Meridian Technology Center Awarded Scholarship Funds from the Gene Haas Foundation


Jeremiah Reschke, center, visited Meridian Technology Center to award the school with a scholarship from the Gene Haas Foundation for adult students pursuing a career in machining through Meridian’s evening short courses. Jimmy Williams, Product Development and Machining Instructor, left; and Titus Lester, Coordinator of Adult Training and Development, right, accept the scholarship.

Story provided by Meridian Technology Center

The Gene Haas Foundation has awarded Meridian Technology Center a $10,000 scholarship for students enrolled in the school’s evening Computer Numeric Control (CNC) Machining Operations and Programming short courses.  

Gene Haas is the owner of Haas Automation, a builder of CNC machine tools. In 1999 Haas started the foundation after recognizing the skills gap that existed in the manufacturing industry. Since then, the foundation has provided scholarships for CNC machine technology students across the U.S. and Canada, as well as scholarships for credentials through the National Institute for Metalworking Skills (NIMS).  

Jeremiah Reschke, a Sales Engineer for the Haas Factory Outlet, visited Meridian to present the scholarship.  

“The Haas Foundation is proud to award Meridian $10,000,” Reschke said during the presentation. “We know these funds will help put students to work in the machining industry.” 

This is the second time that Meridian has received the scholarship. Last year, funds allowed seven students to complete the evening CNC Programming with little-to-no out-of-pocket expenses.  

Meridian offers short courses in CNC Operations, CNC Programming, Machining Print Reading and Gauging, and Benchwork, Layout and Manual Machine. Short courses meet on Tuesday and Thursday nights. New classes start monthly. Course length will vary. Visit meridiantech.edu/catalog for complete descriptions and dates.   

Adult students in evening short courses that are CNC-related can apply for the Gene Haas Foundation scholarship. Scholarship funds can be used for tuition, books, setting up the student’s personal NIMS account, NIMS certifications and tools required for the course. For information regarding the Gene Haas machining scholarship, contact Titus Lester at [email protected] or (405) 377-3333. 

Meridian Technology Center has been a driver of economic development since 1975. With a mission to educate, enrich lives and secure economic futures, Meridian offers full-time career training programs, short courses, workforce and economic development assistance and entrepreneurial support to residents from the Agra, Carney, Glencoe, Guthrie, Morrison, Mulhall-Orlando, Pawnee, Perkins-Tryon, Perry and Stillwater school districts. Meridian is one of 29 schools within Oklahoma’s CareerTech system.  

For more information or to enroll, visit meridiantech.edu or contact a career counselor by phone at (405) 377-3333 or toll-free at (888) 607-2509.