SIOUX FALLS, SD (KELO.com) — Four-thousand graduates and 43 and a half-million dollars in scholarships over the past ten years. Those are the vital statistics of the Build Dakota Scholarship, which is designed to help college students graduate debt-free as they learn a trade. The program’s success has drawn some high-level attention. Mike Rowe of the TV-series “Dirty Jobs” is a big believer.

Southeast Tech President Cory Claseman says the scholarship program is a big reason enrollment is growing at the state’s technical colleges.

Rowe believes so strongly in the Build Dakota Scholarship program he has sponsored a number of micro-scholarships. alongside the Build Dakota Program. He toured all four of South Dakota’s Technical Colleges Thursday to celebrate Build Dakota’s ten-year anniversary.