‘Dirty Jobs’ star Mike Rowe to visit for 10-year anniversary of Build Dakota scholarships

“Dirty Jobs” star Mike Rowe is stopping at all four of South Dakota’s technical colleges Thursday to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of the Build Dakota scholarship.

Build Dakota scholarships were founded in 2015 to cover the entire cost of attending the two-year technical colleges in the state. They’re given to 400 to 500 students each year. During the last 10 years, more than $21 million in matching scholarships have been awarded to nearly 4,000 students alongside more than 500 industry partners, according to a press release.

An endowment created by a $25 million gift from T. Denny Sanford and $25 million from the state fund half of each scholarship and is then matched by an industry partner, according to past Argus Leader reporting. In exchange for the scholarship, students must work in South Dakota for three years after graduating.

These scholarships cover all of the recipient’s tuition, fees, books and uniforms. At Southeast Technical College, for example, they’re available for 30 of the college’s “most in-demand careers.” This school year, STC has awarded 164 Build Dakota scholarships, all of which were sponsored by an industry partner.

Rowe will visit STC in Sioux Falls first Thursday morning, then Lake Area Technical College in Watertown, Mitchell Technical College in the afternoon and then Western Dakota Technical College in Rapid City. 

More: ‘Dirty Jobs’ host jumps into South Dakota technical education

Each visit, except for LATC, will feature a fireside chat and media availability with Rowe. At LATC, he will be present for a ribbon cutting of the Archway Plaza. At STC, Rowe will also be present for a livestream viewing of a mock emergency scenario lat the STC Healthcare Simulation Center.

Other speakers at the STC event will include STC President Cory Clasemann, STC 2024 graduate and Mike Rowe Scholar Tyler Lee, First Premier Bank CEO Dana Dykhouse and Journey Group CEO Randy Knecht.

Rowe is an author, advocate for skilled trades and the founder and CEO of the mikeroweWORKS Foundation, which provides scholarships across the nation for high school students planning to attend technical colleges.