Cerro Coso Community College, in partnership with a grant from Amazon Web Services (AWS) and the Foundation for Community Colleges, is excited to announce a new scholarship opportunity available for students enrolled in Information Technology or Cyber Security programs.

The scholarship aims to financially assist students in pursuing advanced skills in cloud computing.

In fall 2022, Cerro Coso was awarded $3,500 to distribute to eligible scholarship applicants. Six students were selected to receive the award, with amounts ranging from $500 to $750.

For spring 2023, Cerro Coso was selected to receive an increase in funding due to the Information Technology and Cyber Security programs' current success and enrollment growth. Cerro Coso is excited to announce that it is able to award up to $29,000 this semester to eligible applicants! This is a tremendous increase and gives the college the ability to support more students pursuing these degree pathways.

To be eligible, students must be enrolled in at least one of the Information Technology courses this spring, which includes: IT C101, IT C142, IT C143, IT C251, or IT C282X. Courses began on Jan. 17, with an additional late-start course for IT C101 beginning on Feb. 13. Students must have completed a general financial aid application through FAFSA or CADAA and be experiencing circumstances that demonstrate financial need.

In addition to the AWS Scholarship, Cerro Coso is able to offer a Test Out Award for the spring semester. This award is available to students enrolled in Information Technology courses IT C142, IT C143, or IT C146. Test Out is required course material that students typically purchase on their own. This award would provide students with a voucher to receive the materials for free (estimated $109 value). This award is not dependent on financial need. Awards will be granted on a first-come-first-serve basis for students that apply and are declared majors related to Information Technology.

Interested applicants can apply for either of these awards through the Scholarships page on the Cerro Coso website at http://www.cerrocoso.edu/scholarships. The Test Out and AWS scholarship forms are found on the "outside scholarships" tab. The initial review date for the Test Out scholarship was Jan. 13 and the deadline to apply for the AWS scholarship is Jan. 31. For more information on either of these scholarships, you can contact the Career Technical Education department by emailing cte@cerrocoso.edu.

We encourage eligible applicants to take advantage of this awesome scholarship opportunity!