Educational Opportunities

As your Touch­stone Ener­gy Coop­er­a­tive, York Elec­tric firm­ly believes our edu­ca­tion­al efforts can have a far-reach­ing effect not only for the indi­vid­u­als we help but for the com­mu­ni­ty at large. We believe edu­ca­tion­al out­reach is one of the most impor­tant things we can offer.

Every year, YEC awards five $3,000 Touch­stone Ener­gy Schol­ar­ships to grad­u­at­ing seniors at area high schools. Appli­cants must be mem­bers of YEC. YEC also awards one $3,000 Tech­ni­cal Advan­tage Schol­ar­ship to a local grad­u­at­ing senior attend­ing a tech­ni­cal col­lege in the fall.

Addi­tion­al­ly, we spon­sor high school stu­dents to attend the infor­ma­tive Wash­ing­ton Youth Tour and the Coop­er­a­tive Youth Sum­mit in Colum­bia to help stu­dents reach their edu­ca­tion­al goals.

A person in a red shirt studies at a wooden table in a library filled with bookshelves and various materials.

Scholarships for High School Seniors

A light bulb with a globe inside, wearing a graduation cap, is held by a person's hand. Text reads, "YEC's Scholarships Help Light the Way."

$3,000 Touchstone Energy Scholarship

    • 5 Schol­ar­ships
    • Must be a mem­ber of YEC
    • Must be a high school senior to apply
    • Write an essay on how busi­ness­es can bet­ter con­nect with younger gen­er­a­tions
    • The $3,000 check will be made payable to the col­lege the recip­i­ent will be attend­ing
    • Appli­ca­tion dead­line is Sat­ur­day, March 15th, 2025 at 11:59 pm.

York Elec­tric’s ties to the com­mu­ni­ty run deep, which is why we are always look­ing for new ways to improve the qual­i­ty of life in our area. This includes new, inno­v­a­tive ways to con­nect with our mem­bers. Show us your cre­ativ­i­ty and inno­va­tion by writ­ing an essay describ­ing how busi­ness­es can bet­ter con­nect to our younger mem­bers. Whether is it through an online plat­form or by giv­ing back, we want to hear what you think. Appli­cants must have aver­age to above-aver­age grades and sub­mit an essay.

Apply for the Touch­stone Ener­gy Schol­ar­ship Today

2024 Touchstone Energy Scholarship Recipients

Scholarship winner poses for the camera

Alexandra Becze

Cataw­ba Ridge High School
Par­ents: Jacque­lyn Par­ris & Bri­an Becze; Arts Man­age­ment, Clem­son Uni­ver­si­ty
Scholarship winner poses for the camera

Katie Buehler

Indi­an Land High School
Par­ents: Pamela and Jonathan Buehler; Busi­ness Admin­is­tra­tion, Uni­ver­si­ty of South Car­oli­na
Scholarship winner poses for the camera

Garrett Brown

South Pointe High School
Par­ents: Sarah and David Brown; Mechan­i­cal Engi­neer­ing, Clem­son Uni­ver­si­ty
Scholarship winner poses for the camera

Brooke Taylor

Clover High School
Par­ents: Melis­sa & Rodger Tay­lor; Busi­ness Admin­is­tra­tion, Clem­son Uni­ver­si­ty
Scholarship winner poses for the camera

Carena Tollefson

Nation Ford High School
Par­ents: Sarah and Chris Tollef­son; Cyber­se­cu­ri­ty, Dako­ta State Uni­ver­si­ty
Scholarship winner poses for the camera

Chase Dillingham

West­min­ster Cataw­ba Chris­t­ian School
Par­ents: Heather and Paul Dilling­ham; Elec­tri­cal Linework­ing, Hor­ry George­town Tech

Timothy Simpson

Fort Mill High School
Par­ents: Dalia and Mark Simp­son; Com­put­er Infor­ma­tion Sys­tems, Uni­ver­si­ty of South Car­oli­na

Laura Skroban

North­west­ern High School
Par­ents: Leane and Karl Skroban; Den­tal Hygiene, East Ten­nessee State Uni­ver­si­ty
Scholarship winner poses for the camera

Cameron Hefner

York Com­pre­hen­sive High School
Par­ents: Kel­ly and Robert Hefn­er; Ani­mal and Vet­eri­nary Sci­ence, Clem­son Uni­ver­si­ty
Scholarship winner poses for the camera

Colette Dismukes

Home School
Par­ents: Kim­ber­ly and Thomas Dis­mukes; Busi­ness Admin­is­tra­tion, Ersk­ine Col­lege
Scholarship winner poses for the camera

Ellison Briggs

Rock Hill High School
Par­ents: Mered­ith and Joseph Brig­gs; Spe­cial Edu­ca­tion, Uni­ver­si­ty of South Car­oli­na
Scholarship winner poses for the camera

Olivia Rogers

York Prepara­to­ry Acad­e­my
Par­ents: Robin and Gary Rogers; Biol­o­gy, Coastal Car­oli­na Uni­ver­si­ty

$3,000 The Technical Advantage Scholarship

If you are a grad­u­at­ing senior inter­est­ed in pur­su­ing a cer­tifi­cate or degree from York Tech­ni­cal Col­lege, this schol­ar­ship is for you!

    • One $3,000 Tech­ni­cal Advan­tage Schol­ar­ship
    • Must be a high school senior to apply
    • Must attend a tech­ni­cal col­lege to study a trade
    • Write an essay on Ready SC: The Impor­tance of a Ready Work­force
    • You do not have to be a YEC mem­ber.
    • Appli­ca­tion dead­line is Sat­ur­day, March 15th, 2025 at 11:59 pm

Four-year uni­ver­si­ties aren’t for every­one and here at YEC, we want to high­light the vast oppor­tu­ni­ties for suc­cess right in your back­yard. Stu­dents who are inter­est­ed in learn­ing a trade and who will be attend­ing York Tech­ni­cal Col­lege are eli­gi­ble to apply for our Tech­ni­cal Advan­tage $3,000 Schol­ar­ship. Just write an essay on the Ready SC ini­tia­tive (exter­nal web­site), describ­ing the impor­tance of a ready work­force.

One stu­dent attend­ing York Tech­ni­cal Col­lege study­ing a trade will receive the $3,000 Tech­ni­cal Advan­tage Schol­ar­ship.

2024 Technical Advantage Scholarship

Scholarship winner poses for the camera

Luis Govea

York Com­pre­hen­sive High School
Par­ents: Esper­an­za Her­nan­dez and Rober­to Gov­ea; Con­struc­tion Man­age­ment, York Tech­ni­cal Col­lege
Apply for the Tech Advan­tage Schol­ar­ship

York Electric Cooperative’s School-to-Work Scholarship

2024 Work-Based Learning Scholarship

Scholarship winner poses for the camera

Jenna Harris

York Com­pre­hen­sive High School
Par­ents: Jen­nifer and Chris Har­ris; Nurs­ing, Lan­der Uni­ver­si­ty

York Elec­tric awards an out­stand­ing senior who has par­tic­i­pat­ed in the Floyd D. John­son Tech­nol­o­gy Cen­ter’s School-to-Work pro­gram a $500 schol­ar­ship. The stu­dent must meet the fol­low­ing cri­te­ria to qual­i­fy:

    • Attend­ing a two or four-year col­lege
    • 3.0 min­i­mum over­all GPA
    • 100 aver­age in the school-to-work pro­gram
    • No dis­ci­pline record (includ­ing tar­di­ness)
    • Meet dis­trict atten­dance pol­i­cy
    • Sub­mit a one-page, typed essay on why you should be con­sid­ered

South Carolina WIRE

Jen­ny Bal­lard Oppor­tu­ni­ty Schol­ar­ship for Women Return­ing to Col­lege

The Jen­ny Bal­lard Oppor­tu­ni­ty Schol­ar­ship for Women Return­ing to Col­lege is award­ed by South Car­oli­na WIRE to two female elec­tric coop­er­a­tive mem­bers. Appli­cants for the $2,500 schol­ar­ships must have grad­u­at­ed from high school or earned GEDs (at least ten years ago), be accept­ed by an accred­it­ed South Car­oli­na col­lege or uni­ver­si­ty, and demon­strate finan­cial need.

Appli­cants must:

  • Be a mem­ber of a South Car­oli­na elec­tric co-op
  • Have grad­u­at­ed from high school or earned her GED at least 10 years ago
  • Be accept­ed into an accred­it­ed S.C. col­lege or uni­ver­si­ty, and
  • Demon­strate finan­cial needs and per­son­al goals.

The WIRE Oppor­tu­ni­ty Schol­ar­ship is award­ed to a woman who may not have been able to attend col­lege when she grad­u­at­ed from high school but now wants to fur­ther her edu­ca­tion. The $2,500 one-time schol­ar­ship will be pre­sent­ed to an elec­tric coop­er­a­tive mem­ber in South Car­oli­na based on the appli­can­t’s infor­ma­tion.

The 2024 dead­line has passed. 2025 will be announced soon with an appli­ca­tion avail­able to be sub­mit­ted online at www.ecsc.org, by email to peggy.dantzler@ecsc.org, or by mail to Peg­gy Dant­zler, The Elec­tric Coop­er­a­tives of SC, 808 Knox Abbott Dr., Cayce, SC 29033.

Apply Online for the WIRE Oppor­tu­ni­ty

Youth Trips

Wash­ing­ton Youth Tour & R. D. Ben­nett Schol­ar­ship

Atten­tion high school juniors: It’s time to start plan­ning for the Wash­ing­ton Youth Tour, which will be held June 15–20, 2025. If select­ed, you’ll explore Wash­ing­ton, D.C., with 1,600 high school juniors from across the country—meeting law­mak­ers and tour­ing all the sights. South Carolina’s elec­tric co-ops will cov­er your round-trip plane tick­et, tours and meals. In oth­er words, it’s all free!

Logos for Electric Cooperatives of South Carolina Youth Tour and Cooperative Youth Summit, featuring the U.S. Capitol dome and an illustrated dome building.

To com­pete for the schol­ar­ship, each Wash­ing­ton Youth Tour win­ner must sub­mit an essay. The com­pe­ti­tion is based on essays and par­tic­i­pa­tion dur­ing the trip. Trip chap­er­ones will judge the essays. S.A.T. scores, grade point aver­age, class stand­ing, and oth­er hon­ors will not be con­sid­ered.

Learn more about the Wash­ing­ton Youth Tour and apply online »

The 2025 Youth Tour appli­ca­tion dead­line is Feb­ru­ary 28, 2025.

Coop­er­a­tive Youth Sum­mit: State House Trip

High school sopho­mores: It’s the Coop­er­a­tive Youth Sum­mit, which will be held July 14–17, 2025. If select­ed, you’ll expe­ri­ence South Carolina’s cap­i­tal like nev­er before. Tour the State House, meet law­mak­ers and see how co-ops are prepar­ing for our state’s ener­gy future. Plus, there’s plen­ty of fun with vis­its to escape rooms and more. This trip is also free!

Learn more about the Coop­er­a­tive Youth Sum­mit and apply online »

The 2025 Youth Sum­mit appli­ca­tion dead­line is Feb­ru­ary 28, 2025.

One Appli­ca­tion for Two Great Trips

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