LPEA awards scholarships to seven local high school seniors
Graduates
Date Published

DURANGO, Colo. – La Plata Electric Association (LPEA) has awarded scholarships to seven high-school seniors in its service territory to support their continued education. The utility received a total of 78 applications for this year’s scholarship programs. Recipients were selected based on merit by a local selection committee comprised of nine individuals from across LPEA’s four districts.

“We are honored to support youth in our community in their pursuit of higher education and training, especially this year given the economic impacts of COVID-19,” said LPEA CEO Jessica Matlock. “The future of all industries, including the utility industry, is dependent on this next generation of students. Supporting their education now is an investment in the businesses and economy of the future.”

The 2020 scholarship recipients are as follows:

  • LPEA Scholarship (Up to $28,000 for tuition, books, and fees at any university or college): Awarded to Logan Moore from Durango High School to study Environmental Studies at Middlebury College, and to Makayla Howell from Ignacio High School to study Business Management at the University of Colorado.
  • John Voelker Memorial Scholarship ($10,000 for tuition, books, and fees at any vocational school, technical school, or junior college): Awarded to Emzy (Tay) Barker from Pagosa Springs High School to pursue electrician training.
  • LPEA Lineman Scholarship ($12,000 for tuition, books, fees, and tools for line school): Awarded to Callum Marshall from Bayfield High School to study at Colorado Mesa University.
  • Basin Electric Power Cooperative Scholarship ($1,000 for expenses at any school): Awarded to Madeleine Burns of Durango High School to study Engineering at Princeton University.
  • Tri-State G&T Scholarship ($500 for expenses at any school): Awarded to Patricia Pena from Durango High School to study Environmental Engineering at Fort Lewis College, and to Sage Davis from Animas High School to study Mechanical Engineering at Colorado University.

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 in excess of 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 is able, capital 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 then 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.

For more information on LPEA scholarships visit https://lpea.coop/scholarships.