarship Program is an honor, and I eagerly anticipate the opportunities it will provide to further my education and career in fire protection engineering.

 

Andrew Stephen Roberts
Eastern Kentucky University

A Pennsylvania native, Andrew has a strong passion for fire protection that started while working alongside his father at a young age as an electrician. Andrew has spent the last decade working in roles as a fire alarm installer, suppression service technician, firefighter, Application Engineering, and sprinkler inspector. Andrew is currently working for Victaulic on their Fire Suppression Technologies Research and Development team.

Andrew is a Technical Committee member on NFPA 770, the standard for Hybrid Fire Extinguishing systems, and is an active member of FSSA. Andrew holds a Bachelor of Arts in History and a Bachelor of Arts in War and Peace. He is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree in Fire Protection and Safety Engineering Technologies with EKU. He got his dream job and is now seeking to obtain the degree to better facilitate his job role with the skills he is missing.

Hayden Sanderson
Arizona State University

My name is Hayden Sanderson and I am a second-year engineering student at Arizona State University. I recently worked at Advantage Interests getting hands-on experience installing different parts of fire suppression systems. In the future, I hope to use my experience at Advantage Interests and my engineering degree to design fire suppression systems.

I enjoy working on vehicles and learning how different parts of the car work. I've spent a lot of time working on vehicles and have gained a lot of knowledge from the experience. The biggest project I took on was rebuilding a motorcycle last summer and now I ride the motorcycle every chance I get.

 

view all past scholarship recipients