OTEC and the OTEC Member Foundation announce 2022 academic scholarship recipients

By Shannon Weidemann (McKone) on Wednesday, May 25th, 2022 in More Top Stories Northeastern Oregon News

NORTHEAST OREGON – (Release from OTEC) Oregon Trail Electric Cooperative (OTEC) and the OTEC Member Foundation are proud to announce that 24 local students have been selected to receive college scholarships.

Twenty $5,000 scholarships have been awarded to graduating high school students and returning college students.

OTEC is also proud to announce the new class of recipients of The OTEC-EOU Rural Scholarship Program, which pays all tuition and fees for all four years at Eastern Oregon University if the student commits to graduating from EOU. Four local students were awarded this scholarship.

“We are very excited about the third year of this incredible partnership between OTEC and Eastern Oregon University,” said Lea Hoover, OTEC’s Director of Member and Strategic Services. “By allocating four of our scholarships to this program and leveraging a matched investment from EOU we can invest into our local communities directly, support local students and return value to OTEC member-owners through the internship projects that the students will complete throughout their four years at EOU.”

The OTEC Member Foundation, which Hoover serves as Executive Director, is a 501c3 charitable foundation formed to further community support that now oversees OTEC’s scholarship and charitable programs.

Applicants for scholarships must be an active OTEC member or a dependent or tenant of an OTEC member to be eligible for scholarships. Scholarships are funded from unclaimed capital credits.

“We congratulate all the 2022 scholarships recipients and are proud to reward the students for their academic success and dedication to their community,” said Joe Hathaway, OTEC’s Communications Manager. “As a not-for-profit cooperative and 501c3 foundation, one of our guiding principles is “Commitment to Community” and we can’t think of a better way to give back to the communities we serve and encourage local students to be involved in their own community.”

2022 OTEC Academic Scholarship Recipients

OTEC-EOU Rural Scholarship Program

Maya Smith, Baker Early College

Lauryn Pettyjohn, Grant Union High School

Braden Carson, La Grande High School

Ethan Peasley, Burns High School

2022 Graduating High School Senior and Returning College Student or Adult Scholarship Recipients

Baker County

Graduating high school seniors: Savannah Brown, Baker High School; Sydney Lamb, Baker High School; Gavin Stone, Baker High School.

Returning college students: Jayme Ramos, Eastern Oregon University; Cheyenne Thamert, Central Oregon Community College.

Grant County

Graduating high school seniors: Riley Robertson, Grant Union High School; Carson Weaver, Grant Union High School.

Returning college students: Ellie Justice, Eastern Oregon University; Peyton Neault, Oregon State University.

Harney County

Graduating high school seniors: Lizzy Bates, Burns High School; Olivia Winn, Burns High School.

Returning college students: Mary Letham, Dixie State University; Tea Recanzone, Boise State University.

Union County

Graduating high school seniors: Bethany Brock, La Grande High School; Isabelle Kump, La Grande High School; Carter Perry, La Grande High School; Allison Stirewalt, Imbler High School; Audrey Wells, Union High School.

Returning college students: Katie Brown, Eastern Oregon University; Brianna Micka, Eastern Oregon University.

About the cooperative

Oregon Trail Electric Cooperative (OTEC) is a not-for-profit, member-owned electric cooperative that serves nearly 60,000 residents in four counties in Eastern Oregon. Headquartered in Baker City, OTEC has district offices in Burns, John Day and La Grande.