NWFA Wood Studies Scholarship Highlight

Aidan Eckles

Westminster, Maryland

Aidan Schleutermann

Woodstock, Illinois

The NWFA Education & Research Foundation (NERF) Wood Studies Scholarship promotes the post-secondary study of forestry and forestry-related sciences. This nonrenewable scholarship for $1,000 each is awarded to one high school senior and one current college student who will study forestry to advance and improve forestry practices for generations to come.

This year’s high school scholarship recipient, Aidan Eckles, will attend the University of Maine in Orono, Maine, majoring in forestry.

“The biggest benefit of forestry for the wood flooring industry is sustainable forests. Foresters need to monitor the forests, ensuring the planting of new trees, and preventing the spreading of invasive species,” says Eckles.

The college student scholarship recipient is Aidan Schleutermann. He majors in forest management at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point in Stevens Point, Wisconsin.

“Through sustainable resource management, quality assurance, innovation, environmental stewardship, and economic development, forestry contributes to the success of the wood flooring sector,” says Schleutermann.

NERF was established to provide industry research and educate future generations of wood flooring professionals. Thanks to the generosity of its members, NWFA has conducted such research as the Life Cycle Analysis of Wood Flooring and awarded more than $100,000 in scholarships since its creation.