A Profile Of Michael Dombroski

As a Falcon youth, Nest 36, Southwestern Conn., member Michael Dombroski and his involvement with Falcon gym classes helped prepare him for life’s later challenges.

Michael went from competing in PFA National Volleyball tournaments and zlots to running cross-country in high school and college, along with being a varsity rower on the University of Michigan Men’s Rowing Team. “Without the Polish Falcons to establish my appreciation for hard work and discipline in sports, I would not have experienced the level of success in sports that I have seen in rowing,” Michael wrote in his application letter.

Currently a student at the University of Michigan, Michael is studying to become an aerospace engineer and is doing research with a professor. This research deals with designing and testing an actuator using shape memory alloys to control an aircraft’s surface. “I believe this research is going to help prepare me for graduate school,” Michael wrote in his application letter, adding that in order to apply to the university’s accelerated Masters program, a student must have an excellent grade point average and a strong desire to learn.

Along with being a Falcon youth, Michael was a St. George’s Peer Minister, where he taught a weekly catechism class and volunteered at a New Haven, Conn., soup kitchen. He has also been a devoted member of Boy Scouts of America Troop #471. In part to the wide variety of food drives and community betterment programs he has participated in, Michael received the Catholic Scout Award and earned more than 30 merit badges. Fittingly, one of his merit badges is in Model Design and Building, thanks in part to a rocket he built and flew.

After college, Michael hopes to work at an aerospace company performing structural analysis of aircraft or spacecraft. He chose a more expensive out-of-state school because the University of Michigan is one of the top locations nationwide for this field of study. Michael said that receiving a Gorecki Scholarship Grant would help offset some of his costly educational expenses.