AT&T Donates To CLC Scholarship Fund

A new partnership was announced today at Central Lakes College that will provide financial assistance to students pursuing a degree in a STEM-related field.

AT&T was at CLC today to present a large contribution to the Central Lakes College Foundation. The $12,000 donation will be used to fund 24 scholarships to students pursuing a degree in the fields of science, technology, engineering, or math that have financial need and represent an underserved population.

“We know here locally in Crow Wing County there’s about 1,400 jobs that are open that have STEM backgrounds, and so being able to support Central Lakes College with those types of scholarships, it’s a great partnership with AT&T and the institution to really help those young people realize their dreams right here in the Brainerd community,” said Paul Weirtz, State President of AT&T Minnesota.

The mission of the Central Lakes College Foundation is to promote student success by addressing financial barriers to pursuing higher education through scholarships, strong alumni and donor relationships, affordable student housing, and other appropriate assistance. Scholarships provided through the foundation are a huge asset to many CLC students.

“Scholarships really provide that linchpin to success for some students. If it can be the difference of being able to make it through another semester or not, that can be a big difference to a student and I think especially when we have these specific scholarships for the STEM-related field, it helps to draw students into that career area where there’s a lot of demand for jobs right now,” explained CLC Foundation Executive Director Jana Shogren.

The 24 $500 scholarships will be distributed in the upcoming 2019 spring and fall semesters.