Mary Fouberg, RN, director of resident care services, and Jody Linke, CNA, of Weskota Manor Avera, attended and celebrated the honoring of a Build Dakota Scholarship to Linke at Lake Area Technical Institute.

Jody Linke, Woonsocket, Certified Nurse Aide (CNA) and employee of Weskota Manor Avera, was recently awarded a Build Dakota Scholarship to attend the Licensed Practical Nursing Program at Lake Area Technical Institute in Watertown, in partnership with Weskota Manor Avera, Wessington Springs.
Lake Area Technical Institute (LATI) welcomed 92 Build Dakota Scholars to campus this 2016-2017 academic year. The Build Dakota application process was extremely competitive with over 500 applications received at LATI for this fall.
High need employment areas with a shortage of skilled workers in South Dakota have been identified. The Build Dakota Scholarship was created to help solve this workforce shortage problem.  This program gets more skilled workers into the workforce. According to the Build Dakota Scholars website, “Build Dakota Scholars receive a free education, businesses gain employees, and South Dakota Grows. We all win!”
Lake Area is appreciative of the many Stretch the Million (STM) industry partners who help “stretch” the Build Dakota Scholarship opportunities to more students by providing funds for one-half of a full-ride scholarship in eligible high need career fields.  Nursing is an identified workforce shortage area. All Build Dakota students commit to working within South Dakota for three years upon graduation. If a Build Dakota student has a STM partner, the work commitment is with that partner for the three years.  Weskota Manor Avera is a STM industry partner with Linke.
According to Julie Stevenson, Lake Area Foundation director, “We are excited to celebrate with our Build Dakota Scholars and our industry partners from throughout South Dakota.  Our partners work tirelessly with us at Lake Area Tech to build South Dakota’s workforce through programs like the Build Dakota Scholarship.”
“We are very pleased to be an industry partner with Lake Area Technical Institute by helping to sponsor a scholarship for Jody Linke and in return to have Ms. Linke return to Weskota Manor Avera to work as a nurse. It has been a challenge to recruit nurses to the rural area and this program helps” said Gaea Blue, administrator and CEO of Weskota Manor Avera.