OGE awards three $60K scholarships
EDMOND — A team of orange trucks blared their horns as Gabby PintoOrdonez exited Edmond Memorial High School.
Two OG&E lift trucks suspended a congratulatory banner in the air.
Pin to-Or donez ,18, doubled over in shock and emotion as she learned she was one of three students chosen for a $60,000 college scholarship.
“It take san immense pressure off of my family and I,” she said. “I've seen the financial strain that (college) can be so all of my senior year I dedicated to applying to as many scholarships as I had been able to. Just to know this was basically going to take care of the rest of the financial aid that I could have had to apply to, it's like I don't have words for it. There are no words to express how happy I am and the opportunity that I have here.”
The Positive Energy Scholarship awarded Pinto-Ordonez and two other Oklahoma high school seniors provides each $ 15,000 a year for four years of college. The OGE Energy Corp. Foundation administers the scholarship through the Oklahoma City Community Foundation.
Student loans will no longer be necessary for Pin to-Or donez to attend the University of Oklahoma this fall, she said. She will study chemical engineering with a goal of pursuing renewable energy sources.
Pinto-Ordonez has two older siblings already in college, so covering fees and tuition would have been a struggle without financial aid, she said.
During her four years at Edmond Memorial, she founded a tutoring program f or students who speak Spanish as a first language and helped establish the Diversity Task Force to amplify issues of diversity at the school.
“Gabriel a is the picture of a student who decides what they want early and fights for it ,” said Her ki sh a Hardy, Pinto-Ordonez's school counselor in Edmond Public Schools. “Nothing that she got came easily. She is intelligent. She is a hard worker. She cares about other people, and I think it made this an environment where she could excel and exceed.”
Lynsey Mendenhall, of Southmoore High School, and Morrison High School senior Trevor Hughes also won $60,000 scholarships from the program.
The three recipients of the award all showed exemplary leadership and academic achievement, said Kirby Nickolas, OG&E manager of brand engagement and partnerships.
Nickolas was part of a committee that read through all 300 applications for the scholarship. The program prefers students who intend to work in the energy industry.
All applicants must live in the OG&E service area and attend college in Oklahoma or Arkansas.
“We want these kids to stay in Oklahoma and continue to grow the pipeline for employees here in the state,” Nickolas said.
Eligible students needed at least a 3.25 GPA and a minimum ACT score of 25 or SAT score of 1,200.
Mendenhall stepped out of her south Oklahoma
City home to family members, school mentors and OG&E employees cheering congratulations on her front lawn.
The Southmoore Pom Squad Captain said she will attend the University of Tulsa this fall to study chemistry. She hopes to later attend law school.
Mendenhall's mother, Erica Howe th, said attending a private university likeTU would have been out of the question without scholarships. Howeth is a single mother and a teacher at Southmoore.
“It was very, very stressful,” Howeth said. “I told her, `Unless you get some scholarships, there's no way.'”
The $60,000 scholarship bring sTU' s hefty tuition within reach for Mendenhall when combined with financial aid from the university.
“I was going to do anything I can togo there because I really love the school ,” Men den hall said. “(The scholarship) just means a lot to me and my family and it takes a lot of weight off of our shoulders.”
Hughes, of Morrison, will study at Oklahoma State University.
Morrison
Superintendent Brent Haken said students like Hughes“deserve to be encouraged and supported,” according to a news release from the electric utility company.
“I'm thrilled that Trevor has been selected as one of OGE's Positive Energy Scholars,” Haken said. “He's already demonstrated deep involvement in the community and care f or others as well as impressive academic ability.”