While many children of all ages were relieved to be out of school for the summer, there were several deserving students from Hoosier Energy member cooperatives who were looking ahead to the 2023-24 school year.

That’s because a total of 14 cooperatives, 13 in the state of Indiana, awarded scholarships to 90 students this year, surpassing last year’s total of 86 awards.

There were three recipients of statewide awards this year. Alivia Hopper of Orange County REMC and Ethan Haenlein of South Central Indiana REMC each received $1,000 Indiana Electric Cooperatives Managers’ Association Scholarships, and Bree Vollman of Wayne-White Counties Electric Cooperative received the Thomas H. Moore Illinois Electric Cooperatives Memorial Scholarship for $2,000.

The remainder of the scholarships were awarded by local cooperatives — Bartholomew County REMC, Clark County REMC, Harrison REMC, Henry County REMC, Jackson County REMC, JCREMC, Orange County REMC, RushShelby Energy, South Central Indiana REMC, Southeastern Indiana REMC, Southern Indiana Power, Wayne-White Counties Electric Cooperative, Whitewater Valley REMC and WIN Energy REMC.

Some other notable scholarship winners were Laney Ruiz of Columbus North High School, who received the $5,000 Alex Barkes Memorial Scholarship from Bartholomew County REMC, and Emily Miller of Jeffersonville High School, who was awarded the $2,500 Cindy Hockensmith Memorial Scholarship from Clark County REMC. 

Ailyn Hendricks of Franklin Community High School and Micah Robertson of Center Grove High School each received $2,000 academic scholarships from JCREMC. The remainder of the scholarships awarded ranged from $500 to $1,000.

Hoosier Energy and its member cooperatives are proud to invest in the future by helping jumpstart these students’ educational journeys.