between rural and non-rural areas. For rural communities to remain economically viable and appealing as a home to new industry, technology-based or not, these communities need to fully understand the potential that technology can provide, and encourage growth of those skills in local youth.

Ensuring that students from rural areas are able to go out and acquire the education they need and desire will go a long way to helping these communities overcome the digital divide.

Unfortunately, technology is unlike agriculture, healthcare, or even legal fields, where even the smallest communities have practitioners who can provide support within the community. In the ultimate Catch-22, because rural areas are generally not where technology companies have offices, students interested in this type of career often find little community support in terms of local internship opportunities, education training programs, and/or mentoring opportunities. The founder of the RTF and several of its board members encountered this scenario when they graduated from their own rural high schools.

With this personal experience driving The Rural Technology Fund, we seek to lower barriers to rural students and ensure that they have an easier road to technology-based careers. This is supported by several different programs.