Air Conditioning & Refrigeration student Seth Moody knew he would be attending OSU Institute of Technology last spring, so he searched the internet for technical school scholarship opportunities and found the mikeroweWORKS Foundation.
Moody, who started at OSUIT this semester, was awarded a $3,700 Work Ethic Scholarship from the foundation.
“I thought maybe I’d get $500 because it’s a nationwide scholarship,” he said. “It’s a really big help. School is all on me. I have a few scholarships and some student loans. I was really grateful for this scholarship.”
The mikeroweWORKS Foundation supports and promotes skilled trades to people who have an interest and aptitude in mastering a specific trade.
Through its scholarship programs, including the Work Ethic Scholarship Program, the foundation provides financial assistance to qualified individuals with a desire to learn a skill that is in demand. The foundation has granted more than $3 million in education for trade schools across the country.
Growing up, Moody, who is from Claremore, worked in his grandfather’s plumbing company, but when his grandfather retired, he began working for an HVAC company.
“[The owner] said if I wanted to stay with HVAC, I should go to OSUIT. He said OSUIT is the Harvard of tech schools,” he said. “This time last year I toured the campus, came by the department and signed up.”
Moody said he’s only been at OSUIT for a little over a month, but he’s already feeling more prepared for a career in the ACR industry.
“Since I’ve been here, I feel like I’ve learned so much more than I did for the two summers I worked at the HVAC company,” he said. “I have good teachers, and I enjoy being in the lab too.”
And being in the lab, working with his hands is exactly what Moody likes about his new school.
“I couldn’t stand sitting in front of a computer all day. Being able to go out and get in a truck and fix things, that’s what I like,” he said, and he’s thankful that there are scholarships and organizations like the mikeroweWORKS Foundation that promote hands-on careers.
“Providing scholarships specifically for trades, that’s awesome,” Moody said. “That’s a good way to get people to look into the trades. It’s not easy learning a trade, and there is a need for people who can do those jobs.”