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by Robyn Tellefsen
After the year 2005, 75 percent of all jobs will require at least a technical degree. So if you've already set your sights on a career path, don't overlook industry scholarships to get you through college.
Real Winner Secrets:
Scott Meyers, the 2003 Construct MyFuture.com Workforce Development Scholarship winner (pictured here accepting his check), is using his well-earned college cash to get educated in his chosen field -- heavy equipment technology. "The industry I want to enter into is important to construction," he reveals. "Without heavy equipment that works properly, the construction of houses, roads, and other buildings would be nearly impossible."
A recent graduate of Southern Lehigh High School (Center Valley, PA), Scott has been accepted to the two-year heavy equipment technology program at the Pennsylvania College of Technology (Williamsport, PA) for the fall. And he knows he'll need the money to get through school. "Being 18, it takes a while to make $1,500," he explains. "That's $1,500 less I have to pay back."
While in high school, Scott also worked as a shop helper for an equipment dealership, maintained a second part-time job as a mechanic, and served as a junior firefighter with the Coopersburg Fire Company. How did he manage it all? "It wasn't easy to balance," he admits. "I stayed up late doing my homework, or anytime I got a chance. On nights when I had too much homework, I didn't go to work. I put school first."
His advice to other scholarship seekers? "Apply for every scholarship you possibly can," he urges. "You're not going to get them all, but every little bit will help." Plus, he recommends putting time and effort into each application. "The more you put into it, the more you'll get out of it."
Andras Pesti, a 2002-2003 International Communication Industries Foundation (ICIF) High School Scholarship winner, is proof of that. He began putting maximum effort into the audiovisual industry long before he was dealing with college concerns.
"When I was 15, I really got into classical music," he shares. "The realism of the performance matters so much, which is only possible if you have a well-engineered audio system." As a physics and math aficionado, he took the initiative to plan, design, and build a high-quality speaker system with a fully-functional electronic filtering system.
Since then, Andras, a 2002 grad of Lincoln Southeast High School (Lincoln, NE), and currently a sophomore electrical engineering major at the University of Nebraska (Lincoln, NE), has been able to add to his résumé through the ICIF scholarship package. "The scholarship not only gave me money, but also a great opportunity to work with professionals in the industry," he emphasizes.
As an intern this past summer at Lincoln-based Business Media Incorporated, a professional audio, video, and design company, Andras was able to test unique audio equipment and participate in implementing state-of-the-art audiovisual systems. "I'm getting a lot of experience in how the industry works," he asserts. "I can get the technical knowledge from books, but I'm getting the experience of implementing that knowledge here."
Plus, Andras doesn't think his internship would have been possible without the scholarship. "Not many companies in this industry are willing to give internships to first- and second-year college students," he claims. "This scholarship proves to a company that we're worth investing in." |
