San Antonio College Receives Cornerstone Award from Project Quest

Project Quest, a local workforce and skills training program, has honored San Antonio College with its Cornerstone Award for helping San Antonio workers transform their lives by preparing them for meaningful careers.

The recognition came during Project Quest’s 29^th annual awards ceremony, which was held online in December.

A nationally recognized non-profit organization, Project Quest provides education management and employment opportunities in high demand occupations. Its mission is to strengthen the San Antonio workforce by offering support for people to pursue a living wage in jobs in fields such as information technology, nursing, manufacturing, and the trades.

Participants in the program, nicknamed “questers,” receive several services, including rental assistance, scholarships, job interview preparation, and funds for tuition and books.

San Antonio College is one of the premiere partners of Project Quest and was the first educational institution to join the initiative. Over the course of the partnership, SAC has supported 2,469 questers as they went through the program.

SAC President Dr. Robert Vela accepted the Cornerstone Award on behalf of the college. In a video acceptance speech Dr. Vela said both SAC and Project Quest shared an “educator’s heart.”  He added that both institutions have a “passion to get students to the finish line and to become productive members of our community.”

During the awards ceremony, Project Quest also honored a SAC graduate with the Distinguished Quester Award. Jason Thomas, now a registered nurse at Northeast Methodist Hospital, was recognized for exemplifying how the program is designed to work. He was honored for not only being a successful graduate from the program, but for helping with recruitment and offering testimonials to others on the benefits of Project Quest.

To see the video of Dr. Vela’s acceptance of the Cornerstone Award, visit http://youtu.be/4nZWUHayJo8.

–SAC–