ABYC Foundation awards scholarships for future techs
The American Boat & Yacht Council Foundation (ABYC Foundation) recently announced the awarding of several student scholarships, with financial assistance of the Kathy & Jerry Wood Foundation, including the following:
- Five outstanding students received scholarships or tool stipends to help continue their studies at Ft. Myers Technical College in Florida.
- Nine students benefited from the scholarship fund at the NC Marine Training and Education Center, located on the Carteret Community College campus in North Carolina.
- A student was awarded a scholarship for Tidewater Community College’s Diesel/Marine Technology program, located in Virginia.
- At the Landing School in Maine, a student making a career change has “found her happy place” working within the marine industry, and now has enrolled full time in their nine-month marine systems course.
- Funds going to students at College of the Florida Keys will be used for student fees and workbooks.
“I always had a high mechanical aptitude ever since I was a kid, whether it be taking things apart or putting them back together,” said Talon Rogers, a scholarship recipient at Tidewater Community College. “I would help my father out whenever he had a new car to flip and help him for hours. I always enjoyed it. My choice in the marine field is to take my career in a direction I haven’t been yet. I feel the marine field is a better career choice because it is in high demand, so there is no shortage of jobs, and due to the skill required for the marine side, a higher pay rate and benefits.”
“These scholarships are directly helping great students who have demonstrated they want to have long careers working on recreational boats,” said Margaret Podlich, ABYC Foundation’s executive director. “We appreciate the opportunity that the Woods Foundation Scholarships give us to support future marine technicians.”
For more information visit www.abycfoundation.org.