With 60% to 70% of Wyoming youths leaving the state by age 30, Wyoming may have the highest outmigration of young people in the nation.

Cheyenne high school student David Whitehead, however, is confident he is going to buck that trend. Not only that, but he believes that right now, for any other youth who wants to do the same, Wyoming can be their oyster.

“A lot of people say there’s not opportunity here,” he told Cowboy State Daily. “But I see opportunity everywhere, and places to grow, and for others to grow as well.”

The heavy metal band Metallica that still fills stadiums, is also filling trade classrooms across the country, including Wyoming through the Metallica Scholars Program. 26 students in Cheyenne were given scholarships to train for trade careers and Wyoming’s growing data center boom.

In Montana:

Flathead Valley Community College – Kalispell, Montana

Salish Kootenai College – Pablo, Montana