A panel of 3 independent judges recently awarded $25,000 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 $2,000 scholarship towards continuing education. 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 independent judges were comprised of three WCEC members: Mrs. Antonia Henson, Alba; Mrs. Brenda Hunter, Quitman; and Mrs. Pam Joiner, Pickton. These judges used various criteria to down-select the 10, who were chosen from 64 qualified applicants. Each judge was tasked with reviewing the submissions, accompanying academic records, and lists of civic and community achievements. Additionally, each student was required to submit an essay, which was read by each judge. Based on their exceptional work and achievements, the ten 2015 Power My World high school scholarship recipients are:
Abby Fair, Hawkins; Cecilia Flores, Quitman; Kerry Gonyeau, Harmony; Jacob Hays, Alba-Golden; Brooke Kellam, Van; Hunter Redmond, Van; Emilia Sanders, Quitman; Ashton Sauseda, Grand Saline; Regan Wigington, Alba-Golden; and Danielle Yarbrough, Winnsboro.
In addition to the above, the winner of a $5,000 scholarship reserved for a college Junior accepted into an accredited engineering school is Spencer Capps of Quitman. Spencer is a Junior at Texas A&M studying Electric Engineering.
Of those selected, WCEC CEO/General Manager Debbie Robinson said, “Each year the quality of submissions is refreshing to see. It is a testament to the quality of our East Texas school systems and the achievements we have to look forward to from this crop of students.”
Wood County Electric Cooperative, Inc. is a not-for-profit electric cooperative with the mission of providing member-customers reliable electric service at a reasonable rate. WCEC serves over 34,000 meters in parts of nine counties throughout northeast Texas, including Camp, Franklin, Hopkins, Rains, Smith, Titus, Upshur, Van Zandt, and Wood.
Photo Caption: Left to Right: 2014 Power My World Scholarship judges, Mrs. Pam Joiner, Pickton; Mrs. Antonia Henson, Alba; and Mrs. Brenda Hunter, Quitman had their work cut out for them in their task to select the scholarship winners from so many qualified applicants.