South Dakota News Watch - When Alexis Myers tore a knee ligament the second week of practice as a senior high school basketball player in Ethan, South Dakota, it was a low point in her young life. That time away from her teammates was spent with medical professionals who prepared her for knee surgery and helped her recover, exposing Myers to a new vision for her future.
One of the physician assistants at Avera Health mentioned the Build Dakota Scholarships, a cooperative effort to fill high-need technical jobs in the state with homegrown vocational talent.
Myers, 21, who was sponsored by Avera to become a certified surgical technologist, earned her degree in two years and is now a surgical tech at Avera Queen of Peace Hospital in Mitchell, South Dakota, working alongside many of the same people who helped treat her knee injury.
Kristi Noem, whose goal was to lure skilled workers from out of state to fill 20, open jobs in high-demand occupations such as nursing, plumbing, welding and dentistry. Build Dakota offers a way to keep things in state with tangible connections between employers and the students who are trained for specific jobs, said First Premier CEO Dana Dykhouse, who chairs the scholarship board.
Our focus is on targeting our students at home. The program has helped boost tech school enrollment in the state to an overall head count of 7, in fall , up 7.
