Stretch the Million/Build Dakota
Industry Partner

The Build Dakota Scholarship Fund was established in 2015 by generous business leaders and forward-thinking lawmakers to address South Dakota’s workforce challenges. Lake Area Technical College is proud to facilitate the Build Dakota Scholarship program that supports students entering high-need workforce fields in South Dakota. The program goal is to help close the workforce gap in these high-demand careers by graduating highly skilled workers. In an effort to ‘stretch’ the available dollars in the Build Dakota Scholarship program, we invite our industry partners to consider this unique opportunity to participate as a “Stretch the Million” partner.

How it Works

• After choosing a student scholar, the “STM” partner commits to paying half of the expenses of their Build Dakota Scholarship. The scholarship supports tuition, fees, books, and other required program expenses in the eligible college program.
• By accepting the full-ride scholarship with an STM partner, the student commits to working three years (minimum) for the partner, full-time in their field, in South Dakota.

Student Impact

• Free education
• Guaranteed employment
• Potential on-the-job training

Business Impact

• Alternative upskill for current employees
• Access to a pipeline of new talent from Lake Area Tech
• Guaranteed highly skilled employee
• Free advertising on the Build Dakota & Lake Area Tech websites

South Dakota Impact

• Aids in filling South Dakota’s workforce shortage
• Scholars live and work in South Dakota
• Local businesses thrive with highly skilled employees

Become a Stretch the Million Partner

Please contact us for more information about how to become an STM partner!

Melissa Waldner, Business Partner Specialist
605-882-5284  Ext. 263
Foundation Development Officer
605-882-5284  Ext. 308
Tracy (Hlavacek) Buisker, Foundation Director
605-882-5284 Ext. 268

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Build Dakota/Stretch the Million Partners

B & R Truck Repair
	Eastman Inc.
	Gail & Delores Miller Charitable Fund
Mobile Mechanic, LLC
	Simco
		Stewart Construction
Tony Arnold Construction	Turkey Ridge Construction
	Wagner Community Memorial Hospital
		Watson Construction

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Additional Companies Interested in Cohort 9 Partnerships

STM Partner	Location
Applied Engineering	Yankton
Brookings Auto Mall	Brookings
Brown Clinic	Watertown
Dakota Granite	Milbank
Dakota Land Design	Brookings
Dakota Storage Buildings	Milbank
East River Contracting	Watertown
ESCO Manufacturing	Watertown
Fiegen Construction	Sioux Falls
Full Circle Ag	Britton
General Equipment & Supplies	Sioux Falls
Good Samaritan Society	Various
Gray Construction	Watertown
Jarrod Smart Construction	Sioux Falls
Kennebec Telephone Co	Kennebec
MASABA	Vermillion
Mereen-Johnson	Webster
Mills Construction	Brookings
Mobridge Regional Hospital	Mobridge
Monument Health	Rapid City
Overweg Repair	Kimball
POET	Big Stone City
RDO Equipment	Statewide
Sanford Health	Various
South Branch Farms	Parkston
Stern	Freeman
Titan Machinery	Statewide
Vander Haag’s Inc	Sioux Falls
Webster Scale	Webster
Yankton Medical Clinic	Yankton