Five Louisiana Students Receive Chemical Association Scholarships

The Louisiana Chemical Association (LCA) awarded its annual Process Technology Scholarships (PTEC) to five Louisiana students on August 15 to assist with tuition costs for attaining a two-year associate degree at a Louisiana community or technical college. This winners of the 2020 scholarships were: Mitchell Reeves, Baton Rouge Community College; Marcus Sumbler, Louisiana Delta Community College; Russell Gorbaty, Nunez Community College; David Rankins, SOWELA Technical College; and Christopher Rogers, River Parishes Community College. The $1,200 scholarships are given to qualified applicants every year who have completed at least 24 hours of Process Technology (PTEC) curriculum and maintained a minimum 2.75 GPA with a 3.5 in PTEC courses. To apply for the scholarship, the students were asked to write a 300-500 word essay explaining why they should be awarded the scholarship along with a letter of recommendation from an instructor or faculty member. The applications were submitted to the student’s respective schools and then sent to LCA for review and selection of winners. LCA began awarding the scholarships in 2009. “The Louisiana Chemical Association has been a tremendous partner for Louisiana’s community and technical colleges for nearly 20 years,” said Dr. Monty Sullivan, president of the Louisiana Community and Technical College System. “Their support ranges from curriculum development and implementation to serving on PTEC advisory boards at several of our colleges. I am most appreciative of their financial support of our students through the PTEC scholarship. Today, thanks to LCA’s support, there are recipients of the PTEC scholarship working throughout Louisiana providing for their families and contributing to our tax base. As the economy and workforce demands grow, it is critical that we produce more qualified workers. I’m confident that with the continued support of the LCA, we will meet the needs of Louisiana’s workforce.” PTEC is designed to give hands-on practice skills and training to men and women interested in pursuing a career in plants, refineries and other industries. The program became a priority for LCA members in the late 1990’s when the chemical industry suffered an unprecedented shortage of process technicians that would leave many needed positions vacant. So LCA, the Louisiana Workforce Commission and Louisiana higher education institutions collaborated to develop a standardized curriculum that would contribute to the skill improvement of the workforce pool and develop a skilled workforce ready to fill new jobs created by industry expansion throughout the state. “First, I’d like to congratulate the winners of this year’s scholarship,” said Greg Bowser, President & CEO of the Louisiana Chemical Association. “The chemical industry in Louisiana is growing and the need for a highly skilled and well-trained workforce is important. LCA has partnered with LCTCS for more than 20 years giving Louisiana students the opportunity to learn trades, crafts and skills to enter a manufacturing workforce where they will have the opportunity to earn a substantial salary and begin a long-lasting career. Our state and our industry needs a strong community and technical college system such as LCTCS and LCA is committed to helping this vital system thrive.”

To learn more, visit: http://www.lca.org/workforce/p-tech/.