More students in the Quad Cities will get some welcome help paying for college. Monday the Quad Cities River Bandits announced the addition of Saint Ambrose University to the Bandit Scholars Program.
Team owner Dave Heller says the program will pay tuition for someone's junior year, and then hire that student for a paid summer internship. Already participating in the program are Augustana College and Western Illinois University.
"To be able to help three young people fulfill their dreams, and achieve their parents' dreams, and go on to study at some of the finest academic institutions in the country right here in the Quad Cities - that's incredibly meaningful to me."
Students are eligible if they live in Rock Island or Scott county, or any adjacent county.
Saint Ambrose President, Sister Joan Lescinski, is grateful some of her students will receive scholarships, and a paid internship.
"These kinds of experiences, internships where students get actually to work in a professional setting like the River Bandits, is something that really helps our students bring real world experiences back to the classroom, and then on to their lives in whatever area they work in."
She calls it another example of the university collaborating with local businesses and organizations to improve the Quad Cities.
Heller says the Bandit Scholars Program is the largest of its kind in minor league baseball despite coming from one of its smaller markets.
