The city of Ruston is offering $10,000 to LA Tech and Grambling University graduates if they choose to return to the community. Mayor Ronny Walker hopes the aptly named “Welcome to Ruston” initiative will attract 25 graduates this year and 50 next year.
“As of eight o’clock this morning we already had 25 applications; that doesn’t mean all those 25 will be accepted but I think that tells you something about the popularity of the program already if we’ve already got 25 applications,” Walker said.
Anybody can apply but the requirements specify that applicants must work from home to receive the $10K over a period of four years.
Walker hopes the program and the city of Ruston itself will attract both the young and old.
“Walking trails, a great vibrant downtown, curbside recycling, fabulous farmers market, all of those we found were quality of life issues that folks want within a city,” Walker said.
The selection process will be determined by a committee of five people from across the community and each year those chosen for the award will have to verify that they are still working remotely in Ruston.
Walker said immediate graduates are not excluded from the initiative.
“If somebody that’s graduated and taken a job, in I’m just going to say Dallas, and he’s been there a month or a week or a week they could come back to Ruston, live in Ruston work remotely,” Walker said.
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