Metallica band helps CLC tech students

GRAYSLAKE - For the third year in a row, College of Lake County was selected as a recipient of a Metallica Scholars Initiative grant. The $25,000 and will be matched by CLC for a total of $50,000 in scholarships for students studying in career and technical programs.

Metallica, a heavy metal band that formed in 1981, created the Metallica Scholars Initiative through its foundation, All Within My Hands. Its scholarships are given in partnership with the American Association of Community Colleges.

CLC was one of 23 schools chosen to receive the scholarships. That number has risen from 15 a year ago, even during the pandemic, and from 10 in 2019, the program's first year. This year, a total of $1.6 million will be given out.

"What makes this work so unique is that in addition to supporting students directly, our goal is not just to change individual lives, it is to unabashedly promote the trades as meaningful and well-paying career pathways," said Edward Frank, executive director of the AWMH foundation.

The scholarships will aid students studying automation, robotics and mechatronics; automotive collision repair; computer-aided design and a number of other technical fields.