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.

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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
    • 2026 appli­ca­tion dead­line is Mon­day, March 16th.
    • Appli­ca­tions for schol­ar­ships are accept­ed begin­ning in Octo­ber and end with a March dead­line. Check back each year for exact dates.

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.

The appli­ca­tion dead­line for 2026 is 11:59 pm on Mon­day, March 16th, 2026!

Com­plete the 2026 Appli­ca­tion Today!

2025 Touchstone Energy Scholarship Recipients

The Touch­stone Ener­gy Schol­ar­ship is award­ed to five high school seniors who are mem­bers of York Elec­tric Coop­er­a­tive and plan­ning to attend a four-year col­lege or uni­ver­si­ty. For 2025, the stu­dents receiv­ing the schol­ar­ship are Erin Bass, Dylan Cor­reia, Col­son Gumphrey, Syd­ney Kailas­apil­lai and Lil­ly Wil­son (names in blue below).

2025 Technical Advantage Scholarship Recipient

The Tech­ni­cal Advan­tage Schol­ar­ship is award­ed to one high school senior purs­ing a skilled trade by attend­ing a tech­ni­cal col­lege after grad­u­a­tion. For 2025, Evan McFad­den (name in red below) received the Tech­ni­cal Advan­tage Schol­ar­ship.

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Erin Bass

Clover High School
Bass will attend the Uni­ver­si­ty of South Car­oli­na to study Busi­ness Man­age­ment.
A person is smiling outdoors, wearing a dark collared shirt, with a blurred, colorful background of greenery and pinkish foliage.

Dylan Correia

Cataw­ba Ridge High School
Cor­reia will attend the Uni­ver­si­ty of South Car­oli­na to study Aero­space Engi­neer­ing.
A person with curly hair and a striped blue shirt stands outdoors, smiling, with greenery and blurred plants in the background.

Colson Gumphrey

Rock Hill High School
Gumphrey will attend Clem­son Uni­ver­si­ty to study Engi­neer­ing.
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Sydney Kailasapillai

Home­school
Kailas­apil­lai will attend the Uni­ver­si­ty of South Car­oli­na to study Engi­neer­ing.
A person with long hair and a black top smiles outdoors, with blurred greenery and pink-purple foliage in the background.

Lily Wilson

Clover High School
Wil­son will attend Clem­son Uni­ver­si­ty to study Busi­ness.
A person with curly hair smiles outdoors, wearing a dark shirt. The background features blurred greenery and red foliage, suggesting a park setting.

Evan McFadden

Nation Ford High School
McFad­den will attend York Tech­ni­cal Col­lege to study Engi­neer­ing.

All pho­tos by Erin Nichols

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.
    • 2025 appli­ca­tion dead­line was Sat­ur­day, March 15th.
    • Appli­ca­tions for schol­ar­ships are accept­ed begin­ning in Octo­ber and end with a March dead­line. Check back each year for exact dates.

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 (not yet in oper­a­tion for 2026).

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

Com­plete the 2026 Appli­ca­tion Today!

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 2025 dead­line was June 1, 2025. 2026 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.

2026 Appli­ca­tion Com­ing Soon!

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