(Editor’s note: This is the third in an occasional series of stories commemorating the 20th anniversary of the Marshalltown Education Partnership, a program led by local businesses and nonprofit organizations to provide scholarships to first generation college students from MHS who attend MCC.)

In its 20 years of existence, the Marshalltown Education Partnership (MEP) has helped hundreds of first generation college students who graduate from Marshalltown High School (MHS) further their studies at Marshalltown Community College (MCC). And thanks to a slew of recent major contributions from some of the city’s biggest private employers and the Martha-Ellen Tye Foundation, it will now benefit hundreds and possibly even thousands more in the future.

MEP Board President Terry Buzbee laid out an ambitious $1 million fundraising goal in conjunction with the 20-year anniversary, and the program has already received pledges of $250,000 from Emerson, $250,000 from the MET Foundation, $100,000 from MARSHALLTOWN Company, $50,000 from Lennox, $50,000 from the Buzbee Family Foundation and $30,000 from Mechdyne Corporation. MHS Principal Justin Boliver described the program as “a huge starter” for many of the district’s students and families, and MCC Provost Matt Schmit said it is something the community should be proud of as it doesn’t exist everywhere.

“It’s a real advantage for the families of Marshalltown to have this available. Where I came from, there was nothing really like this, so for me, when we look at trying to bridge the gap and make postsecondary education available to everybody, it’s vitally important,” Schmit said.

Emerson President of Flow Controls Kevin Meyer firmly believes that a strong education system and Marshalltown community at large only stand to benefit his company in the long run, which is why they have continually contributed to it.

“I like the way it’s set up (with) having somebody commit early going into high school but then having milestones that they have to meet. It creates the discipline for the student to not just be successful getting the tuition assistance but then going on to college and beyond, and we’re a strong believer that even if those people don’t come back to Emerson — some may, (and) some may go on to Iowa State, Iowa and come back — but hopefully, many of them come back to the community, even if it’s not with us. That’s a really good thing,” Meyer said. “And then you throw in the first generation aspect to it. I think the program’s well set up, and that’s why we happily support it.”

Because of the workforce needs in Marshalltown, Buzbee said one of the key focuses of MEP going forward will be skilled trades and training MHS and MCC alums who may be interested in jobs at places like the Emerson factory on Governor Road. Schmit echoed those comments and discussed efforts to connect with students the aforementioned educational institutions are not currently reaching.

“That does fall under a lot of the skilled trades. For whatever reason, we weren’t articulating (to) them to get that certificate or get that diploma, which would put them (at) entry level for those workforce and skilled trade areas,” he said. “So we focused on that, and we were able to continue to look at the criteria for the MEP scholarship and create the pathways through our teams to make sure we reach all students because we did have some gaps, I think, in the students that we were serving. It was predominantly female, and also, we didn’t have a lot in the trades. It tended to be more health fields and business type fields… not to detract from those but to add to the skilled trades.”

Boliver is optimistic that “more and more” students will take advantage of the program, which covers half of their tuition at MCC if they are the first generation to attend college in their family, meet certain academic standards (2.75 GPA and 90 percent attendance) and demonstrate financial need. He also hopes it will encourage them to stay in the community instead of leaving for job opportunities elsewhere, and Buzbee, the longtime former Emerson executive, said the company has had success recruiting former interns who utilized MEP and went on to Iowa State to return.

The MET Foundation, which is named after longtime Fisher Controls President Bill Fisher’s sister, has supported the MEP from its inception.

“The foundation can play a very unique role in this catalyzing way where we can take some time to really understand some community issues, find other communities that are very similar, see what they’re doing for best practices, kind of bring it back here, engage with some other stakeholders and kind of make it our own for the community to have some success and then see how it goes from there,” said Heidi Dalal, who has served as the foundation’s executive director since 2006. “So really, it’s that role as a catalyzer for some of these efforts, and MEP was one of the very first ones that the foundation was really able to engage with both at the high school level and at the college level.”

Education, Dalal added, was “extremely important” to Tye, who set up scholarships at Wartburg, UNI, Iowa State, Iowa and MCC, and she feels that the MEP perfectly aligns with the mission of the foundation.

“The Marshalltown Community School District is in such an awesome place because of all the partnerships in this community and just their drive to see our students do well. It’s awesome. That’s what’s so great about Marshalltown and this community,” Boliver said.

Although the Carter family has already donated to MEP in the past, the $100,000 contribution over five years is MARSHALLTOWN Company’s first as a business. As the well-known tool manufacturer continues to expand with construction recently commencing on the latest phase at its headquarters on South 8th Avenue, Vice President Iowa/Illinois Operations and Engineering John Christen acknowledged the need to recruit more high-quality employees, and CFO Wade McLeod said conversations have been ongoing with MCC about how the college can better help in meeting the company’s workforce needs.

“If you look at what our plans for growth are here, we’ll say in the next five years, the operations that will grow here, some of the phases we already got started… We need skilled production workers. We need people who can program CNC machines. We need tool and dye. We need maintenance, mechanics (and) electricians. All of those will grow with us,” Christen said. “But every year, we add more engineers. We add more software developers. We add more graphics, videography, all of those get hired. We grow every one of those departments — sales, customer service. All of that happens here in this building, and all of those departments have grown. Accounting is another one, finance and accounting… You need a good solid foundation of education even at the basic entry level here.”

Boliver emphasized a similar “all of the above” approach for students unsure about what their next step after high school might be, and, along with MEP Coordinator Karina Hernandez, loves to showcase the opportunities to work for global companies headquartered right here in Marshalltown.

“There are several Bobcats and also several Tigers throughout our organization,” McLeod said.

MCSD staff also get a chance to learn more about some of the community’s major employers through the ongoing externship program at places like Emerson and MARSHALLTOWN.

At Mechdyne, which specializes in audio visual and virtual reality solutions, engineered display structures, network infrastructure, and AV, IT, and software services, Coordinator for Organizational Development Mary Clover characterized investing in the MEP as an easy decision.

“How do we discover human potential and then enable it? That’s what we’re looking for in our workforce, and that’s what I think MEP is so great at. That’s what MEP is doing. It’s going into schools. It’s looking for people that want to grow and develop and improve their career, and then thinking about ‘Now how are we going to go about enabling that?’ How do we help people who have human potential do something great with that human potential?” she asked. “It just fits so well with what we want to do as a company, so it’s kind of a no brainer to support this… It’s a really important opportunity.”

Bo Norris, a Lennox board member and the son of late former President, CEO and Chairman of the Board John W. Norris Jr., now resides in Maine but still holds a special place in his heart for his hometown. So when Buzbee approached him about making a significant contribution to the MEP, he didn’t have to think about it for long, and members of the Marshalltown Lennox team spoke highly of the partnership when he returned for his father’s memorial.

“It’s been a neat project, and it’s had a great impact in the community. And it was a no-brainer for them to recommend to us that that would be a great cause. So it was easy to do,” Norris said. “I think every company, regardless of where they are but particularly in Marshalltown, loves the idea of developing that homegrown talent… You can carve out a fantastic life. There’s so much opportunity with those companies, and it’s a pretty easy pathway in that sense. You have to work. You have to study, and you have to do all that. But it’s great that there’s a pathway laid out for these young people for a career and commitment to Marshalltown.”

To date, the MEP has awarded 383 scholarships with a total value of over $1.35 million, helped 231 students earn a certificate, diploma or AA degree and mentored over 5,000 students in areas of financial literacy, college preparation and career exploration. To learn more and/or contribute, visit https://mcc.iavalley.edu/i-am/marshalltown-education-partnership/.