WEST ORANGE, NJ, Oct. 08, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Lincoln Educational Services Corporation (NASDAQ: LINC), a national leader in specialized technical training for more than 20 hands-on career fields, has announced that two students from its South Plainfield, NJ campus have been selected to receive Work Ethic Scholarships from the Mike Rowe Works Foundation. Nzinga Porter and Dom Ciacco, both enrolled in the Welding career training program, were selected to receive scholarships totaling more than $20,000. They are among fewer than 200 students across the country chosen for the award.
“Mike Rowe was actually the person that made me realize that I could turn welding into a career,” Ciaccio says. “In high school I watched him on YouTube speaking about the “skills gap”. I found myself agreeing with everything he said. As a sophomore, I had to wait two years before I could apply, but I knew I’d be a strong applicant once I did. I was the person at my job [at a deli] that would do the tasks that no one else wanted to do; at the end of the day someone had to do these jobs.”
Porter, who enrolled at the South Plainfield campus despite commuting nearly every day from the Bronx, NY, said that as she completed her application for the scholarship earlier this year, “None of the values of the Mike Rowe Works Foundation were foreign to me. Being a hard worker, not being a complainer, emphasizing attention to detail and safety – these are qualities I’ve developed over the course of my life. I felt confident that my values matched theirs.”
The Work Ethic Scholarship is provided by the Mike Rowe Foundation as part of its effort to encourage students to pursue hands-on trades as a career. The application process for the Work Ethic Scholarship required submitting up to 10 professional references, writing several essays about the meaning of “work ethic” and professional goals, and creating a video essay to be made public on YouTube. Rowe, a TV personality and commentator best known for hosting “Dirty Jobs” on the Discovery Channel, has advocated for skilled trades education for more than a decade. Assisting students in financing an education that can help them graduate with in-demand skills and less debt is a key component of the Foundation’s philosophy.
“It’s an honor to know that Lincoln Tech students were recognized by this prestigious organization,” says Scott Shaw, Lincoln Tech’s President and CEO. “As future Welding graduates, these exceptional students can look forward to careers where skilled professionals have a major impact on the lives of the customers, communities and industries they serve. We’re thrilled that they chose Lincoln Tech to pursue their education and training.”
“I felt I deserved the best education possible,” Porter says. “Even though it was far, I toured Lincoln Tech early last year and knew it would be the best school for me. It checked all the boxes. I was impressed by the facilities and especially the field-experienced instructors, and I immediately began researching and applying for scholarships.”
After 14 years as a Civil Engineer, Porter was looking to build in-demand skills that would allow her to work in real-world settings and become an in-demand tradesperson. She felt that the construction industry would provide the most appealing range of welding career opportunities, and she enjoys working with and learning from instructors who are experienced in that field.
Porter and Ciaccio have shown they have the work ethic to make their dreams a reality. Lincoln Tech congratulates them on their receipt of these scholarship awards.
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About Lincoln Educational Services Corporation
Lincoln Educational Services Corporation is a leading provider of diversified career-oriented post-secondary education. Lincoln offers recent high school graduates and working adults career-oriented programs in five principal areas of study: automotive technology, health sciences, skilled trades, information technology, and hospitality services. Lincoln has provided the workforce with skilled technicians since its inception in 1946.
Lincoln currently operates 22 campuses in 14 states under four brands: Lincoln Technical Institute, Lincoln College of Technology, and Euphoria Institute of Beauty Arts and Sciences. Lincoln also operates Lincoln Culinary Institute in the states of Connecticut and Maryland.
For more information, visit lincolntech.edu.