Elizabethtown Community and Technical College student earning degree with help from Metallica
Computer Aided Drafting and Design student Brandon Life is pursuing a degree at ECTC thanks in part to a scholarship from All Within My Hands, a non-profit organization established by the band Metallica and their managers.
The Metallica Scholars Initiative is helping Brandon Life, Elizabethtown Community and Technical College (ECTC) student, to work toward a career in 3D modeling by easing the financial burden of earning a degree. Life has also taken advantage of other scholarships and programs to take the financial burden off himself and his parents, such as the Project Lead the Way program and the Work Ready Kentucky Scholarship (WRKS).
Life spoke about his educational journey in a news release from ECTC. "I tried to be proactive in my transition from high school by applying for scholarships. This semester, in addition to WRKS, I'm using the Metallica Scholarship and a local scholarship from my church, College Heights. Paying for classes is a weight I don't have to worry about carrying on my back so I can focus on my classwork," Life said.
The opportunity to graduate without debt is something that Life says he is grateful for. "I've never had to take out a single student loan and applying for scholarships was an easy process. I'm only paying for books, so I won't graduate with debt. Looking toward a career in 3D modeling in small applications, I'm thankful that I won't have to worry about paying off student debt."
The Metallica Scholars Initiative is an educational grant program funded by Metallica's All Within My Hands (AWMH) non-profit organization. In July, ECTC was awarded $50,000 for scholarships for students. According to an earlier news release, 2021 is the second consecutive year that ECTC was selected. President Juston Pate welcomed the funds, saying, "We are thrilled to earn a second year of partnership with AWMH, AACC [American Association of Community Colleges] and Metallica to remove financial barriers for students, and at the same time, meet the workforce needs of our region's employers. As Metallica Scholars, students have an incredible opportunity to offset costs and start a new career with high earning potential in as little as four weeks."
The scholarships through the Metallica Scholarship program are available to students in a variety of skilled trades programs. Lead singer of Metallica, James Hetfield, explained the inspiration for establishing the scholarship fund. "As a touring entity we are in direct involvement with multiple essential career choices along our path," Hetfield said. "From electrical, professional driving, culinary, mechanical maintenance, public safety, logistical organizers. And that just scratches the surface. Those, along with a multitude of other technical careers, make our touring and our performances possible. We are passionate and grateful to these trades and tradespeople."
According to the AWMH website, Metallica Scholars recipient schools are selected in a competitive application process with help from AACC. Since 2019, Metallica Scholars has provided financial support to over 1,000 students across the country, starting with ten schools that year and expanding to 23 schools by 2021.