OTEC Awards 2025 Academic Scholarships

For the sixth consecutive year, four local students have been awarded the OTEC-EOU Rural Scholarship. Twenty additional students will receive $5,000 academic scholarships to help power them to achieve their educational goals. The OTEC-EOU Rural Scholarship covers all tuition and fees for all four years at Eastern Oregon University if the student commits to graduating from EOU. “We are very excited to continue this incredible partnership between OTEC and Eastern Oregon University,” said Lea Hoover, Executive Director of the OTEC Member Foundation and OTEC’s Director of Member and Strategic Services. “By allocating four of our scholarships to this program and leveraging a matched investment from EOU, we can invest into our local communities directly, support local students, and return value to OTEC member-owners through the OTEC internship projects which the students complete throughout their 4 years at EOU.” The OTEC Member Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit foundation which oversees OTEC’s charitable giving programs, including scholarships. These programs support OTEC member-owners, their families, and communities in Baker, Grant, Harney and Union counties. OTEC’s Manager of Communications, Shane Stenquist, said, “OTEC wishes to congratulate all of the 2024 academic scholarship recipients, we are proud to reward these students for their hard work and we look forward to seeing their future accomplishments.” Stenquist added, “The selection process this year was extremely competitive; the applicants’ academic success and service in their communities was quite impressive. As a private, non-profit co-op, OTEC is guided by the Seven Cooperative Principles, one of which is, ‘Commitment to Community.’ These scholarships are one way in which OTEC gives back to the communities we serve.” Applicants for scholarships must be an active OTEC member or a dependent or tenant of an OTEC member to be eligible for scholarships. Scholarships are funded from donations and unclaimed capital credits.

2025 OTEC-EOU Rural Scholarship Program: Antonio Washington, Baker High School Morgan Johnson, Union High School Mikinah Browne, Imbler High School Akylah Kaino, Burns High School 2025 Graduating High School Senior and Returning College Student/Adult Scholarship Recipients: Baker County Graduating High School Seniors: Anna Johnson, Baker High School; Olivia Jacoby, Baker High School; Jose Armenta, Baker High School. Returning College Student/Adult Scholarships: Morgan Stone, Sydney Keller. Grant County Graduating High School Seniors: Monel Anderson, Grant Union High School; Madelyn Bailey, Grant Union High School. Returning College Student/Adult Scholarships: Macy Carter, Alexander Finley. Harney County Graduating High School Seniors: Piper Thompson, Crane Union High School; Caitlyn Horrell, Burns High School. Returning College Student/Adult Scholarships: Tayleur Baker, Kaylee Starbuck. Union County Graduating High School Seniors: Paiten Braseth, Imbler High School; Reese Koyle, La Grande High School; Tanner Rovey, Cove Charter High School; Natasha Lane, La Grande High School; Jayda Cant, Imbler High School Returning College Student/Adult Scholarships: Sarai Clunie Paul, Owen Rinker. Learn more about OTEC’s scholarships, charitable giving and the cooperative principles at www.otec.coop. Oregon Trail Electric Cooperative, putting our energy to work for you! About the cooperative Oregon Trail Electric Cooperative (OTEC) is a not-for-profit, member-owned electric cooperative that serves nearly 60,000 residents in four counties in Eastern Oregon. Headquartered in Baker City, OTEC has district offices in Burns, John Day, and La Grande.