The U.S. Department of Labor awarded nearly $24 million to 20 colleges as part of the Job Corps Scholars Program, a new national demonstration project aimed at providing at-risk youth with job skills instruction, educational opportunities and individualized employment counseling.
One of the grantees, Northwest State Florida College, will use its $1.15 million grant to help participants earn certifications in 12 months or less – at no cost to them – in a number of high-growth career paths, including hospitality management, culinary arts, early childhood education, public safety management and welding technology.
Grand Rapids Community College in Michigan received a $1.18 million Job Corps Scholars grant. The college will work with community partners to identify about 80 potential students, including those who have faced numerous obstacles to success, including homelessness. Staff will plan an intensive, holistic approach to providing services, building on each student’s strengths and experiences.
California
Riverside City College (RCC) was awarded a three-year, $299,974 Advanced Technological Education grant from the National Science Foundation to create a cyberpreneur certificate program. Students will be educated in cybersecurity and entrepreneurship to meet the cybersecurity needs of small- and medium-sized businesses that cannot afford to hire a cybersecurity team.
RCC will work with business and industry leaders to create curriculum and develop hands-on training. The program is targeting women and minorities.
Florida
Indian River State College (IRSC) will use a $2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce to construct a new worker training facility for advanced manufacturing, welding and heating ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems. The 18,000-square-foot project will allow for hands-on learning for employment at local manufacturing companies.
U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross announced the Economic Development Administration grant to IRSC, as well as a grant to the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, during a recent visit to the college.
“Today’s grants help ensure that the rebound in Florida is quick and that it encompasses the important industry of advanced manufacturing. IRSC’s planned worker training facility will attract high-quality manufacturing jobs to the Treasure Coast for years to come,” Ross said.
Participants also will receive intensive counseling services to support and facilitate employment and career success.
Louisiana
Delgado Community College can better support students enrolling in adult education classes for the first time thanks to a $10,000 grant from the Dollar General Literacy Foundation.
The funding will allow the college to adapt its adult education program resources to meet the unique needs of each adult learner, according to Student Services Coordinator Nia Davis.
“Our program serves a diverse group of students who are returning to school with different goals and unique needs. Through our new intake coaching strategy, our goal is to pair each student with a success coach who can really get to know each student and help them navigate the process of returning to school,” Davis said.
Maryland
Hagerstown Community College (HCC) received a $100,000 donation from the estate of Mrs. Mildred “Mickey” Knott, formerly of Hagerstown, to establish the Mildred E. Knott Memorial Scholarship. It will benefit HCC students who, among other requirements, plan to transfer to the University of Maryland.
In her estate plan, Knott, an alumna of (then) Hagerstown Junior College, requested that acknowledgment be given to Lois Smith Harrison, HJC’s first registrar, and Atlee Kepler, HJC’s first president. She noted, “Lois secured several scholarships for me, especially at the University of Maryland. I have always been grateful for these scholarships which financed my college education. Maybe this small amount will aid a deserving student.”
North Carolina
Central Piedmont Community College (CPCC) received a $25,000 grant from the PNC Foundation in support of the college’s Single Stop program, which connects students to support services and administers the college’s emergency fund.
CPCC will use the funds to purchase items most needed during the coronavirus pandemic, including grocery/food gift cards and technology, such as laptops and Wi-Fi hotspots.
Pennsylvania
Montgomery County Community College (MCCC) announced The Dreher-Coelho Sound Recording and Music Technology Disability Scholarship, thanks to a $100,000 gift from former U.S. Rep. Tony Coelho and Robert (Bobby) Dreher, a strategic business consultant for Bender Consulting Services, Inc., and recent MCCC graduate.
The scholarship will help students with disabilities who are pursuing a degree in MCCC’s sound recording and music technology (SRT) program. In addition to the scholarship, the gift from Coelho and Dreher also will help support MCCC’s Center for Music Technology Excellence Fund. The fund covers program-related expenses, such as fees for guest speakers, conference costs and any travel expenses for students.
“Montco is a college for students of all abilities, and we thought it was fitting to create this scholarship to help individuals with disabilities succeed in this excellent SRT program,” said Coelho, who was the author of the transformative Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. “Students are not limited in this program — there’s room to be creative and grow.”
Butler County Community College (BC3) received a $1 million grant from Concordia Lutheran Ministries – the fifth in that amount to BC3 since 2014. The gift will help to fund the proposed Victor K. Phillips Nursing and Allied Health Building on BC3’s main campus. It also forges a partnership in which Concordia could provide up to $10 million to BC3 and its students. That’s the largest commitment to BC3 in the college’s 55-year-history.
That commitment will help BC3 address the nursing shortage by creating a licensed practical nursing program, expanding BC3’s registered nursing enrollment and by offering tuition assistance to nursing students who agree to work for the healthcare provider after graduation.
