Educational efforts bolstered

COLUMBUS -- Lt. Governor Jon Husted recently highlighted a scholarship that boosts Ohio’s efforts to strengthen the state’s workforce in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), the state said in an announcement.

Details were announced in a news release issued last week.

The scholarship, part of the Choose Ohio First (COF) program, will support an estimated 3,400 Ohio students who are new to the program, the news release reported.

That is in addition to 3,000 existing COF scholars, the state said in that news release.

The scholarship awards a total of $69,826,882 over the next five years, the news release detailed.

“The Choose Ohio First scholarship is helping Ohio students get a head start on their future careers, preparing them for in-demand jobs including coding and cybersecurity,” said Lt. Governor Husted, who led efforts to create the program as then-speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives.

“This new investment shows how valuable a STEM education – and keeping those students in Ohio – is to the state,” he said in the news release.

“I encourage high school students to consider the Choose Ohio First program as they are looking at their future college education,” he said in the news release that was issued by the Ohio Governor’s Office.

This new COF scholarship will support students completing programs in the STEM disciplines at 57 colleges and universities across the state, including several schools that are new to the program, the news release stated.