High School Students are invited to apply to Big Country Electric Cooperative’s Youth Tour scholarship contest, and be eligible to win one of three $3,000 scholarships. Originally the prize for this contest was a trip to Washington, D.C., on the Youth Tour, but due to safety concerns about the Covid pandemic the trip has been cancelled.
Contestants must be in 10th, 11th or 12th grade at a school in Big Country EC’s service area, which includes Borden, Fisher, Garza, Haskell, Jones, Kent, Mitchell, Nolan, Scurry, Shackelford, Stonewall and Throckmorton counties. Students’ parents/guardians do not have to be members of Big Country EC in order to compete in and win the Youth Tour contest. Previous Youth Tour and scholarship contest winners and immediate family members of BCEC directors and employees are not eligible to participate.
Applications may be submitted online at bigcountry. coop by clicking on Service Beyond Electricity and then Youth Tour. If you prefer, you may download a printable version and submit it to Sarah McLen atsmclen@ bigcountry.coop or fax to (325) 776-2246. Applications are due by Thursday, Jan. 21, 2021. Once your application is received, you will receive an email with a link to the BCEC Youth Tour 2021 closed group to post your application video. Videos will only be available to the group of applicants, not the public. Videos must be uploaded by 8 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 28, 2021. Please include your name with the title (e.g. “Title of my Video by John Smith”).
Video Topic and Scoring This year’s topic is 20/20 represents perfect vision, but we can all agree that 2020 was not the year anyone envisioned. Life changed quickly for most of us due to COVID-19 precautions, not to mention a variety of other matters. Using lessons you learned firsthand in 2020, create a three-minute video illustrating why reliable electricity is critical for the future of rural America. Be unique, be creative, be yourself and have fun!
Winners will be selected on a competitive basis, with equal weight given to the creators’ knowledge of the subject and the quality of the video presentation. Multiple applicants cannot submit the same video. The video must be your own original creation. Three winners will be chosen by an independent panel of judges to each receive a $3,000 scholarship. Each contestant will be notified of results by email or phone by 5 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2021. Big Country EC also plans to donate $500 to the school whose students submit the most application videos.
Other scholarship opportunities. Separate from the Youth Tour, three scholarships are available through Big Country EC and affiliates:
• Big Country EC Academic Scholarship – Two $4,000 scholarships will be awarded to graduating seniors whose parent(s)/guardian(s) are members of Big Country EC. Deadline: February 25, 2021.
• Directors Memorial Scholarship, Golden Spread Electric Cooperative - $2,000 scholarships will be awarded to selected recipients who are 1) entering freshmen college or university students and; 2) child or spouse of a Big Country EC member. Deadline: March 1, 2021.
• Texas Rural Electric Women’s Association (TREWA) Scholarship - Twenty (20) TREWA scholarships of $1,500 each will be awarded to CURRENT TREWA members and their children. If you are not currently a TREWA member, you may submit the membership application, membership fee, and scholarship application at once. Applicant or applicant’s parent or guardian must also be a current member or an employee of a Texas electric cooperative such as Big Country EC. Scholarships will be awarded to graduating high school seniors, full-time college students or adults who have been accepted as a fulltime student to attend any accredited college, university, junior college, community college, trade/technical school or business school of their choice. Deadline: March 15, 2021.
For more scholarship details and to apply, go to bigcountry.coop and click on Service Beyond Electricity, then Scholarships or Youth Tour. For questions, contact Sarah McLen at (325) 776-3803 or smclen@bigcountry.coop.
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