WCEC Awards $18,000 to East Texas Students

A panel of 3 independent judges recently awarded $18,000 in scholarships as part of Wood County Electric Cooperative’s (WCEC) “Power My World” program.

Ten local high school students, residing within WCEC’s 9-county service area, will each receive a $1,500 scholarship towards a college education. 3 students will receive $1,000 scholarships towards tuition for a trade/vocational certificate path. The program is funded entirely by unclaimed capital credit payments returned to WCEC by the state and does not come from WCEC’s operating budget.

The judges were comprised of 3 WCEC members: Terry Curry, Patricia Durst and Greg Hollen, who used various criteria to select the deserving thirteen winners. Each judge reviewed each student’s submissions which included and essay, accompanying academic records, and outlined civic work, as well as extracurricular achievements.

Based on their exceptional work and accomplishments, the ten 2023 $1,500 college scholarship recipients are Mia Backer from Mineola ISD; Kenzie Gavin from Grand Saline ISD, Bethany Sims from Harmony ISD, and Helena Bautista-Mathias, Alan De Gorostiza, Alexa Flores, Jacob Johnson, Ethan Presley and Joisalyn Tarno from Quitman ISD, and Evelyn Gaspar from Winnsboro ISD. The deserving $1,000 VOTEC scholarship winners are: Eli Nivison from Alba-Golden ISD, and Lane Warren and Benjamin Woods from Winnsboro ISD.

Of the winners, WCEC CEO/General Manager Trey Teaff said, “Congratulations to each of these accomplished students. They have a bright future, and the cooperative is so pleased to help them as they work toward their dreams. We’re committed to the communities we serve, and there no better way to show that than to invest in our youth.”