Green River College was recently awarded a $400,000 grant through the Strada Education Network Employer and Community College Partnership Challenge.

The grant is part of an effort to support innovative collaborations across the country between community colleges and employers. Green River will likewise participate in opportunities to share insights and learn from other community colleges and employers, through a community of practice.

According to Ken Hang, program director and Software Development instructor at GRC, the grant will provide students with better access to technology and opportunities, while also strengthening relationships with partner institutions.

“We are excited to be able to partner with Strada Education Network to grow opportunities for students to access work-based learning opportunities through industry capstone projects with technology companies in our classes,” Hang said. “Many of our students are unable to access traditional summer internships as they have commitments to family and/or jobs and through our partnerships, we are working to bring a comparable experience of working with industry mentors on industry projects into our classes that all our Software Development students can access.”

Green River is among numerous colleges throughout the nation that have received grants from Strada.

“Community colleges are engines of opportunity with unique insight into local dynamics and needs,” Strada Impact President Ruth V. Watkins said. “We’re honored to both support and learn from these programs as we work to align measures of success beyond completion with the things that matter most to learners: career mobility and earning potential, meaningful work and the chance to contribute to their communities.”