It’s no secret around Spokane Community College that President Kevin Brockbank is a fan of the heavy metal band Metallica, making it a point to attend their concerts when they are in the area. Wednesday he took it a step farther, when he showed up at work wearing one of his Metallica t-shirt under his suit jacket with the happy news SCC was awarded a $100,000 grant from Metallica’s All Within My Hands Foundation.
SCC is one of 10 colleges selected by the American Association of Community Colleges through a competitive application process in which colleges wrote grants on how they would use money from Metallica to enhance their workforce education programs.
“It is really exciting for us at SCC to know that our partnership with Metallica is going to result in direct assistance in getting our returning adult students into high-demand career and technical fields and on to a prosperous career,” Brockbank said. “The mission of the All Within Our Hands Foundation runs parallel to our mission at SCC and we are honored to be in partnership with the foundation and the greatest rock band ever.”
SCC is a state-wide leader in offering degree and certificate programs that put students on the pathway to high wage careers. SCC plans to use the Metallica money to serve adults in the community who may need to get their GED or get extra support as they move from basic education into college credit classes. This could include extra support with college costs, additional staff support or special classes that bridge the learning from basic education to college courses.
“It is a priority for our college to continue to build a pipeline of future employees in the high-demand career and technical education areas,” Brockbank said. “This grant with Metallica and All Within My Hands will bolster our efforts to transition students from college readiness offerings, GED training and high school completion courses into college level coursework and programs that will lead to lifelong careers”
The first cohort of students helped by the Metallica grants will become known as the Metallica Scholars, according to the AACC, which partnered with Metallica on this initiative.
“While the foundation continues our support for the fight against hunger and emergency community aid, we are now expanding our mission to include support for career and technical education,” said the foundation’s executive director, Dr. Edward Frank.
In addressing why the foundation chose workforce education as part of its mission, Lars Ulrich, Metallica’s drummer and co-founder said “All of us in the band feel fortunate that music has provided us the opportunity to be successful doing something we are passionate about. We want to share our success with others so that they can find a job where they can do the same.”
SCC’s programs include GED preparation, high school completion, language skills, pathways to post-secondary education and a long list of certifications and degrees for careers including aviation technology, avionics, , automotive technology, cosmetology, culinary, dental hygiene, electronics, health information management, hydraulic and pneumatic automation, paralegal, machinist, medical assistant, radiology technology, truck driver training and more.
The other nine colleges selected were:
- Central Piedmont Community College, Charlotte, North Carolina
- Clackamas Community College, Oregon City, Oregon
- College of Lake County, Grayslake, Illinois
- Community College of Baltimore County, Baltimore, Maryland
- Gateway Technical College, Kenosha, Wisconsin
- Grand Rapids Community College, Grand Rapids, Michigan
- Lone Star College, The Woodlands, Texas
- North Idaho College, Coeur d’Alene, Idaho
- Wichita State University Campus of Applied Sciences and Technology, Wichita, Kansas
Please contact Community Colleges of Spokane Public Information Officer Carolyn Casey 509-869-8381 or Communications Manager Lorraine Nelson, 509-590-8620 for additional information or photo opportunities.