Every year, YEC awards 10 $1,000 Touchstone Energy Scholarships to graduating seniors at each area high school. To apply, students must be served by the Cooperative. YEC also awards one $1,000 Technical Advantage Scholarship to a graduating senior attending York Technical College in the fall, and one $500 Work-Based Learning Scholarship to a senior participant at the Floyd D. Johnson Technology Center.
$1,000 Touchstone Energy Scholarships
Catawba Ridge High School
Sarah Taylor
Parents: Kimberly and Marvin Taylor
College: North Greenville University
Field of Study: Education
Clover High School
Dylan Taylor
Parents: Melissa and Rodger Taylor
College: Clemson University
Field of Study: Marketing and Sports Education
Fort Mill High School
Dorothy Augenbraun
Parents: Kimberly and Craig Augenbraun
College: Clemson University
Field of Study: Engineering
Indian Land High School
Bella Sikorski
Parents: Wendy and Jay Sikorski
College: Clemson University
Field of Study: Animal and Veterinary Science
Nation Ford High School
Megan Andrews
Parents: Allison and Harold Andrews
College: Mississippi State University
Field of Study: Architecture
Rock Hill High School
Andrew Beuch, Jr.
Parents: Elizabeth and Andrew Beuch, Sr.
College: Clemson University
Field of Study: Business Management
South Pointe High School
Jacob Bell
Parents: Erika and David Bell
College: Clemson University
Field of StudyWildlife and Fisheries Biology
York Comprehensive High School
Laney Reel
Parents: Leslie and Aaron Reel
College: University of South Carolina
Field of Study: Dance Education in the Honors College
York Preparatory Academy
Leah Watson
Parents: Amy and Christopher Watson
College: College of Charleston
Field of Study: Biology
Legion Collegiate Academy
Alexis Goode
Parents: Christy and Eric Goode
College: University of South Carolina
Field of Study: Marketing and Visual Communications
Homeschool
Luka Milojkovic
Parents: Mirjana and Borislav Milojkovic
College: Anderson University
Field of Study: Biochemistry
$1,000 Technical Advantage Scholarship
Jacob Clark, Rock Hill High School
Parents: Jennifer Lusk and Chuck Clark
College: York Technical College
Field of Study: Business
$500 Work-Based Learning Scholarship
Kenneth Griffin, York Comprehensive High School
Parents: Alice and Kenneth Griffin, Jr.
College: University of South Carolina
Field of Study: Criminal Justice
Local teens experience leadership on Youth Tour
Brown named manager of Soda Pop Co-op
For students drawn toward leadership, Washington Youth Tour is the ideal experience.
Thanks to York Electric Cooperative, Jordan Brown, Landon Wolf, and Alaina Rinkes were among 49 South Carolina high school students sent by their electric cooperatives to Washington, D.C. in June. The experience went beyond a traditional school field trip. In addition to visiting the city’s monuments and memorials, the students started their own co-op and met with legislators and their staffs.
Brown, a rising senior at Fort Mill High School, was named the manager of the Soda Pop Co-op. Throughout the trip the co-op sold snacks and beverages to the students from the luggage bin of their charter bus between destinations and at the hotel in the evenings. Brown, who was hired by the co-op’s five student board members after an interview process, kept the “store” stocked and determined the hours of operation.
“I learned a little bit more about how to run a business,” says Brown. “I always thought I could, but it’s a little harder than you think it is to run a successful business. And I got to learn about the co-op model, which is very important.”
During their visit to the United States Capitol building, Brown, Wolf, and Rinkes were welcomed into Rep. Ralph Norman’s congressional office and met the Congressman on the Capitol steps later that day. For Wolf, it was an additional opportunity to thank Rep. Norman, who wrote a recommendation letter on his behalf to the U.S. Military Academy. Sen. Tim Scott and Sen. Lindsey Graham also came to the Capitol steps to speak with the students.
“It was really nice just to meet them and hear what they have to say,” says Wolf, who will be attending West Point this fall. “And to see what they’re doing right now to help our country.”
The students also visited the National Holocaust Memorial Museum, the National Museum of African American History and Culture, the 9/11 Memorial at the Pentagon, and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. They toured Arlington National Cemetery and witnessed the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
“During the changing of the guard it was a little rough because my grandpa had just died and he was in the Vietnam War,” says Rinkes, a student at Clover High School. “It gave me time to process, but also to appreciate our veterans more.”
Due to COVID-19 precautions, Washington Youth Tour 2022 is the first time in three years South Carolina electric cooperatives have been able to send students to the capital.
“This was a wonderful experience,” says Rinkes. “It’s literally life-changing.”
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