Connor Kamm

Press release

Connor Kamm, a 2024 graduate of Houghton High School and a freshman at Northern Michigan University this fall, studying Welding Technology & HVACR is a winner of the 2024 Mike Rowe Work Ethic Program Scholarship.

The scholarship is one created by the TV series host of “Dirty Jobs,” Mike Rowe and the foundation he created, mikeroweWORKS Foundation. The scholarship is for students who are entering an approved skilled trades program. The process is based off the S.W.E.A.T Pledge which Mike Rowe created to articulate the qualities he values most. The S.W.E.A.T. Pledge consists of 12 statements that outline the importance of four pillars: work ethic, personal responsibility, delayed gratification and a positive attitude.

Connor, 18, is no stranger to hard work and has always been interested in working in the skilled trades for as long as he can remember, it was fueled even more by his welding courses at Houghton High School and the Copper Country Intermediate School District’s Career & Technology Education. He signed the S.W.E.A.T. Pledge years ago when his mother gave him the paper copy of it for Christmas and they sat down and went through the 12 lessons of it, discussed what it means to believe and follow the pledge before he signed it, agreeing it was how he wanted to represent himself in the workforce.

The 2024 Mike Rowe Work Ethic Program Scholarship had thousands of applicants and Kamm is one of 200 winners across the country, receiving this award that handed out $1,000,000 in scholarships for 2024.