In April, EPUD awarded $15,000 in scholarships to five local students! Each of the recipients received a scholarship of $3,000 to assist them in pursuing a utility industry career. Please join us in congratulating the 2021 EmPOWERing Scholarship winners!
Tara Sanders
A graduate of Mohawk High School, Tara is pursuing a career in communications. She saw the importance of communication in the utility industry during the snowstorm of February 2019, when EPUD provided frequent outage updates to the public. She believes clear communication is vital in all industries, and is excited to continue her education this fall at Southern Oregon University.
Jackson Whitmore
Jackson graduated high school at age 16, earned two associate degrees from LCC by age 19, and attended the Vocational Outside Line Training Academy (VOLTA) and worked as a utility technician and groundman by age 21. Now returning to school to earn his Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical/Mechanical Engineering Technology, he will pursue a career in energy efficiency and technology.
Kailey Chaffee
A graduate of Willamette High School, Kailey will attend the University of Oregon to work towards a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree through the Product Design program. She believes her field of study can have great benefits for the electric utility industry as product designers help turn simple ideas into innovative products. Kailey hopes to work on projects that will make utilities safer and more efficient in the future.
Cameron Olson
A recent graduate of Pleasant Hill High School, Cameron plans to study Nuclear Engineering at the Honors College and College of Engineering at Oregon State University this fall. His career goal is to combat rising carbon pollution by working towards implementing more nuclear energy sources. He hopes to discover a way to make nuclear energy completely renewable in the future.
Luke Marshall
In June, Luke began attending the Electrical Lineworker Program at Northwest Lineman College in Idaho. After having researched utility linework as a possible career path, it quickly became clear this was the profession he wanted to pursue. Luke expects working to maintain and restore power will be a rewarding career and he is excited to learn all of the technical and safety aspects of the profession.