Central Wyoming College rocks into Fall Semester with a Metallica Scholars Grant

(Riverton, WY) – Central Wyoming College is pleased to announce the second year of being awarded the prestigious Metallica Scholars Initiative (MSI) grant to support the trades. Metallica’s foundation, All Within My Hands, continues its multimillion-dollar investment in critical workforce programs at community colleges nationwide. With this recent cycle, the grants have now been awarded in all 50 states. Central Wyoming College was selected from a competitive pool of applicants to receive $50,000 to transform the futures of students in the community.

“Central Wyoming College is proud to be part of this program for the second year, which continues to elevate the trades,” says Brittany Yeates, Dean of Business & Industry. “With this generous grant, Central Wyoming College will award scholarships and additional support to students in our cosmetology program. Thanks to this support, our students are ready to rock their futures.”

“We are incredibly honored to be selected once again as a Metallica Scholars community college,” says President Brad Tyndall. “This grant equips our students with additional financial aid, industry tools and support in an effort to eliminate some of the challenges that students may face along the way to completion. Our hope is to help students further their skills in a trade that will allow them to make a positive difference in their lives and our communities.”

James “Papa Het” Hetfield, Metallica’s lead vocalist and guitarist, expressed his enthusiasm for the initiative’s growth: “When we launched the Metallica Scholars Initiative, it really spoke to me. A collective goal of breaking the stigma of trade skills. Trade skills are vital to society, and what’s even more important is to support the many folks who are trying to create a career by learning and using these skills. I am so proud – we all are – to see how this program is changing lives by providing much-needed resources to empower students, and it’s great that we’re able to make our biggest grant yet to support these students and the future workforce. We are reaching even further for year six of the Metallica Scholars Initiative. This year, our program will be in 60 schools in all 50 states! All thanks to your support.”

“I am happy to congratulate the newest Metallica Scholarship Initiative colleges. The sustained investment in workforce education by the All Within My Hands Foundation has benefited thousands of community college students,” says Walter G. Bumphus, president and CEO of AACC. “This work helps to advance skills education and the nation’s workforce pipeline. We are honored to continue this partnership to provide critical resources that eliminate barriers for students to participate in skills education programs that lead to family-sustaining wage careers.”

By the end of year six, MSI estimates that it will have helped more than 8,000 students with a wide range of backgrounds and ages gain skills to assist in finding meaningful jobs and careers. Metallica Scholars are often considered non-traditional students, as many have families they support or are the first in their families to pursue a college education. AWMH and AACC aim to connect students to skill-building opportunities and bridge the talent needs of the American workforce, all while utilizing the community college system, which is the most affordable, flexible, and industry-relevant applied-learning training provider in the country.

“Metallica, through their foundation, is changing how people view and engage with the trades in this country, and it is working,” stated Peter Delgrosso, executive director of All Within My Hands. “Metallica Scholars are diverse, motivated, and ambitious, and we are here to help them reach their goals.”

“Metallica’s mission to bring ‘dignity to the trades’ is aligned with Central Wyoming College’s purpose of providing high quality education in all of our trades programs,” added Yeates, CWC Dean of Business & Industry. “Last year, the Automotive Technology program was the focus of the initiative to provide more resources and recognition to the demanding field of automotive technicians. We are thrilled to extend this effort to include the Cosmetology program in the upcoming fall cohort and continue to highlight the importance of the trades within communities.”