Build Dakota

I know students who will graduate from technical schools in South Dakota debt free. They will have a profession, and a guaranteed job when they complete their schooling. The program is not only for graduating seniors, and includes out of staters, if they will agree to work in South Dakota for three years.

College is great, but not for everyone. There are other avenues to higher education and they may hit closer to home. When was the last time you tried to get an electrician or a plumber to come to your home or place of business? You call them and they are either booked several weeks out or you leave a message that doesn’t get returned. Why? They are in short supply. The going story line is that for so many years students have been expected to go to a four-year college, at least. The idea of attending a vocational or technical school was considered beneath most students. I am not so sure I believe that line, but either way there are methods to remedy these situations.

I have written before about Mike Rowe Works Foundation and here is the latest. Rowe has been in South Dakota for a series of meet and greets with the governor of South Dakota in support of a South Dakota program. Rowe also got to speak with students who had received Work Ethics Scholarships from his foundation, as he traveled from one state technical college to another.

Rowe toured Midwest Railcar Repair in Brandon, Lake Area Tech in Watertown, and Southeast Tech in Sioux Falls as a way of emphasizing a grand announcement. South Dakota has more than one philanthropist who is generous. At this particular time the one mentioned was Denny Sanford. He and the governor put their heads together and came up with a plan they dubbed, Build Dakota. Sanford said he would donate $25 million to this scholarship fund, if the state would match it and a private, public partnership was established. The fund allows qualified students (instate or out of state) to support one-half of the tuition, all of the fees, books and required program expenses at one of four technical schools: the Mitchell Technical Institute, Southeast Technical Institute in Sioux Falls, Western Dakota Technical Institute in Rapid City or Lake Area Technical Institute in Watertown. Lake Area was awarded $1 million for the national Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence in 2017.

When students earn Build Dakota, they can make arrangements with a company that agrees to hire them after their schooling is completed, and the company will pay the other half of the tuition.

Businesses and the technical schools work together to establish relationships between students and potential employees. A three-year commitment to work in South Dakota after completing the technical school program is a requirement. These scholarships are not just for graduating seniors. If an adult wants to change their career path, they can qualify.

For details, please look at https://www.builddakotascholarships.com and talk to your school. You can’t hide behind, “I can’t afford it,” with offers like this around.

Sanders can be reached at peggy@peggysanders.com.