Mortenson creates scholarship program for low-income students at Dunwoody

Mortenson Construction is launching a scholarship /jobs program for low-income students seeking construction degrees at Dunwoody College, a move organizers hope will become a model for the industry.

The new scholars will come from households making less than $81,000 a year in adjusted gross income. Many will be students of color and the first in their family to attend college.

The Mortenson Scholars Pathway program will award $30,000 per student for those pursuing a two-year degree in construction project management or architectural drafting and design. When paired with state and federal aid, all tuition and fees should be covered, officials said.

To help students develop skills and understand career options within the industry, they will work at Mortenson part time during the college semester and full time during the summer of their first and second years at Dunwoody. Upon graduation, most are expected to be offered full-time jobs.

The pilot program starts this fall with five students.

If successful, the program could be replicated across 13 other cities where Mortenson has offices. And it could become the model used to encourage other construction firms to create similar programs, said Mortenson Executive Vice President Mark Sherry.

"There's nothing like this now in our industry," said Sherry, who graduated from Dunwoody College of Technology in Minneapolis and serves on its board of trustees.

To bolster the success of the students and the fledgling program, Mortenson has partnered with Wallin Education Partners, a college completion expert that has supported and advised low-income students through college for 30 years.

Wallin will recruit scholarship candidates for Mortenson and advise and support students throughout college.

The goal is to "wrap around" services so students succeed academically and in new careers that are unfolding in a "fast growing and dynamic industry," said Wallin CEO Susan Basil King. The support is needed.

"Some of these students will make more their first year as our employee than their family households did last year," said Richard Harris, Mortenson's college recruiting and student programs head.

The goal is for the new program to have "long lasting" results and to help change lives, Sherry said.

"It's our job to show the next generation they can find a career in an industry that is not only ready for them, but is also aligned with their passions, talents and desires for a fulfilling professional future," he said.

In a tight job market, new pipelines for workers are needed.

So the new program "does solve a problem for us in the industry but it also creates the leadership we want to create in this space and we hope others see this as something to do as well," Sherry said.