HAYDEN, Idaho — Idaho Gov. Brad Little made the trip to North Idaho to make an announcement about the new Idaho LAUNCH program.
“To me, it’s going to be a big game changer,” said Gov. Little about the program during Thursday’s press conference at StanCraft Jet Center in Hayden.
Standing near the governor were Timberlake High School seniors Alycia Cameron and Andrew Pettibone. For them, the LAUNCH program’s already changing the post-graduate game.
For both of them, the cost of getting an education after high school proved to be a daunting one.
“For me, more doors opened up,” Pettibone said, who plans to attend the University of Idaho.
“It was like I wanted to go, but I knew that I couldn’t afford it, so I was like ‘I’m not going,’ Cameron said. "And then I saw the Idaho LAUNCH and I got signed up for it and I was like 'Ok, if I get it, then I’m going to school.'"
The two seniors aren’t the only ones interested in the program.
According to the Governor’s office, 12,588 high school students had submitted or started the application for LAUNCH grants as of Dec. 28. That number breezed past the 7,500 state officials initially anticipated.
Gov. Little said, “We’ve got good sign up in every area of the state. We’ve got good sign up from every county, every legislative district.”
The LAUNCH program offers graduating students who apply and are looking to go into a high-demand career either 80% of tuition or up to $8,000 in grants.
Some of those high demand jobs include heavy and tractor-trailer drivers, welders, registered nurses and dental hygienists.
However, with the demand already high, Idaho Workforce Development Council Executive Director Wendi Secrist said they’ll have to prioritize grant applications by in-demand career.
“We know we’ll be in that situation,” Secrist said.
She also stated it’s why only 6,700 awards were given during the December round of contingent awards.
Secrist said they’re anticipating handing out about 8,700 scholarships.
“We definitely have more demand than what we’ll have funding for this year,” she said.
The program opened up last fall for applications and already the first round of contingent award letters were sent out in December.
The round of the contingent award letters are set to go out by the end of the year.
Both Cameron and Pettibone were among the first to receive the award.
Now that they do have it, they’re feeling better about the future.
“I’m going to be soaking up my senior year and trying to have the most fun I can now,” Cameron said.
“Having this to kind of help and push into the real world is real nice,” Pettibone added.
The application deadline for LAUNCH program is April 15.
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