San Patricio Electric Cooperative is proud to announce the award of $50,000 in scholarships to 10 local high school seniors who will pursue a higher education in the fall. These 10 students will each receive a $5,000 scholarship.

 

SPEC has a long-standing tradition of supporting our communities, especially our youth. It’s our hope that they will complete their education and come back home to put their newfound knowledge and skills back into our communities, facilitating positive change and growth. We’re proud to continue investing in the future of our communities through our scholarship program and we wish these students well as they pursue their degrees.

 

The cooperative’s 2024 scholarship program was open to high school seniors in SPEC’s nine-county service area. Eligible students were enrolled at an area high school or non-traditional education setting, such as homeschooling. In addition, the student’s parent or legal guardian had to be a member of the cooperative and receive SPEC service at the student’s primary address.

 

An independent scholarship committee, made up of former educators, evaluated applications based on leadership abilities, community involvement, academic achievement and financial need to select the 10 recipients. All personal identifying information was removed from each application to ensure an unbiased review.

 

The San Patricio Electric Education Trust, established by SPEC in 1999, provides area students with the funds necessary to continue their education and meet their goals. This scholarship program is funded by donated and unclaimed capital credits. Since it was founded, the fund has awarded more than $1.2 million in scholarships to area students.

 

SPEC’s scholarship award is paid over four semesters, provided the student meets the standards established for the scholarship program. Each semester, the student must show that they have successfully completed a full-time course load (12 hours or more), are enrolled as a full-time student for the upcoming semester and have maintained a grade point average of 2.5 or higher.

 

 

The 2024 SPEC scholarship recipients are:

 

Karelen Bastida, Skidmore-Tynan HS

 

Olivia DeLeon, Three Rivers HS

 

Kyndal Kopplin, Three Rivers HS

 

Samantha Lichtenstein, Orange Grove HS

 

Javier Martinez, Odem HS

 

Taryn O’Brien, Sinton HS

 

Izabella Ohler, Sinton HS

 

Rylee Paine, Sinton HS

 

Clara Roznovsky, A.C. Jones HS

 

McKinzie Stewart, George West HS