Skip directly to content

Technical Ed Scholarship

For the past 10 years, Humanists of Greater Portland has provided scholarships to selected local students about to enter their freshman year of college. We have just awarded three such scholarships for 2021.

We have always targeted seniors headed for traditional four-year colleges. For centuries, such schools have been the foundation of our educational system.

However, in the twenty-first century, in an era of economic disruption from many sources, community colleges are an increasingly valuable educational option. In addition to our traditional scholarship, we also want to assist students who are choosing a two-year associate degree or one-year certificate program at a Portland area accredited community college. In the future, such Career Technical Education (CTE) programs will increasingly benefit not only students but also our whole nation.

Starting this year, HGP will be offering up to five one-time $1000 scholarships to CTE students. This is in addition to, and separate from, our traditional scholarship program. Since community college foundations and Oregon Promise grants assist with tuition, we are emphasizing that our CTE scholarship may also be used for other types of expenses.

Because the sign-up process/timing for CTE classes is so different from the admissions steps of four-year colleges, we have created a separate application form that has a later deadline and shorter personal statements about plans and goals rather than our usual longer essays.

We send “traditional” scholarship application forms and information to Portland Metropolitan Area public schools every January, with a mid-April deadline. Now, we are providing these high school counselors with CTE forms and information in May, with a mid-September deadline. The 2021 deadline is September 10.

In addition to the personal statements, applicants must provide parental permission (if they are not yet 18) and high school transcripts showing a GPA of at least 2.5. Winners need to submit proof of college enrollment prior to receiving their award check from HGP.

Studies show that a large number of community college students are changing careers, returning to school many years after high school graduation. We're hoping to reach as many of them as possible, although distributing applications to them is more challenging than just relying on the help of counselors.

Starting in May, the application form for the 2022 CTE scholarship will be available for downloading here.

 

 


to support this cause