WVC Receives $777K In Equipment Grants

Wenatchee Valley College (WVC) has been awarded almost $800,000 in Career Launch equipment grants.

The Career Launch program is part of the Career Connect Washington initiative, which provides students with real-life work experience in the classroom, and the grants allow schools to purchase necessary equipment for in-class use.

Yuritzi Lozano, dean of allied health and professional technical programs at WVC, says the college has six courses that are endorsed through Career Launch, three of which received equipment funding.

"We applied for money through three of our six endorsed programs, including drafting, environmental systems and refrigeration, and our industrial electronics course. Each submitted a separate application which identified some needs and potential equipment that would help enhance the hands-on learning they offer."

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The trio of programs received a total of $777,067, with the electronics program receiving $456,382; environmental systems and refrigeration $210,030; and drafting $110,655. Lozano says the college is now in the process of obtaining the items that each course requested through the grants program.

"We were able to purchase a drone for our surveying and GIS classes, electronics purchased some tabletop systems, and our environmental systems and refrigeration course purchased some portable training units."

All of the equipment being purchased through the grants program is expected to be available for use in the classroom by the start of the 2024-25 school year.

WVC's other Career Launch-endorsed programs include automotive technology, machining technology, and science-engineering technology.