WARWICK – The last time heavy metal band Metallica made an appearance in Rhode Island was at a packed Providence Civic Center – now the Amica Mutual Pavilion – in April 1997. The two-hour concert was part of the band’s “Poor Touring Me” tour and featured hits such as “Enter Sandman,” “Nothing Else Matters” and “Master of Puppets.”
Though it has been nearly two decades since Metallica last visited Rhode Island, the band is still rocking in the Ocean State through a scholarship at the Community College of Rhode Island (CCRI).
This past school year CCRI was awarded $75,000 through the Metallica Scholars Initiative by All Within My Hands Foundation, founded by Metallica in 2017. The grant provides financial support for students enrolled in the college’s medical assistant and patient support specialist workforce training programs.
James Hetfield, Metallica’s lead vocalist and guitarist, has explained in the past that the goal of the initiative is to break the stigma around trade skills. The foundation has invested over $10.5 million so far across 60 colleges and universities, helping over 8,000 students throughout the U.S.
Jennie Johnson, associate vice president of institutional advancement at CCRI, explained the medical assistant and patient support specialist programs are highly sought at the school. The programs are eight to 16 weeks long and prepare students to go directly into work. CCRI partners with Brown University Health, Care New England and Thundermist Health Center to place students in jobs.
Johnson said the biggest barrier for students – one third who are adults coming back to finish their education or switch careers – is financial needs. This is where the Metallica Scholars Initiative steps in, by providing funds to help with childcare, meals, housing, transportation and other needs.
So far, 58 students at CCRI have benefited from the scholarship, with over half having completed their training.
“The end goal is to help our students that might be facing challenges stay enrolled, graduate and get into a job,” Johnson said.
She added that CCRI is in many ways the workforce engine of the state, with over 5,000 Rhode Islanders engaged through the college’s programs every year.
Esther Duran, a medical assistant at Brown University Health, said she cried when she learned she had been awarded $600 by the Metallica Scholars Initiative. The funds helped her buy scrubs and paid for transportation to school and work.
The news triggered a small chain reaction of calls, with Duran calling her mom and her mom calling Duran’s grandmother, all to celebrate the accomplishment. Duran said she was the first in her family to go to college.
“It made me feel proud and motivated to succeed,” Duran said.
