What qualifies as a good education? The answer depends on the person—his or her unique talents, interests, and experiences. The Charles Koch Foundation supports educational programs that help students and parents find their own path to becoming the best people they can be.
Many students find their passion by working with their hands as well as their heads. Mike Rowe, host of CNN’s Somebody’s Gotta Do It, founded mikeroweWORKS to reinvigorate the skilled trades and give students access to education and training. “The opportunities that exist [in skilled trades] have never been bigger or better than they are today,” says Rowe. The Charles Koch Foundation has partnered with the mikeroweWORKS Foundation and SkillsUSA, a non-profit serving 400,000 young people pursuing the trades, since 2016, providing travel scholarships for qualified students who cannot afford to attend SkillsUSA’s National Leadership and Skills Conference.
We are motivated, we are dedicated, and we are ready to improve our skills so we can get out there, we can take over these jobs, and we can make the world a better place.
—Isabelle, SkillsUSA Scholarship Recipient
