Building South Dakota with a free-ride scholarship program

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO.com) — The Build Dakota Scholarship started in 2015 with a donation from T. Denny Sanford.  Governors Daugaard and Noem have since continued the commitment to the scholarship program.  The scholarship addresses workforce shortage issues in South Dakota by giving students a full ride, in a high need field, at one of the state’s 4 technical colleges.  “When you look at during COVID, when everything shut down,” Build Dakota Program Director Deni Amundson said, “these were the careers that were our essential workers that were keeping the world going.”  Students who accept the Build Dakota Scholarship agree to work in their field in South Dakota for three years.  The program works with businesses across the state matching employers with students.  The scholarship covers tuition, books, fees, and laptops.  Students interested in automotive, building trades, computers, law enforcement, healthcare, agriculture, and more are encouraged to check out the Build Dakota Scholarship program. “We really just want to get more people into these high need fields,” Amundson added.  “Getting them into our technical colleges is a way to do that.  We’re training this work force.” The Build Dakota Scholarship application is open until March 31^st.  Students who have applied and been accepted into a program can start the application process at http://www.builddakotascholarships.com.  The scholarship is available for students of all ages preparing to attend one of South Dakota’s technical colleges.