PirateQ 
Troy Moon, Pensacola State College
There’s a lot more scholarship money to be offered to potential Pensacola State College students interested in Career and Technical Education fields because of a just awarded $726,388 grant the College has received.
The Governor’s Emergency Education Relief (GEER) Fund will provide $105,000 for CTE scholarships and about $500,000 for new, state-of-the-art equipment that will bolster a variety of PSC CTE programs which offer training and routes to industry credentialing in high-demand fields.
The GEER Fund is provided through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act and is aimed at, according to the grant statement, assisting “Florida College System institutions and postsecondary technical centers in their ability to enroll and complete students in short-term, in-demand workforce/career and technical education (CTE) credentialing and certificate programs.”
“This is tremendous for our students and prospective students,’’ said Deborah Hooks, CTE Student Resources Director, as well as the grant’s project director. “So many of the CTE programs are short-term programs where students aren’t eligible for Pell Grants. For our students, those funds can be a big deal, so this is huge for our college.”
CTE programs at PSC that will be affected all can be completed in a year or less. Those programs are:
• Commercial Vehicle Driving
• CNC Machinist Operator/Programmer
• CNC Composite Fabricator/Programmer
• CNC Machinist/Fabricator
• Electrocardiograph Technology
• Emergency Medical Technician
• Engineering Technology Support Specialist
• Infant/Toddler Specialization
• Mechanical Designer and Programmer
• Medical Assisting
• Medical Information Coder/Biller
• Nursing Assistant
• Paramedic
• Phlebotomy
• Practical Nursing
• Preschool Specialization
Among the new equipment that will be purchased using the grant funds are two truck driving simulators, a hard-shell chest compression system (Paramedic and EMT), advanced pediatric simulator (Paramedic, EMT and LPN), electrocardiograph (EKG Technology) and an advanced fiber laser cutting machine that costs nearly $90,000 and which will be used in a variety of fabrication, programming and machinist classes.
“All of these programs are short programs that students can complete in a semester or two and get a job right away,’’ said Debbie Douma, PSC Dean of Grants and Federal Programs. “This grant means more scholarships for students and advanced equipment that is the same as the equipment they will use in the workforce.”
For more information, including scholarship information, contact CTE Program Director Deborah Hooks at dhooks@pensacolastate.edu.