LPEA awarded $102,000 in scholarships to nine local high-school seniors to support their continued education. The cooperative received 56 applications for this year’s scholarship programs. Recipients were selected based on merit by a local committee comprised of 13 individuals from across LPEA’s four districts. 

“It’s so important to the future of our communities that employers support a skilled and educated future workforce, specifically in the STEM fields,” said LPEA CEO Jessica Matlock. “We’ve been offering these scholarships for decades and are proud to have a handful of previous recipients working with us at LPEA. Regardless of where these students go, we congratulate them and wish them the best of luck!” 

Congratulations to LPEA's 2021 Scholarship Recipients 

These nine local high school students were selected out of 56 applicants to receive funding to continue their education. LPEA is honored to empower our future workforce. 

LPEA Scholarship (Up to $28,000 for any school) awarded to:

Grace Holst from Durango High School to study Engineering at George Washington University. 

"Receiving this scholarship has not only greatly reduced the financial burden on me but enabled me to enroll at a university that I otherwise may have been unable to attend. I am extremely grateful for this opportunity." 

Nicholas Huber from Durango High School to study Engineering at Colorado School of Mines. 

"LPEA has opened many doors for me to make a meaningful impact on​ my community and the world. I will not let this opportunity be wasted, but rather commit to upholding the​ standards of compassion and generosity that LPEA demonstrates through its scholarship program." 

John Voelker Memorial Scholarship ($10,000 for a vocational or tech school) awarded to:

Timothy Hittle from Pagosa Springs High School to study Business at Colorado Mesa University.  

"This scholarship will give me the financial freedom I need to pursue a meaningful career." 

Jeremy Roderick from Ignacio High School to study Fire Science at Iowa Central Community College. 

"This scholarship means I will be able to achieve my goals of becoming a firefighter and my dream of playing college football. Thank you to the community of supporters who are helping me get there." 

LPEA Lineman Scholarship ($12,000 for tuition, books, fees, and tools for line school):

Ryan Elliot from San Juan Mountain School to study at Colorado Mesa University.  

"I plan on being a lineman till the day I retire, it's a passion that I found. Everywhere I go there's a powerline and I see it as someone who has electricity in this world. This scholarship will help me be one of those people up there supplying electricity to the US." 

Dutch Revells from Big Picture High School to study at Western Colorado Community College. 

"Knowledge itself is power." Sir Francis Bacon 

Basin Electric Power Cooperative Scholarship ($1,000 for any school) awarded to:

Thomas Pope from Durango High School to study Chemistry at The University of Texas at Austin. 

"This scholarship reminds me that I will always have the Durango community in my corner helping me chase my goals." 

Tri-State G&T Scholarship ($500 for any school) awarded to:

Grace Martinez from Durango High School to study Electrical Engineering at Colorado School of Mines.  

"I am honored to accept the Tri-State Scholarship. This scholarship will provide me the opportunity to pay for books or fees for classes."  

Nell Taylor from Pagosa High School to study Biochemistry at Colorado State University. 

“The LPEA Scholarship will greatly facilitate my ability to attend college and delve deeper into the subjects of my passion. It will also enable me to continue learning and have access to people who can make me both a better student and member of society.” 

Scholarship recipients were recognized at the LPEA Annual Meeting on Thursday, May 12, 2022, at 5:00 p.m. in the LPEA truck barn in Bodo Park, Durango. 

The LPEA Scholarship, John Voelker Memorial Scholarship, and LPEA Lineman Scholarship are funded by LPEA’s Unclaimed Capital Credit funds. As LPEA is a not-for-profit utility delivering service to its members at cost, any payments made by members over the cost required to provide their electric service are placed into a patronage capital account in each member’s name, referred to as Capital Credits. When the cooperative can, these credits are retired and returned to members as bill credits or by check. If these checks are not cashed after three years, they are considered unclaimed – and put back into the community in the form of grants and scholarships.  

The Basin Electric Power Cooperative Scholarship and Tri-State G&T Scholarship are funded separately by those organizations.