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    February 13, 2020

    Making the Grade: MSF Awards Academic Scholarships

    Montana’s aging workforce faces a wave of retirements, especially in the construction and trades industries. In addition, this field has a higher percentage of workplace injuries than average. To improve the safety record, and encourage the next generation to enter these fields, MSF recently awarded $4,000 scholarships to 15 college students majoring in the occupational health and safety or construction trades professions.

    These scholarships are part of MSF’s Growing a Safer Montana (GSM) initiative. The program aims to educate young workers about the importance of workplace safety before they enter the workforce.

    MSF President Laurence Hubbard (center) with scholarship recipients

    MSF began offering these competitive academic scholarships in 2018. In that time the number of scholarships and the amounts has risen. This year $4,000 scholarships were awarded to 15 students. Last year 11 students received $3,000 scholarships. And in the first year, 10 students were awarded $1,500 each.  In all, MSF has awarded 36 students a total of $108,000 in scholarship monies.

    The application process includes taking an educational quiz, writing an essay on the importance of safety specific to the applicants desired industry and how they plan to champion safety in the future. The application also requires two letters of recommendation. Finally, the student must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0.

    The 2020 recipients include:

    Flathead Valley Community College
    Jon Carlson – Electrical Technology
    Gregory McCleerey – Welding Technology
    Brian Hollingsworth – Industrial Machine Technology
    Vanessa Janckila- Welding Technology
    Hayden Wood – Welding Technology

    Missoula College
    David Anderson –  Carpentry

    University of MT (Bitterroot)
    Annika Gordon – – Sustainable Construction Technology

    University of Montana
    Troy Bawden – Construction Technology
    Casey Paulson – Sustainable Construction Technology

    Highlands College
    David Ingalls – -Construction Technology/Carpentry

    Montana Tech
    Cara O’Donnell – BS) Occupational Safety and Health
    Kelsey Schmidt – MS) Industrial Hygiene
    Abigail Passage – (BS) Occupational Safety and Health
    Blake Nichols – (BS) Occupational Safety and Health
    Jacques Boulet – (BS) Occupational Safety and Health

    To find out more about Growing a Safer Montana, visit our website