Contact: Caroline Chetelat at ABYC
(410) 990-4460,
x22
cchetelat@abycinc.org

Westlawn Students Granted All Three Of
NMRA’s First Scholarship Awards
National Marine Representative’s Association Offers
Financial Support
To Marine-Industry Students
December
8, 2008, Annapolis, MD: Committed to fostering growth in the marine industry,
the National Marine Representatives Association (NMRA) recently awarded it’s
first ever academic scholarships. The Westlawn Institute of Marine Technology
is very pleased to announce that Westlawn students were selected to receive all
three of these initial NMRA scholarships. We are grateful for NMRA’s decision
to support the marine industry and to help students studying for careers in
boating. All three Westlawn students selected have demonstrated a commitment
to following in the footsteps of the many Westlawn alumni who have gone on to
become successful boat designers and leaders in the marine industry.
Oren Niskin, Andrew Grossi, and Frederick
Richardson, who are all currently enrolled in one of the four modules within
Westlawn’s professional Yacht & Boat Design program, were each awarded $1,500
scholarships to be used to further their education.

NMRA past president Ron Gueterman
of GSW & Associates (L) and Oren
Niskin
Module One student Oren Niskin’s plans to
start a boatbuilding company with his two brothers. Brought up in a family
that has always participated in sailing, he has been fascinated with boats since
childhood. Oren enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 2002 as an electrician’s mate.
While in the Navy, he earned a Bachelor’s degree in nuclear engineering
technology from Thomas Edison State College. He is a member of the Coconut
Grove Sailing Club in Miami Florida.

NMRA’s Kathy Munzinger, of Munzinger
and Company (L)
and Andrew Grossi
Andrew Grossi is currently enrolled in
Module 2 of Westlawn’s Yacht & Boat Design course. Having spent his
childhood along the shores of New York's Hudson River and the coasts of New Hampshire and Massachusetts, boating has
always been an important and fun part of his life. Around age nine, his father
converted a large wooden canoe to a sailboat. This was the first of several
sailboats on which Andrew developed his sailing skills. During the summers during
his college years, he was a crew member on a 65-foot whale-watch boat, on which
he performed a major overhaul to both the systems as well as the finishes.
Currently practicing as an Architect in New York City, Andrew plans to
obtain a Diploma in Yacht & Boat Design. Upon completion of his studies,
he would like to gain employment with a top-notch yacht designer or naval architect,
either at an independent firm or in the design and engineering department of a
boat/yacht building company. After that he hopes to either open his own yacht
design firm and boatyard, complete with build and repair/re-fit facilities, or
work his way up to become the head of an already established business. He has a
special interest in large sailing yachts, and hopes to include a research and
development component that concentrates on sailing systems in his practice.

Fredrick Richardson (L) and NMRA
member Chris Stevens
of Atlantic Marketing
Module 2 student Frederick Richardson’s
career goals include designing and building safe, dependable craft for private,
public and military use. He also hopes to one day open a design office in the
Northeast, specializing in sportfishing vessels built to the highest standards
with the best materials available. A veteran of the U.S. Navy, Richardson is a
member of the American Boat and Yacht Council (ABYC) and the Royal Institution
of Naval Architects in the UK.
The National Marine
Representatives Association (NMRA) is a national organization dedicated to
serving independent sales representatives and manufacturers who sell through
them. Contact National Marine Representatives Association, PO Box 360, Gurnee, IL 60031. 847-662-3167;
Fax: 847-336-7126: info@nmraonline.org.
Web: www.nmraonline.org
Founded in 1930, the Westlawn Institute of Marine Technology is
the only nationally accredited and state-certified distance-learning school of
small-craft design in the United States. As the not-for-profit educational affiliate of the American Boat and Yacht Council, the mission of
the Westlawn Institute of Marine Technology is threefold:
■ To provide our students with the skills and knowledge
required to build a rewarding career in the profession of yacht and small-craft
naval architecture.
■ To support continued growth of the recreational
and small-craft marine community through the development of well-trained,
safety-oriented, boat designers developing better products for the benefit of
the boating public.
■ To provide continuing education to marine-industry
professionals.
To learn more about
Westlawn, please call (860) 572-7900 or visit the Westlawn website at: www.westlawn.edu.