Northwest Technical College awarded $50,000 grant for dental assisting scholarship program

Jan. 17—BEMIDJI — The

Delta Dental of Minnesota Foundation

recently awarded Northwest Technical College $50,000 to launch a Delta Dental Equity and Education Scholarship Program.

According to a release, the grant will support qualifying underrepresented students by offering scholarships and living expense relief for dental assisting students.

"The goal is to reduce barriers due to the cost of education, housing, travel costs and childcare expenses for dental assisting students," NTC Foundation Executive Director Ashley Johnson said in the release.

Extending through 2024, a total of $39,000 will be used for scholarship and supportive success dollars. Three students in each academic year can apply for a $6,500 scholarship that includes $4,000 in academic scholarship funds and $2,500 in student success funds that can be used for housing or other expenses.

The

NTC Foundation

will reserve $10,000 to establish an endowed Delta Dental Foundation & Partner Fund to extend the scholarship program into the future. The remaining $1,000 will be used for recruitment and marketing efforts.

NTC Admissions and American Indian Resource Center staff will work to recruit area high school students who may be interested in the NTC dental assisting program and will expand efforts to Leech Lake, Red Lake and White Earth Nations throughout 2022.

"Equitable recruitment processes will be implemented to reach diverse populations," Johnson said. "Statewide recruitment efforts will also be ongoing."

Expanding on the NTC Foundation's goal of providing scholarships, equipment and program support, Johnson left off, "By building an endowment fund, we can continue promoting scholarship dollars to underserved populations indefinitely. The goal is to continually provide better access to the dental assisting program at Northwest Technical College."

More information on NTC's dental assisting program can be found on the

NTC website

.