Last month, EPUD awarded $25,000 in scholarships to five local students through its annual EmPOWERing Scholarships program!
Each year, men and women who are pursuing fields of study seen regularly in the electric utility industry apply for the scholarship. Five winners are selected by a committee to receive $5,000 in scholarship funding, which helps with the cost of training that may lead to a utility career in their future.
Meet the 2025 scholarship winners!
BAILEY VARGAS is a graduate of Pleasant Hill High School, and is now a third-year student at Montana State University where she is studying accounting. She began on this career path after a job shadow at EPUD and working in public and private accounting firms in Eugene.
Bailey recognizes the importance of accounting in a utility, where it plays a critical role in funding and executing infrastructure projects and building a stronger community. After “seeing EPUD lift up its community following the January 2024 storm,” Bailey set her sights on working for a public utility.
BLAKE MATTSON will soon graduate from Monroe High School, and he has already decided on a career as a utility lineman. He chose this path last summer after working as a lineman intern for Consumers Power, where he got a taste of the challenging and rewarding work they do.
Blake’s positive attitude, work ethic, enthusiasm for learning, and focus on safety have made him confident that a career as a lineman is the right choice for him. He will attend Northwest Lineman College after graduation and looks forward to serving his community in the years to come.
ELIAS MICHEL is soon to graduate from Marist Catholic High School, and he has chosen to then pursue a career in nuclear engineering.
He credits his passion for the industry to his parents. For years, his father worked at a local electric utility and his mother at a research lab. Their love for their jobs led Elias to explore a convergence of science and power generation: nuclear engineering.
Elias considers nuclear energy a plausible solution to the world’s oncoming power crisis, and that as a zero-emission energy source, it complements existing renewable energy sources.
Elias is the recipient of the 2025 Ron Davis EmPOWERing Scholarship for his study of an energy source that can help renewable energy move forward. Nuclear energy is considered a clean energy source as it produces minimal greenhouse gas emissions during operation. This scholarship is named after former EPUD Director Ron Davis for his enduring passion for energy efficiency, renewable energy, and environmentally-friendly practices.
KADEN FISHER will start on his path towards a career as a lineman after graduating from Pleasant Hill High School. His goal is to work in a field that will allow him to stay active, serve the public, and continually learn and update his skills.
Kaden is determined and motivated, and has already completed his OSHA 10 and a pre-apprenticeship program to help him advance towards his goal. He has also completed multiple job shadows with
local utilities. Kaden is set to begin his linework training when he attends VOLTA Line School later this year.
LAYNE WOODS is a graduating senior at Willamette High School who is pursuing a career as an electric utility lineman just as his father, his uncles, and his cousin did before him. Layne has envisioned himself becoming a lineman since he was a child, and looks forward to a career that will allow him to provide an important service in his community.
After graduation, Layne will attend VOLTA line school to begin training. He is eager to start his apprenticeship and hopes to work in many settings and with a wide variety of people so he can grow into a well-rounded and “solid” journeyman lineman.
EPUD's 2026 scholarship program will open in November 2025. Want to know when it opens? Set up an email notification!