About $32.5 Million is going to Ohio STEM students through scholarship money that universities like YSU will award to those pursuing careers in the field.

"If students are interested in working as engineers, or if they're interested in the sciences, or perhaps going into medical school, like pre-med or pre-vet or pre-dental, those are all stem disciplines," Dr. Thomas Wakefield, Chair of Mathematics and Statistics at YSU and Grant Administrator, said. 

$800 thousand will be added to YSU's 'Choose Ohio First' STEM-based scholarship program, which has been around for over a decade but Wakefield said STEM enrollment is growing at YSU.

STEM enrollment is up 5 percent since last year in a field that offers high-paying jobs and many disciplines with a 100% job placement rate, he added.

"It's a tremendous benefit for students," he said, "We will have five different 'Choose Ohio First' scholarship awards on this campus, and each one of those supports between 10 and 25 students each year, and so you figure that's about 100 students a year that are supported from the 'Choose Ohio First' program."

Students have opportunities to receive anywhere from $3,000 to $6,000 per year and scholarships are renewable for four years.

Not only does it help financially, but the program integrates networking and internship opportunities.

"There were 25 incoming 'Choose Ohio First' students in the last cohort," he said, "11 of them had internships in their first year, just after their first year, so, we're really trying to develop them professionally."

Careers such as nursing and teaching math are also included in the STEM field.

Lt. Governor John Husted said they hope this investment keeps grads in Ohio as innovative businesses grow with the need to employ STEM professionals.