SMECO offers college scholarships

Friday, Nov. 6, 2009

Four lucky Southern Maryland students will get college help courtesy of the Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative. The scholarship program, which began in 1993, is offering $1,500 scholarships to high school seniors whose parents or guardians are SMECO customers and who attend school in the company's service area.

"It's a really good program," SMECO spokesman Tom Dennison said in an interview.

To be eligible, a high school senior must be enrolled or planning to enroll full-time in an accredited college or university, which includes 2-year associate degree programs. Applicants must also have a cumulative unweighted grade-point average of at least 3.0 and submit an essay about "Why is a College Education Important to Completing my Lifetime Goals?"

The winners will be selected according to a formula based 50 percent on financial need, 40 percent on academic achievement and 10 percent on an interview and on school and community involvement, Dennison said.

"I think we have a number of programs that we do for the community … and those kinds of entities are part of our mission, which is that we not only provide power to our customers but also are part of community," Dennison said.

The deadline for students to apply for a scholarship is March 5. To obtain an application, see a school career counselor, call SMECO at 888-440-3311, ext. 4340, visit any SMECO office, or download

an application at www.smeco.coop. Completed application packages (all items must be submitted as one package) may be taken to any local SMECO office or mailed to SMECO Headquarters, P.O. Box 1937, Hughesville, MD 20637, Attention: Bernadette Lewis.