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By Steven Johnson

WINDSOR

Electric cooperatives in Virginia, Maryland and Delaware are preparing to accept applications for their popular scholarship from high school seniors who intend to pursue higher education studies.

The scholarships are awarded by the Virginia, Maryland & Delaware Association of Electric Cooperatives’ (VMDAEC) Education Scholarship Foundation, which since 2001 has provided

almost 800 scholarships to graduating high school students totaling more than $680,000.

“This program has helped hundreds of students advance their education and demonstrates once again how electric cooperatives are committed to their member-consumers and the communities they serve,” said Richard G. Johnstone Jr., president and CEO of the VMD Association.

The open date for applications is Monday, Nov. 4, while the application deadline is Friday, Feb. 28, 2020. Award recipients will be notified no later than June 1, 2020. The online application is posted at both vmdaec.com and co-opliving.com.

Any high school or home-schooled senior graduating in spring 2020, and whose primary residence is served by a VMD member cooperative, is eligible to apply for a $1,000 scholarship to be applied to a two- or four-year college or trade school.

An applicant must be entering his or her first semester at a post-secondary or technical/trade school in the fall of 2020. Scholarship funds, which will be sent directly to the educational institution, must be used toward tuition, student fees, room and board, or textbooks.

To be considered complete, SAT and/or ACT score reports must come from the College Board. A score report must be uploaded by the student in the online application system. Scores listed on transcripts do not qualify. If a student has taken the SAT more than once, he or she can take the best score from each test (“Super Score”), but both tests must be submitted in the package to qualify.

The Foundation’s board of directors will select recipients based on these weighted criteria: financial need at 40 percent, academic achievement at 40 percent and personal statement at 20 percent.

In 2019, VMDAEC’s Education Scholarship Foundation awarded 58 Worth Hudson scholarships to students who live in areas served by electric cooperatives in Delaware, Maryland and Virginia.

The scholarships are named in honor of Hudson, the Foundation’s first chairman and former chairman of the board of directors of Mecklenburg Electric Cooperative in Chase City, Virginia.

Additionally, the $1,000 Gertrude Winston Memorial Scholarship is available to the child of a member of Rappahannock Electric Cooperative, while a $1,500 C.D. Hypes Memorial Scholarship is available to the child of a member of Craig-Botetourt Electric Cooperative.

Questions about donations and the application process should be directed to Sam Brumberg, scholarship program coordinator, atsbrumberg@vmdaec.com.

 

STEVEN JOHNSON is director of member and public relations for the Virginia Maryland and Delaware Association of Electric Cooperatives. Contact him at 804-297-2644 or sjohnson@vmdaec.com.