NEW Scholarship for Laboratory Food Sciences at Blackhawk Technical College

Foreign Type Cheesemaker’s Association and Precision Biolabs of Monroe to Increase Employees through BTC Scholarship Program

Blackhawk Technical College Foundation invites applicants through May 1, 2019 for the Laboratory Food Sciences scholarship funded by Foreign Type Cheesemaker's Association and Precision Biolabs. The scholarship is for students in good academic standing who are enrolled in the Laboratory Food Sciences Technician program located at the BTC campus in Monroe. The Foreign Type Cheesemaker’s Association of Monroe has designated $4,000/year to fund the scholarship beginning fall 2019.

Gail Zeitler, Executive Director of the Foreign Type Cheesemaker's Association and Precision Biolabs said, “Southern Wisconsin and Northern Illinois are hosts to many cheese factories and food processing operations. The scholarship will allow students to enroll in the Laboratory Food Sciences Technician program with a substantial funding source.” 

The Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) passed in 2011 and increased the need for quality department personnel in food production facilities. Thus, the cheese factories and Precision Biolabs have a great need for trained technicians in their quality departments to ensure safe quality food.  

1. Student in good academic standing with BTC (GPA: 3.0) and enrolled in the Associate Degree program for Laboratory Food Sciences Technician.
2. If the student remains in good academic standing at BTC (GPA: 3.0) in the Laboratory Food Sciences Technician program, the award will continue through their two years in the program.
3. Preference will be given to those who live within 50 miles of Monroe, Wisconsin.
4. Preference will be given to students with prior experience in the cheese making industry or for students with family members who have worked in the industry.
5. Foreign Type Cheesemaker's Association and Precision Biolabs will provide $4,000 in 2019 for the awarding of one scholarship that will pay $2,000 in fall 2019 and $2,000 in the spring of 2020.

“We hope students interested in food safety, quality, biology or laboratory procedures apply for the scholarship. These positions are well-compensated and key to the operations of many area employers. Students can work locally in challenging positions upon graduation,” said Zeitler.

Blackhawk Technical College Foundation offers a number of scholarships to help offset the cost of education. For more information about this and other BTC scholarships, contact Tim McKearn at tmckearn@blackhawk.edu or (608) 757-7704.

In 1935, Green County Cheesemakers established the Foreign Type Cheesemaker’s Association as a not for profit cooperative to establish a laboratory to perform quality control testing on patron milk and the cheese they produced. Today the organization provides support and services to members from all over the United States. Most recently, to better reflect its state of the art testing capabilities and emphasis on serving a broader customer base the laboratory has undergone a rebrand and now operates as Precision Biolabs, an ISO 17025 Certified Laboratory.