On February 2nd, 2021, Angela Rodenkirch, North Campus Counselor for last names P-Z at Arrowhead High School, sent out an email to Arrowhead’s class of 2021, announcing that the WI Technical Excellence Scholarship Application is now open through February 22nd, 2021, hosted by the State of Wisconsin Higher Educational Aids Board.

Linked in Rodenkirch’s email is a Google form, where Arrowhead High School seniors have the ability to apply for the WI Technical Excellence Scholarship.  

To apply for this scholarship, students will fill out information such as which technical college(s) they plan on applying to, the career path they will likely focus on during technical college, Arrowhead courses they’ve taken that are listed under Business and Marketing, Family and Consumer Education, Technology and Engineering, and more.

This Google form states “the Technical Excellence Scholarship is awarded to high school seniors who have the highest demonstrated level of proficiency in technical education subjects.”

The Technical Excellence Scholarship program began awarding scholarships in the 2015-2016 college academic year.  In order to qualify for this scholarship, a student must attend at least one of the following Wisconsin technical colleges: Blackhawk, Lakeshore, Moraine Park, Southwest WI, Chippewa Valley, Madison Area, Nicolet Area, Waukesha County, Fox Valley, Mid-State, Northcentral, Western, Gateway, Milwaukee Area, Northeast WI, or WI Indianhead.

The amount of scholarships awarded is based on a formula by finding the student enrollments (grades 9-12) at a high school.  This formula applies statewide in Wisconsin.  For 1-79 enrollments there will be 10 scholarships, for 80-499 enrolled there will be 1 scholarship, 500-999 will have 2 scholarships, 1000-1499 will have 3, 1500-1999 will have 4, and 2000-2499 will have 5.  The value of this scholarship is also up to $2250 per year, applied towards tuition for six semesters

Ethan Damon, a senior at Arrowhead High School, states “I do not plan on applying since I already applied to the scholarship fund. I may apply to other ones, but as of right now I have not looked into it that much.”

In order to qualify for the Technical Excellence Scholarship, students must meet at least one of these requirements: taken at least three courses in a single career and technical education department area, participated in a Youth Apprenticeship Program such as Health, Manufacturing, Automotive, STEM etc., completed or be on track to complete an industry-recognized certification program such as the AYES, or actively participate in a student organization such as DECA, Skills USA, Robotics or HOSA.

There are also a set of technicalities that students must follow in accordance with the scholarship.  Some of these being that the scholarship is only for use at a Wisconsin Technical College, and students must be enrolled by September 30th of the academic year following the graduation year in which they were designated as a scholar. 

Anyone can find more information about this scholarship and more on the State of Wisconsin Higher Educational Aids Board website, or by contacting Cassie Weisensel, Grant Specialist at the State of Wisconsin Higher Educational Aids Board, by phone at (608) 267-2213, or by email at [email protected].