Pioneer Communications Sponsors New Annual Scholarship for GCCC STEM Summer Camp
[Garden City, KS] June 22, 2023 -- The Garden City Community College Endowment Association received a scholarship donation from Pioneer Communications. Through this, a $1,000 scholarship will be awarded to the winner of the annual GCCC Title III STEM Summer camp. The 2023 scholarship winner was Perla Torres from Garden City, KS.
"Pioneer Communications knows the importance of providing hands-on learning experiences to our young people and is proud to have helped provide this unique educational opportunity for students in western Kansas. We look forward to continuing to partner with GCCC to make a positive impact," said Kasey Krueger, Assistant CEO at Pioneer Communications.
Garden City Community College (GCCC), in collaboration with Fort Hays State University (FHSU), hosted a free three-day cybersecurity STEM summer camp from June 13-15, open to high school juniors, seniors, and GCCC first-year students. Camp participants learned computer networking, cybersecurity, and programming through Minecraft. It was the second summer camp through GCCC's Title III STEM Grant to expand science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) at GCCC.
"This year's camp was a unique opportunity for students to investigate STEM careers within cybersecurity and computer science. During the three-day camp, students learned concepts in building a network, creating a server, programming, coding, and extensive game development through the popular game Minecraft. It's always a good day on campus when we can showcase our incredible facilities and instructors," said Ashley Winger, Title III Activity Director at GCCC.
She continued, "Additionally, it provided another opportunity to strengthen our partnership with Fort Hays State University and share more information with students on transfer options beyond Garden City Community College. We couldn't have been more pleased with this year's turnout. A special thank you to Fort Hays State University professors Jason Zeller and Kevin Shaffer, and our GCCC professors Yuriy Drubinskiy and Mazen Nairat for putting together this experience for our southwest Kansas students."
For more information or questions, please contact Ashley Winger at 620-276-0420 or ashley.winger@gcccks.edu.
Make a difference for future Busters by starting your own Endowed Scholarship through the GCCC President's Scholarship Initiative! From HERE, you can go ANYWHERE.
About Pioneer Communications:
Pioneer Communications is a cooperative-owned telecommunications company based in Ulysses, Kansas that has been connecting rural Kansas communities to the world for more than 70 years. Our service area spreads across a large portion of Southwest/Western Kansas from Sharon Springs and Garden City to Coolidge and Richfield, and everywhere in between. We love the area, love the people, and love providing the best service in Southwest Kansas. Learn more: https://www.pioncomm.net/.
(L-R): Ashley Winger, Title III Activity Director, GCCC; and Perla Torres, 2023 STEM Summer Camp Scholarship Winner.
(L-R): Yuriy Drubinskiy, Assistant Professor of Robotics, GCCC; Kasey Krueger, Assistant CEO, Pioneer Communications; Scott Kedrowski, Dean of Advancement and Alumni Relations, GCCC.
(L-R): Sheri King, Marketing Specialist, Pioneer Communications (far left) with 2023 STEM Summer Camp attendees and FHSU professors, Kevin Shaffer (third from left) and Jason Zeller (second from right), and Ashley Winger, Title III Activity Director, GCCC (far right).
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