Kimani Dennis wanted to pursue his education at Renton Technical College to achieve his goals of finding a career in the high-demand machining field.

While his dream career was clear, finding funds for college was not. Like many students at RTC, Kimani would have to work while taking courses in Machining Technologies to pay his bills, and he worried about balancing both.

That is where donors and partners through the RTC Foundation engaged to empower Kimani’s dream and remove financial barriers to his education.

Kimani is the recipient of the Future District 751 Machinists & Aerospace Workers Scholarship. The IAM District 751 union created an endowment through the RTC Foundation in 2016 to fund annual scholarships for machining students.

“As a working student, there’s a life aspect that has to be incorporated,” shared Kimani, “Having a scholarship to cover tuition helps me have less stress, not only financially but also mentally.”

He also found support from his fellow students and his instructors. Machining Instructor Dave Shoenmakers helped Kimani land his first job with The Boeing Company while he was still in school. Now he works evenings as a toolmaker, while setting his sights on graduating in the spring and moving up the ladder at Boeing as a machinist.

“My experience at RTC has been amazing,” he said.

You are part of countless success stories like Kimani’s, and because of your faithful giving, students fall quarter were awarded over $244,000 in scholarship funds.

Join us in recognizing the hard work and talents of our incredible RTC scholars!

View the list of Fall 2025 scholarship recipients.