Two Baker High School graduates receive Mike Rowe Works Foundation scholarships
By Logan Bagett on Friday, September 11th, 2026 in Northeastern Oregon News Northeastern Oregon Top Stories
BAKER CITY — Two Baker High School graduates have received scholarships though the Mike Rowe Works Foundation. Mike Rowe, famous for his work on the show Dirty Jobs and more, is celebrating the 18th anniversary of the foundation. $3.5 million will be awarded across 450 students nationwide.
Baker City 2026 graduates Gerik Orszulak and Andrew Richards each received $1,000 Work Ethic Scholarships from the foundation. Both Andy and Gerik went through Ryan Butler’s welding program at Baker High School, and are pursuing further welding education and training in Laramie, Wyoming.
On a social media post, Mike Rowe stated, “In this round, we have 450 recipients who will collectively receive $3.5 million to further their training in 23 individual vocations. (Double the last round.) To date, that’s $22.5 million dollars awarded to 3,350 individuals. What a sublime legacy for an unscripted TV show that make me marginally famous for crawling through sewers.”
