 A new partnership announced today at Central Lakes College will provide financial assistance to students pursuing a degree in a STEM-related field. AT&T was at CLC today in Brainer to present a large contribution to the Central Lakes College Foundation. The $12,000 donation will be used to fund 24 scholarships to students pursuing a degree in the fields of science, technology, engineering or math that have financial need and represent an underserved population. We know here locally in Crow Wing County there's about 1,400 jobs that are open that have STEM backgrounds and so being able to support Central Lakes College with those types of scholarships it's a great partnership with AT&T and the institution to really help those young people realize their dreams right here in the Brainer community. The mission of the Central Lakes College Foundation is to promote student success by addressing financial barriers to pursuing higher education through scholarships, strong alumni and donor relationships, affordable student housing and other appropriate assistance. Scholarships provided through the foundation really provide that linchpin to to success for some students you know if it can be the difference of being able to make it through another semester or not that can be a big difference to a student and I think especially when we have these specific scholarships for the STEM related field it helps to draw students into that career area where there is a lot of demand for jobs right now. The 24 $500 scholarships will be distributed I should say in the upcoming 2019 spring and fall semesters. If you enjoyed this segment of Lakeland news please consider making a tax-deductible contribution to Lakeland PBS.