In keeping with this tradition, the Board of Trustees at their March meeting awarded 30 scholarships to the following recipients: Tiana Gibson, Jade Massey, Sianya Salazar, Alyssa Magana, Haley Bender, Logan Klump, Rayce Wagley, Oscar Urrea, Shannon Choate, Allen Orosco, Xena Orozco, Lacey Marsh, Dashiel Krick, Abigail Cushman, Rybecca Webster, Lindsey Massey, Ty Wagley, Brenda Elias, Joshlyn Eddy, Ryan Shultis, Luis Moreno, Brandon Hoffman, William Swift, Brittney Laborin, Adriana Rios, Betsy Maciel , Jorge Madrid, Mattilyn Wiseman, Tierney Washburn, Arwen Kvamme and Jose Felipe Salazar. Two scholarships are funded by our power supplier Tri-State Generation & Transmission Association and one scholarship is funded by NM Rural Electric Material Suppliers Group. Scholarships are $500 per semester per student. Congratulations to the Scholarship recipients and to the graduating class of 2019.

Scholarship applicants must be either an active member or of the immediate family of an active member pursuing higher education at a four-year college or university or community college or vocational/technical school. Scholarships are available to graduating high school students as well as non-traditional students.
Scholarships are funded through escheat monies. These are unclaimed capital credits or deposits that prior to the establishment of the fund were turned over to the respective states. Members who assist in funding the “Operation Round Up” program have their electric bill rounded up to the nearest dollar each month and those monies are deposited into the Scholarship Fund. Call the Co-op office to join in this effort.

Two of our core principles are put into action through the scholarship program: Education, Training and Information, and Concern for Community. Giving educational opportunities to members of the communities we serve helps families who might otherwise struggle to pay for their education. Giving more people the opportunity to take advantage of higher education strengthens the fabric of our local communities. For Columbus Electric that’s a winwin situation. We realize that the health of the cooperative is inextricably tied to the well-being of the community. So grows the community, so grows the cooperative.