MSCI Scholarship Pays Off for Integrity Stainless Employee

“The application process is easy, and I encourage everyone who is working on their education to go for it.”

Eric Effinger leads a very full life.

In addition to his full-time job at Integrity Stainless Streetsboro, he’s a father to five children, ages 2 through 16. Plus, for the past 10 years, Eric has been working toward his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering technology at Cleveland State University — a pursuit supported by the Metals Service Center Institute (MSCI) scholarship.

Last year, Eric received $2,500 from MSCI, which helped cover half of his tuition costs. He’s already submitted his application for next year and will be notified soon if he’ll receive a scholarship for the 2019-2020 school year. “The application process is easy,” says Eric, “and I encourage everyone who is working on their education to go for it.”

His hard work is paying off. Completing two or three courses every semester during evenings after work and the occasional online course, Eric has distinguished himself as one of the top students in his class. He was awarded the Outstanding Academic Achievement Award as the junior with the top grades in the Engineering Technology Department. While Eric hasn’t used Olympic Steel’s tuition reimbursement benefit yet, he’s considering it to help fund his final year of studies.

Eric joined Olympic Steel in 2015 as a production planner. His duties and responsibilities have evolved, and he now works as the primary interface between sales and production. When he graduates in 2020, he plans to use the technical expertise he has acquired during his formal education to support and advise others.

“It’s not always easy to juggle work with being a student, but my trick is perseverance,” explains Eric. “Also, it takes some diligent scheduling to balance my time for school, work and family.”