RAPID CITY, S.D. – Western Dakota Technical College (WDTC) held a signing day for 82 college students who acquired a full-ride Build Dakota Scholarship Thursday and took residence some WDTC swag.
The symbolic occasion awarded a complete of $1.7 million in scholarships for fifteen completely different technical diploma applications. Programs embody – Automotive Technology, Computer-Aided Design, Computer Science, Construction Technology, Dental Assisting, Diesel Technology, Drafting and Machining Technology, Electrical Trades, Environmental Engineering Technology, HVAC-Refrigeration Technology, Medical Laboratory Technician, Paramedic, Practical Nursing, Registered Nursing, Surgical Technology, and Welding and Fabrication.
“It’s a full-ride scholarship of not simply all their tuition and costs, however like for automotive, it’s protecting all their instruments. For medical, it’s protecting their scrubs. So on the time that they go away, it’s truly a 100% true debt-free schooling,” mentioned Andrew Kapelewski, WDTC, Assistant Director of Scholarships. “It’s very specialised data that everyone is studying to contribute to the group as a complete.”
Each of the diploma applications is in a high-need profession discipline as recognized by the South Dakota Department of Labor to assist deal with the state’s workforce shortages. The Build Dakota Scholarship was created to be a catalyst to assist alleviate these shortages.
It was developed in 2015 with a $25 million donation from T. Denny Sanford and an identical contribution from the South Dakota Future Fund. The preliminary $50 million offered over 1,900 college students with the chance to graduate debt-free and enter the workforce in South Dakota. In 2020, a further $20 million was invested to maintain this system working and supporting college students for one other 5 years.
The Build Dakota Scholarship Fund companions with companies all through the state to sponsor lots of the scholarship recipients. Business sponsors pay a portion of the price of the scholarship and acquire a talented worker. Of the WDTC scholarship recipients 45 of the 82 have sponsorship.
Those that aren’t sponsored have a 99 % placement fee after commencement.
Black Hills Tire sponsored one among their present workers, Caine Svarstad this 12 months. This is their second 12 months as a Build Dakota trade accomplice.
“It appeared like a very wonderful manner for us to additional the trade and to carry high quality folks into our enterprise or take high quality folks from our enterprise. And get them right into a program that’s going to assist them grow to be future automotive technicians,” mentioned Weston Chapman, Owner of Black Hills Tire. “We’ve mainly set a objective to do that yearly for so long as we will, even when we don’t essentially want any individual in our enterprise, we wish to nonetheless sponsor, you already know, a scholar or a child in this system. We we actually consider strongly on this whole trade and we wish to simply make it pretty much as good as we will. ”
“It’s actually attending to the purpose the place you, you may’t simply go study fingers on any extra. Hands on is tremendous necessary, however you want to get the basics and the fundamentals. And this system right here at Western Dakota Tech provides them these fundamentals and people fundamentals. And we consider strongly in that,” mentioned Tensie Chapman, Owner of Black Hills Tire.
Caine Svarstad has been engaged on automobiles and vans for so long as he can keep in mind and has at all times had a robust curiosity within the automotive trade. He plans to make use of this debt-free alternative to attend future education after finishing the Automotive Technology program at WDTC.
“It reveals me that Weston and Tenise, they see one thing in me to go above and past what perhaps another folks on the market would do. So it’s only a actually good alternative for me. I prefer it. I’m tremendous excited and yeah, I can’t wait to start out,” mentioned Svarstad.
Scholarship recipients are required to take care of a 2.5 GPA, be enrolled in class full time, full this system on time, and upon commencement should work full time of their discipline of examine for three years within the state of South Dakota. Industry accomplice awardees should additionally meet any extra commitments to their enterprise sponsors.
Build Dakota Scholarships are provided in any respect 4 of the state’s technical schools. The annual software interval for the scholarship is January 1 – March 31. Students of any age are eligible to use. Learn extra concerning the Build Dakota Scholarship program here.
Who had been the fortunate scholarship winners and sponsors?
Automotive Technology:
- Brendan Diede, Whitewood, SD
- Quinn Ernst, Lead, SD
- Caden Parnow, Hettinger, ND
- Bennett Solay, Rapid City, SD
- Caine Svarstad, Rapid City, SD
Computer-Aided Design:
- Jordyn Ferguson, Piedmont, SD
- Londin Harwood, Sturgis, SD
- Jakob Schaffer, Nemo, SD
Computer Science:
- August Bowman, Sturgis, SD
- Austin Evans, Black Hawk, SD
- Levi Speers, Rapid City, SD
Construction Technology:
- Drason Cragi, Spearfish, SD
- Marcus Hegel, Box Elder, SD
- Chloe Thome, Rapid City, SD
- Jonathan Young, Rapid City, SD
Dental Assisting:
- Kirsten Anderson, Rapid City, SD
- Maelli Jensen, Rapid City, SD
- Kaitlin Mitchell, Rapid City, SD
- Mercedes Starkweather, Piedmont, SD
Drafting and Machining Technology:
- Jacob Ruffato, Rapid City, SD
Diesel Technology:
- Caleb DeGarmo, Rapid City, SD
- Kaleb Entzl, Fredonia, ND
- Kaeman Hendricks, Rapid City, SD
- Daniel Knottnerus, Caputa, SD
- Kody Komes, Union Center, SD
- Matthew Marrs, Whitewood, SD
Electrical Trades:
- Justin Doyle, Custer, SD
- Brock Foster, Sturgis, SD
- Wyatt Powers, Chamberlain, SD
- Jace Wetzler, Rapid City, SD
- Jett Wetzler, Rapid City, SD
- Renegade Wooden Knife, White River, SD
Environmental Engineering Technician:
- Vaughn Vargas, Rapid City, SD
HVAC/R Technology:
- Ren Davis, Rapid City, SD
- Jantzen Fisher, New Underwood, SD
Medical Laboratory Technician:
- Danielle Heerts, Sturgis, SD
- Andi Stone, Kadoka, SD
- Tayler Weisz, Sturgis, SD
Paramedic:
- Tim Cournoyer, Mission, SD
- Jazlyn Kleinschmit-Millhouse, Piedmont, SD
Practical Nursing:
- Autumn Anderson, Rapid City, SD
- Tristen Anderson, Rushville, NE
- Kaylie Brandt, New Underwood, SD
- Nathan Brooks, Box Elder, SD
- Johanna Corriea, Edgemont, SD
- Allitney Forkner, Box Elder, SD
- James Geibel, Box Elder, SD
- Shyanna Hacker, Rosebud, SD
- Brooke Hochstetter, Rapid City, SD
- Tammera Keller, Rapid City, SD
- Reese Ludwick, Sturgis, SD
- Leah Luebke, Rapid City, SD
- Artee McCaskill, Rapid City, SD
- Tamara Peet, Rapid City, SD
- Jasmine Plumman, Rapid City, SD
- Amber Reed, Smithwick, SD
- Seth Simunek, Hot Springs, SD
- Joshua Williamson, Hot Springs, SD
Registered Nursing:
- Kailee Bertch, Belle Fourche, SD
- Tonya Bloom, Host Springs, SD
- Jessica Casjens, Philip, SD
- Kelsey Eckhart, Sturgis, SD
- Cherise Evans, Rapid City, SD
- Ariana Ferreira, Rapid City, SD
- Jordan Hanley, Rapid City, SD
- Teshia Larsen, Rapid City, SD
- Tatiana Lazari, Summerset, SD
- Anna Rosencranz, Summerset, SD
- Jaci Skillingstad, Summerset, SD
- Stephanie Winckel, Black Hawk, SD
- Kayala Wulf, Owanka, SD
Surgical Technology:
- Emily Grangaard, Rapid City, SD
- Natahlee Shields, Rapid City, SD
- Rebecca Shuck, Kadoka, SD
- Alexis Wylie, Rapid City, SD
Welding and Fabrication:
- Tanner Brunskill, Murdo, SD
- Alyssa Dikoff, Rapid City, SD
- Jeren Ennen, Rapid City, SD
- Timothy Hamar, Kadoka, SD
- Avery Jensen, Box Elder, SD
- Tyler Percy, Deadwood, SD
- Connor Schmitz, Rapid City, SD
Build Dakota Industry Sponsors:
- Ballard Gynecology
- Black Hills Oral Surgery
- Black Hills Tire
- Black Hills Urgent Care
- Community Health Center of the Black Hills
- Fall River Health Services
- Fountain Springs Healthcare Center
- The Evangelical Lutheran Good Samaritan Society
- Sanford Health
- John Deere
- Grossenburg Implement Inc.
- Hilt Construction
- Liberty Superstores
- Marrs Ranch
- McKie Ford
- Meyer Dana Orthodontics
- Midwestern Mechanical
- Monument Health
- Rapid City Medical Center
- RDO Equipment Co.
- Reed Repair
- Philip Health Services
- Scull Construction
- South Dakota Community Foundation
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