Build Dakota Scholarship Recipients Honored
Southeast Technical College Students Receive Scholarships
Read full story Yankton Daily Press & Dakotan
Two local students and their sponsors were recognized Wednesday for choosing to build their futures through the Build Dakota Scholarship program.
Gayville-Volin High School graduating senior Antonio Gonzales and 2020 Yankton High School graduate Connor Sudbeck, were honored as Build Dakota Scholarship recipients at Yankton’s Chamber of Commerce Wednesday.
Gonzales was awarded a full scholarship in Construction Management and Sudbeck, who received his award last year, has been studying to be an electrician.
Sudbeck said he started the scholarship process about a year ago as he was figuring out what he wanted to do career wise.
“The scholarship takes a lot of worry off your back,” he said. “That and the combination of getting a career out of the gate, I figured it was a good idea.”
The goal of the Build Dakota Scholarship program is to offer scholarships in fields where there is a need for qualified applicants in the state.
Those who accept the scholarship are required to enroll full time in a South Dakota technical college, follow the attendance policy, maintain at least a 2.5 grade point average and graduate on time. Also, they must agree to remain in the state for at least three years.
Build Dakota scholarships are the result of a collaboration between the state and T. Denny Sanford, who kicked things off with a $25 million endowment about seven years ago. Essentially, Build Dakota splits student costs with an industry sponsor. Students with a sponsor are guaranteed a scholarship. Those without must pay for everything the scholarship doesn’t cover.
Sudbeck was sponsored by Yankton’s List Electric after working for them last summer.
“The investment in Connor was an easy decision to make,” said Ryan List, owner of List Electric, noting that he knew Connor through his family. “We’ve got another employee that did the Build Dakota Scholarship and we do see the value in the education. We thought, it’s a good thing for the kid, it’s a good thing for us to be able to have somebody here for three years at least, and hopefully longer, hopefully a full career with us.”
Gonzales is being sponsored by Dakota Drywall, where he, his father and his brother work.
“The reason I decided to go for Build Dakota was because I didn’t want so much stress and pain in being in debt after college,” he said. “So I decided, I am just going to stick with the company that I am going to be with, work for them for the years that I have here, and, if I like it, stay with them.”
Gonzales asked owners Sara and Carl Livingston directly about a Build Dakota Scholarship.
This was a great opportunity to invest and give back, Sara Livingston told Wednesday’s attendees.
“Your family has been amazing to us and our businesses,” she said. “We wouldn’t be where we are without you, your dad and your brother. They’re fantastic workers. They show up, they’re very reliable, and it just seemed like a no-brainer for us to grant him his scholarship to STI with Build Dakota.”
This year, the Build Dakota Scholarship program has 40 industry sponsors and is giving out 111 scholarships, 92 of which were sponsored by industry, said Paula Hawks, Career Services/Student Success advisor at Southeast Technical College and sponsor liaison for Build Dakota.
Overall, most students in the program perform well, she added.
“They know that they’ve made a commitment, they’ve signed a contract, they have a sponsor who’s counting on them and has made an investment in them,” she said. “They’ve worked very hard to maintain those grades.”
For those who do not complete the program, the money amount spent is converted to a loan they must repay.
“It is a great honor for me to work not only with the students but also with all those industry sponsors across our region and in some cases across the state,” Hawks said. “We look forward to bringing Antonio to school, and we look forward to continuing with Connor.”
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Not present were Kira Porter and Hannah Fischer. Both are being sponsored by Avera Sacred Heart for the LPN program at Southeast Technical College.
April 21, 2022