Libertyville firm awards scholarship

Oakton Community College of Des Plaines has awarded this year's $1,000 William Frick & Company RFID Technology Scholarship to sophomore Vincent Sutcliffe of Niles. “Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is a still a young, emerging technology that is rapidly evolving,” said Jeffrey Brandt, president of William Frick & Company, a producer of RFID tags as well as other custom identification products like labels, signs and utility markers.

William Frick first offered the RFID scholarship in 2007 to a full- or part-time Oakton Community College student majoring in RFID. Frick also provided significant hardware support for Oakton's RFID lab at the Ray Hartstein Campus in Skokie, the only community college in northern Illinois with an RFID laboratory.

“I'm very grateful for the opportunity that William Frick has provided,” said 2010 scholarship winner Vincent Sutcliffe, a second year student at Oakton. “The funds will help pay for tuition and books toward my associate degree in RFID.”

Sutcliffe enrolled in the RFID curriculum at Oakton Community College because it enabled him to gain hands on experience with cutting edge technology, at a fraction of the cost, compared to other institutions. “I have several years of experience in various skilled trades and manufacturing, most recently RFID internship experience. “ Sutcliffe said. “RFID can be used in virtually every industry and most applications, so it enables me to conduct the role of liaison between the production floor and the office.”