The slow burn that cigarettes may inflict on the health of smokers has caused an economic fizzle in the tobacco farming sector, but a state commission wants to help students affected by the downturn.

Durham Technical College will receive $25,000 from the North Carolina Tobacco Trust Fund Commission to bolster Project Skilling Up, which helps students explore contemporary career paths.

Portions of that grant will be awarded in increments of $250 to students with families that have been impacted by steadily declining employment trends in the tobacco industry.

According to Michelle Jordan, the assistant dean of career readiness and skills training at the college, the grant will help affected students “pursue their academic and career goals.”

The North Carolina Tobacco Trust Fund Commission was established by state legislators in 2000 to distribute settlement money from tobacco companies as per the terms of a federal lawsuit.

Students seeking a scholarship from the commission will be required to write an essay of 150 words on how the decline of the tobacco industry in the state has personally affected them.

Applicants are encouraged to submit their essays online between now and December 29, with a link to the registration process available at durhamtech.edu/projectskillingup.

Photo from jones.house.gov.

 

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