Building pathways to opportunity for Washington’s students and workforce
WSOS serves talented students furthest from opportunity by creating clear, affordable pathways into high‑demand, living‑wage careers in health care, STEM, and the trades. Through scholarships and career support, we reduce barriers and help build a diverse, skilled workforce for Washington — serving Scholars from every county and legislative district because our state’s workforce challenge requires solutions that meet local needs.
Mission
Transform Washington state by building pathways to high-demand, living-wage jobs that strengthen our communities and economy.
Vision
Our story: Why was WSOS created?
In the early 2010s, a group of government leaders in Olympia identified an acute shortage of qualified workers in STEM and health care fields. To address this issue, then-Governor Christine Gregoire created the Higher Education Funding Task Force, made up of government, corporate, education, and community leaders. Chaired by Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith, the Task Force was charged with addressing two problems: (1) the barriers Washington students face in accessing postsecondary education, especially in high-demand fields like STEM, including the rising cost of college; and (2) the urgent need for businesses across the state to hire skilled workers to keep their talent pipelines strong.
After months of collaboration, the Task Force released a report recommending a new approach: a public-private partnership to fund higher education and promote a stronger, skilled workforce. This led to bipartisan support for the Opportunity Scholarship Act and the creation of the Washington State Opportunity Scholarship (WSOS). As the first public-private partnership of its kind, every dollar raised by WSOS is matched by the state of Washington.
In 2011, Microsoft and Boeing each invested $25 million, becoming the first Cornerstone Partners of WSOS. They were later joined by the Rubens Family Foundation with a $20 million gift and the Ballmer Group with an $11 million Investment. In 2021, all Cornerstone Partners reaffirmed their commitment, ensuring that future generations of Washington students continue to receive critical support.
- The first cohort of Baccalaureate Scholars was selected in 2012, supporting students pursuing high-demand STEM and health care bachelor’s degrees at universities and colleges across Washington state.
- In 2019, the Career & Technical Scholarship was created for students pursuing trades and applied STEM at community and technical colleges at Washington’s 34 community and technical colleges. In 2020, WSOS expanded this work with the Rural Jobs Initiative, providing additional funding to help rural Scholars overcome unique barriers.
- In 2021, the Graduate Scholarship was created, supporting students pursuing advanced nursing degrees and aiming to increase the number of nurse practitioners providing health care in medically underserved areas.
While WSOS has served more than 22,000 students across all 39 counties of Washington, our mission is now more critical than ever to expand access to high-demand, living-wage careers and build a stronger, more equitable economy for our state.
We know WSOS works.
Students who go through our program are ready to enter high-demand fields, and businesses are eager to hire them. Scholars graduate faster, take on less debt, and earn a higher average salary than their peers — the impact on students, businesses, and communities across Washington state is clear.
We recognize systemic barriers.
WSOS recognizes the educational and socio-economic inequalities that exist throughout Washington state. We acknowledge that systemic barriers, institutional racism, and poverty exist — disproportionally affecting historically excluded communities. We affirm the intersectionality of people’s identities and use an equity lens in all aspects of our work to empower Opportunity Scholars. Together with our partners, we are committed to reducing barriers for Scholars from diverse backgrounds and building equitable pathways into trade, STEM, and health care careers.
We believe in building more diverse industries.
Innovative industries thrive when they reflect the communities where they’re based. We work to ensure that the college-to-career pipeline creates opportunities for women and students of color. Our diverse population of Scholars is thriving and finding success in their careers and in their communities and are building more inclusive STEM, health care, and trades fields.
We believe Opportunity Scholars are the solution to the workforce shortage in Washington.
Washington needs Opportunity Scholars. We have far too few health care providers to meet demand even in normal circumstances, and we need more scientists, researchers, and technology innovators to meet the needs of our state now and in the years to come. As we work to solve the workforce crisis, Opportunity Scholars will be the ones who keep the lights on, our agriculture businesses thriving, our science innovating, and our tech sector powering solutions to our world’s most challenging problems.
The values that guide our work
Scholars are our North Star:
We prioritize what’s best for Scholars in the long term.
People are our greatest asset:
Being human-centric means seeing the whole person, creating space where people feel valued, and unlocking people’s potential to do their best work.
Diversity, equity, and inclusion are superpowers:
We have a responsibility to equitably serve diverse Scholars, and we know diverse perspectives make us powerful. We value transparency – up, down, and laterally – because it’s a key lever to drive equitable decision-making.
Impact isn’t by chance:
We set bold goals centered on the mission and are strategic about how we focus our time, energy, and resources. We believe high performance matters for Scholars, and we hold ourselves and others accountable.
Seek excellence:
We strive for best-in-class outcomes, not perfection, because our Scholars and team members are worth the effort.
Be respectful, courageous, and honest:
We say the hard thing, ask the hard question, and make the hard decision in service of our mission.
Iterate to great:
We create a space built on trust where people can think creatively, voice their opinions, and create the conditions for our highest and best impacts.
We is greater than me:
We believe in personal empowerment and accountability – own your decisions and their impact. We seek to understand individual perspectives, but we serve the collective.
WSOS is uniquely funded by the state with a dollar-for-dollar match, private donations, sponsors, and the Cornerstone Partners below:
Want to support STEM and health care in Washington state? Visit the Get Involved page.
Our Impact
Opportunity Scholars
Our Team
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