SharePoint Saturday – Omaha is an annual event offering free training to users on SharePoint and Office 365. It announced today the first scholarship of its kind in Nebraska.
Omaha, NE— October 15, 2018 — Students studying within the University of Nebraska at Omaha College of Information Science and Technology will benefit from a new scholarship announced today by SharePoint Saturday–Omaha through its non-profit parent, Alphabits Incorporated.
The SharePoint Saturday – Omaha Community Educational Scholarship Fund was established with a gift commitment to the University of Nebraska Foundation. The fund enables the college to award a $1,275 scholarship annually to a qualified student to assist with his or her tuition. Qualified students must submit a scholarship application to the college, have a class standing of junior or above and have maintained at least a 3.0 GPA.
“We are absolutely thrilled to be able to offer this scholarship,” said David Petersen, Leader of SharePoint Saturday – Omaha. “It has been in the works for many years now, and we are finally able to give back in a meaningful way to the University of Nebraska by providing this scholarship to students attending the University of Nebraska – Omaha, which has allowed us to use their facilities over the past six years to host our SharePoint Saturday events.”
Deepak Khazanchi, associate dean and professor for the College of Information Science and Technology, said this new scholarship will mean all the difference for students interested in IT careers who will be entering the Nebraska workforce soon.
“We’re grateful for the generosity of SharePoint Saturday and their ability to lift financial barriers for our students,” Hesham Ali, dean of the University of Nebraska at Omaha College of Information Science and Technology, said. “We’re extremely fortunate to have the support of our community partners and sincerely appreciate their desire to invest in the well-being and success of our students.”
Positive Community Impact
The mission of Alphabits Incorporated is to provide free or low-cost technical training to the community. It does this through monthly meetings of the Omaha SharePoint User Group, the annual SharePoint Saturday – Omaha, and other events like full-day, deep-dive workshops on SharePoint and O365 topics. Now, it’s also able to give back to the next generation of Information Technology professionals by offering this scholarship. The scholarship is fully funded for five years, and the organization plans to fully endow the scholarship fund in the next five years and open it up to all University of Nebraska campuses.