File photo of OSHBA
Associate member Mark
Preiss with the building
trades group at Tulsa Tech.
They were readying for state
competition by practicing on
a building unit.
The Oklahoma Home Builders Association Associates Council has been awarding $1,000 academic scholarships to students enrolled in state higher education institutions and to students and to building trades programs in the vocational technical schools statewide since 2008.
Also, OU and OSU scholarships are given from the income generated from our foundation donation ($16,000 each).
We asked the schools to provide us feedback on the recipients and the impact of the scholarships, and here is some of what we discovered:
University of Oklahoma - The OU Foundation reported that five students have received the OSHBA scholarship, including two who are still enrolled at OU. Of the three graduates, one is now a building contractor in his hometown of Wichita Falls, Texas. Here are the OU students who received the scholarship over the years: Travis Bridwell (2008-2009), Ruben Acosta (2009-2010), Kaleb Cummings (2010-2011), Micah Livingston (2011-2012), and David Burshik (2012-2013).
Oklahoma State University - Four Construction Management Technology students received the scholarships during 2008-2013. These are the known recipients: Neal Calhoun (2007), John Shaffner (2008), Jared Bell (2010), and Randy Larson (2013)
Great Plains Technology Center -- Scholarships supported 12 students in the Carpentry, Residential Wiring/Electrical and Heat and Ventilation programs at the Great Plains Technology Center. The Center reported 54 students who graduated from its building trades program 2009-2011 were employed in construction in Oklahoma.
Francis Tuttle Technology Center -- Since 2009, scholarships have supported students in the Building Trades program at Francis Tuttle. The school reported that for 2009-2010, 85 percent of the students who completed the program were employed in Oklahoma. For the year 2010-2011, 90 percent who completed the program were working in state, while 89 percent of the graduates from 2011-2012 were working in Oklahoma.
Meridian Technology Center - Scholarships benefitted 21 Meridian Technology Center students since 2008. The Center reported that it has data on 16 of the students and found 14 are employed in the construction trade in Oklahoma. One is working in another trade in Oklahoma and one is working in construction out of state.
