MCC receives Haas scholarship grant
MCC Precision Machining and Manufacturing Program students and Brian Warren, MCC Industrial
Technology division chair and program instructor, with a symbolic scholarship check.
For the sixth time, Meridian Community College’s Precision Machining and Manufacturing Program received a scholarship grant from the Gene Haas Foundation.
The $30,000 grant is earmarked for support scholarships and student competition teams for students enrolled in the Precision Machining and Manufacturing Program at MCC.
"The Gene Haas Foundation Scholarship grants are crucial to the program and the advanced manufacturing sector of Mississippi,” said Brian Warren, MCC Industrial Technology division chair and Precision Machining Engineering Technology Program instructor.
Warren noted many of the program’s students fall just above the income threshold to qualify for federal financial aid or have already exhausted their Pell grant in another program of study or college.
The Precision Machining Engineering Technology Associate of Applied Science (MST) is designed to teach basic skills required for machinists, advanced machining procedures, CNC programming, and in addition, academic courses needed to complete the AAS degree.
MST students receive instruction in lathe and mill operations, computer numerical control programming, print reading, applied mathematics, precision measurement, CNC operation, computer-aided design and manufacturing, fixture engineering, process control, and production management.
Upon completion of the program, students receive NIMS and Titans of CNC certifications.
Gene Haas is the owner of Haas Automation, Inc., a billion-dollar company and America’s leading builder of computer numeric control (CNC) machine tools. Sixteen years after he started his company, he founded the Gene Haas Foundation. Haas’ commitment to the importance of U.S. manufacturing has incited him to grow his personal foundation and direct his foundation board to focus on manufacturing education in the form of scholarships for CNC machinist training. More than 4,000 charitable (501 C 3) organizations and schools have received funds totaling over 50 million dollars from the Gene Haas Foundation.
The Foundation’s primary goal is to build skills in the machining industry by providing scholarships for CNC machine technology and CNC machining-based engineering programs.
Warren said that besides providing monetary support, the GHF and Haas Automation give so much support to the program students to help them find success. “Students can learn from the top engineers at Haas Automation through YouTube training series, meet NASCAR drivers who drive for Stewart-Haas Racing virtually on race days, and local Haas Factory Outlet representatives come by the center to work one-on-one with students and provide the students with leads to potential employment after graduation," he added.