Written by AMA staff (08/1988); Transcribed by JS (01/2009), Reformatted by JS (02/2010)
Andrew D. Vassallo, from Lancaster, New York, received $3,150 from the Scholarship Committee. He is presently at the University of Buffalo in New York State, working on a major in mechanical engineering. As a high school student in Clarence, New York, he attended the Central Senior High School. At graduation, he placed sixth out of an enrollment of 285. Named to the National Honor Society in his junior and senior years, he also won a mathematics award, played soccer and volleyball for two years, and put in one year of wrestling. A competitive tennis player, he was on the Varsity Team for four years and was named MVP in his final year. An accomplished musician, he played first trumpet in the concert band, which performed in Cleveland, Ann Arbor, Buffalo, Rochester, and many other locations. His musical skills led to his being named as trumpet soloist for the band.
Volunteering in his community, he participated in the Brothers of Mercy Program through which nursing home residents are assisted in their activities. Arts and crafts programs are also conducted for these senior citizens. His musical talents were put to use when concerts were provided to entertain the residents of the homes.
As a modeler, Andrew has built, flown, competed, and designed. He started with simple HandLaunched Gliders, and then moved on to rework some of his father’s old Free Flight models. That allowed him to experience the enjoyment of rubber-powered Mulvihill and Coupe D’ Hiver flying. Control Line followed, with a soon-to-crash Baby Ringmaster. This led Andrew to design his own plane, a flying wing-type powered by a Cox Black Widow or its equivalent. It will be the topic of a published story. However, due to an error the plans were thrown out and must be redone. We hope to see the Dragonfly in print soon. Radio Control was attempted with a Goldberg Eagle 63. Completion of the model is on hold due to school commitments.
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