I can’t say enough about how much the Checota scholarship helped me out.
Cha-ching!
That’s the sweet sound of Larelle Jackson’s first paycheck from We Energies hitting his bank account.
By the end of May, at the tender age of 18, Jackson will be well educated and economically mobile: He’ll have a technical diploma from Milwaukee Area Technical College and a full-time job as an electrical power distribution line mechanic at We Energies’ Metro North facility.
That’s a gig that pays between $33 and $38 per hour, or more than $68,000 per year, according to Google.
Not that Jackson, who will receive his diploma May 16 at MATC’s Spring Commencement and start his job May 26, is telling.
“I will say that I’m really stoked to start working,” Jackson said with a smile. “I think I’m in a great spot. I feel extremely accomplished. Not only do I feel ready to help people with their problems, like fixing outages and repairing storm damage, but I also feel a sense of personal accomplishment.”
And he should, said MATC President Dr. Anthony Cruz. “He's entering the middle class before many of his peers are finishing their first year in college,” Dr. Cruz said. “This is a life changer for Larelle and for his family.”
While attending Rufus King International High School in Milwaukee, Jackson participated in We Energies’ youth summer internship program, which introduces high school juniors and seniors to utility careers.
Jackson spent the summers after his junior and senior years getting paid to learn about the city’s aboveground and underground electrical infrastructure, and to work alongside qualified We Energies line mechanic crews on outdoor job sites in the region.
Participating in the program gave Jackson real insight into what linemen do, he said. “I learned not only all the things they do, but how safe they need to do the job,” he said. “After that, I pretty much knew that’s what I wanted to do.”
Fresh out of Rufus King, he enrolled at MATC in the fall of 2025. He also applied for and received the Ellen and Joe Checota MATC Scholarship. The Checota scholarship, designed to help students in technical and trade programs enter the workforce quickly, supported tuition, books and supplies, meals, transportation, and child care, if needed.
“I can’t say enough about how much the Checota scholarship helped me out,” Jackson said. “I always had a lot of support, I always got the information I needed and I received a lot of career advice. Any time I needed anything, the Checota people were on it. I’m so thankful for how the program helped me.”
Learn about the Checota Scholarship program
Inspired by success stories like Jackson’s, the Checotas, MATC and the MATC Foundation launched the Second Ellen and Joe Checota MATC Scholarship Program in March 2026, with the goal of raising $15 million for scholarships for students in trade and technical programs who want to achieve meaningful employment or career advancement.
“The first Checota MATC Scholarship Program helped change the lives of 1,200 greater Milwaukee residents and their families,” Joe Checota said in March. “We believe the Second Checota MATC Scholarship Program will help change the lives of an additional 2,500 greater Milwaukee residents and their families.”
Jackson trained in MATC’s Electrical Power Distribution/Line Mechanic program at the college’s Metcalfe Park facility, learning the basics in electrical power distribution, rescue and safety, and general workplace communication.
The training site opened in the fall of 2023 as the fruit of collaboration and cooperation between MATC, We Energies, the City of Milwaukee, the Metcalfe Park neighborhood and the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District.
“Since the EPD program began, a key focus has been equipping our students with the skills needed to earn life-sustaining wages while helping the communities they live in,” said Dr. Doni Bartley, associate dean of MATC’s Manufacturing, Construction and Transportation Academic and Career Pathway. “Each one of us relies on these essential workers, and I take pride in knowing our students are among them.”
At Metcalfe Park, Jackson showed aptitude and initiative, said Eddie Nash, his EPD instructor at the site.
“Larelle is a leader within his MATC cohort and frequently assists his peers during the training process,” Nash said. “He is highly respected by his classmates and maintains a professional, respectful rapport with the instructors and faculty at MATC.
“I am confident that Larelle will be both a successful line mechanic and a valuable asset to his community,” Nash added. “I look forward to witnessing his future success.”
In April, Jackson assisted at a Community Day event that We Energies hosted at the Metcalfe Park facility to spotlight careers in the energy field.
“These jobs are the ‘it’ thing,” said Jennifer Buchanan, assistant to the president and CEO of We Energies. “Our industry has never been more interesting or more exciting.”
Under Jackson’s watchful eye, several students from Milwaukee Lutheran High School hoisted poles; carried sections of a wooden pole that weighed 60 and 100 pounds on their shoulders; walked with two buckets each weighing 40 pounds; and used heavy duty cable cutters to slice through wire made of aluminum, copper and steel sheathed with rubber.
The students completed the tasks as a brisk wind chilled the facility and rain drops fell intermittently.
“All of these activities are things linemen do almost every day, no matter what the weather is like,” Jackson told them. “When you do this job, there’s no staying home when it’s freezing out.”
Learn about MATC's Electrical Power Distribution/Line Mechanic program
About MATC: As Wisconsin’s largest technical college and one of the most diverse two-year institutions in the Midwest, Milwaukee Area Technical College is a key driver of southeastern Wisconsin’s economy and has provided innovative education in the region since 1912. More than 35,000 students per year attend the college’s four campuses and community-based sites or learn online. MATC offers affordable and accessible education and training opportunities that empower and transform lives in the community. The college offers more than 180 academic programs — many that prepare students for jobs immediately upon completion and others that provide transfer options leading to bachelor’s degrees with more than 45 four-year colleges and universities. Overwhelmingly, MATC graduates build careers and businesses in southeastern Wisconsin. The college is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.
About the MATC Foundation: For more than forty years the MATC Foundation has been the philanthropic partner of Milwaukee Area Technical College, supporting student success through scholarships, emergency grants, and college initiatives. With a vision of a prosperous region built on expansive access to education and economic opportunities, the MATC Foundation’s mission is to build donor relationships to facilitate private investments, removing barriers to education to accelerate careers and deliver skilled talent to the Milwaukee area. To learn more and explore how to partner with the Foundation, visit matc.edu/foundation.