Standing before a tool display at Knoxville's Grainger Industrial Supply store are, from left, Aaron Turley, government sales manager for W.W. Grainger, Inc.; Russell Rumpp, branch manager of the Knoxville store; Garrett Curl, a recent graduate of Pellissippi State Community College; Peggy Wilson, executive director of the Pellissippi State Foundation; and Jason Karam, assistant branch manager of the Knoxville store. Grainger officials recently presented Curl and Pellissippi State student Chris Knisely with a $2,000 technical education scholarship. Grainger is an international supplier of facilities maintenance products.
Two Pellissippi State Community College students have been awarded the Grainger Tools for Tomorrow® scholarship, the first recipients ever for the institution.
Garrett Curl, a recent graduate with an associate’s degree in Computer Science and Information Technology, earned a $2,000 scholarship. The 26-year-old Army veteran also received a customized Westward® toolkit from Grainger, an Illinois-based supplier of maintenance, repair and operating products.
The scholarship will help him further his studies at Western Kentucky University this fall. Curl graduated from Pellissippi State in May with a 4.0 grade point average. Applicants for the scholarship must have a 3.0 GPA or higher on a 4.0 scale.
Chris Knisely, an Engineering Technology student, also was awarded a $2,000 scholarship from Grainger and will get the Westward® toolkit upon graduation. Knisley is also a veteran. Both students received notice of the scholarship awards in May.
The scholarships come through the Pellissippi State Foundation. Grainger, in conjunction with the American Association of Community Colleges, launched the Grainger Tools for Tomorrow® scholarship program in 2006.
Applicants must be a U.S. citizen or legal resident at a select community college. They must be studying electronic systems, heating/air conditioning, plumbing, pneumatics, welding, automotive, construction, facilities maintenance or another industrial trade.
To date, Grainger has made more than $100,000 in scholarships available specifically for students who served in the military. The scholarships are available to veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces. Visit www.grainger.com/technicaleducation to learn more about the company’s technical education programs.
Learn more about Pellissippi State at www.pstcc.edu/admissions or (865) 694-6400.