December 5, 2014- Albany, GA- Grainger recently awarded Albany Technical College Paramedic Technology student, Michael Carroll, with their Tools for Tomorrow® scholarship, which includes $2,000 to be used toward his final year of college. Upon graduation, Carroll will also receive a customized Westward® tool kit to help him begin his professional career.
Grainger, a distributor of products used to maintain, repair or operate facilities, provides this award each year to a technical college student to help ensure there are enough trained people to meet the industrial trades' employment demands. Their vision is to create an environment that makes the training and advancement in the skilled trades a priority.
Carroll, a second year student in Albany Tech's Paramedic Technology program, is already a trained and nationally registered firefighter, as well as a nationally certified EMT. His intentions were to remain in the fire service and to use medical training to advance his career in firefighting. However, when the door to the medical field opened, Carroll said he knew he had found his purpose.
"Medical training is both exciting and rewarding, offering a wide variety of experiences that I will always take with me wherever I go," said Carroll. "Through my paramedic classes, I have grown in skill and in mind, which has broadened my horizons for the future."
A 2012 nominee for the Georgia Occupational Award of Leadership (GOAL) and a former vice president of Albany Tech's chapter of SkillsUSA, Carroll has excelled in his academic work boasting a current GPA of 3.72, allowing him to bypass EMT-Advanced training and moving directly from EMT into paramedic training. He has been invited to join the National Technical Honor Society (NTHS) and has plans to move on to medical school after he graduates from Albany Tech. He has recently been in contact with the Navy to position himself in the military as a doctor so that he can take his life saving abilities across the globe.
"I look forward to the challenges ahead of me and will endeavor to make my instructors proud," said Carroll. "Receiving the Grainger scholarship is a fantastic blessing, aiding in the advancement of this dream and I am grateful for the chance to show what I am capable of."
"We are extremely proud to support Albany Technical College students like Michael Carroll who is pursuing a career in the industrial trades," said Michael Davis, On-Site Services Consultant for Grainger Industrial Supply. "These students are our future skilled trades leaders and will keep America running strong.
Pictured (left to right): Dr. Anthony O. Parker, President of Albany Technical College; Michael Carroll,