SVEC 2013 Scholarship Information

"An investment in Knowledge always pays the best interest" - Benjamin Franklin.

Since 1992, Shenandoah Valley Electric Cooperative (SVEC) has awarded scholarships to deserving high school seniors in the region that it serves. These students have earned the scholarships with excellence in the classroom, extracurricular activities, and contributions to the community. In the years since the scholarship has been awarded, the Cooperative has given back more than $60,000 to the community. During the spring of 2013 SVEC will award ten $1,000 scholarships to students whose parents or guardians are member/owners of SVEC.

Furthering one’s education is the best investment for success in the future. The obstacles facing most students today are the rising costs associated with a college education.

The goal of SVEC’s scholarship program is to make a student’s dream of higher education become a reality. The only requirements for a student to apply for the scholarship are that their parents, or guardians, must be member/owners of Shenandoah Valley Electric Cooperative and the student must attend a high school located in the areas served by the Cooperative.

Students will be judged for the scholarship based on a number of criteria. The three most important criteria will be the quality of the essay provided by the student, participation in school/community activities, and the quality of their high school course load. Other information used to judge the applicants will be letters of reference and grade point average. It is important to note that the first step in the judging process is a blind review of the essays. The judges have no information (including name, high school, or gender) regarding who wrote the essays at this point. Based on the essays, the judges will narrow the applicant pool before reviewing all other information submitted with the application.

The eligibility requirements and judging criteria are outlined in the application form that will be available at any SVEC office or the students’ school guidance department after December 12. All applications and essays must be delivered personally to SVEC’s Mt. Crawford office by 4:30 p.m. on February 25, 2013, or postmarked no later than February 25, 2013.
 

Application for SVEC Scholarship 2013 ( 316 KB)
 

VMDAEC Offers Scholarships

Any high school or home school senior whose parents or guardians are member/owners of Shenandoah Valley Electric Cooperative, and whose primary residence is served by the cooperative, is eligible to apply now for the 2013 Educational Scholarship to be awarded by the Virginia, Maryland & Delaware Association of Electric Cooperatives’ (VMDAEC) Educational Scholarship Foundation Board.

Scholarships that will be awarded in 2013 include:

• $1,000 Worth M. Hudson Scholarship
• $500 VMDAEC Educational Foundation Scholarship
• $1,000 C. D Hypes Memorial Scholarship

The Foundation Board selects scholarship recipients and scholarship amounts that are awarded based on three major criteria: financial need at 40 percent, academic achievement at 40 percent, and a personal statement at 20 percent.

An applicant must be entering his or her first semester at a post-high-school educational institution in the fall of 2013. The scholarship must be used towards the payment of tuition, student fees, room and board, or for the purchase of books.

For detailed information on the Eligibility and Application Requirements and to access the 2013 Educational Scholarship Application, please go online to www.vmdaec.com or www.co-opliving.com/community/scholarship.htm The Application Form must be submitted electronically via e-mail no later than midnight on Friday, March 8, 2013.  The Application Packet must be postmarked no later than Friday, March 15, 2013 or hand-delivered to the VMDAEC Office no later than 4:00 pm on Friday, March 15, 2013.

In 2012, the VMDAEC Educational Scholarship Foundation Board awarded 40 scholarships totaling $30,000 to deserving students throughout Delaware, Maryland and Virginia. Since its inception in 2000, 359 students have received VMDAEC scholarships totaling $258,500. The Foundation is funded through tax-deductible donations from individuals and VMDAEC member electric cooperatives, and also from the proceeds of events such as the annual Educational Scholarship Foundation Golf Tournament.

Founded in 1944, VMDAEC is the trade association for Shenandoah Valley Electric Cooperative and the 14 other not-for-profit electric distribution cooperatives serving the Mid-Atlantic region. It is based in Glen Allen, Va., and provides safety and employee training, governmental relations and legislative and communications services, including the publishing of Cooperative Living magazine, for its member co-ops.

For more information, visit www.vmdaec.com or call Pam Johnson, Statewide Training Coordinator at 804-968-7153.