AMP Scholarships Program

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AMP’s commitment to education has resulted in nearly a quarter of a million dollars in scholarships being awarded to students in 5 footprint states

July 2013

American Municipal Power, Inc. believes in the importance of encouraging education and promoting public power, so it’s not surprising that AMP is generous when it comes to scholarships. Since the program’s inception in 1988, AMP has awarded 147 scholarships to students in Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia – totaling $240,000.

AMP offers two scholarships, which are available to graduating high school seniors – the Richard H. Gorsuch and Lyle B. Wright scholarships. Both are one-time grants of $2,000 and are presented to as many as four students for each scholarship annually.

“The whole point of the program is to not only assist students in furthering their education, but also to increase awareness of public power within the community,” said Karen Ritchey, AMP’s manager of communications programs.

The Gorsuch scholarship, named in honor of the former then AMP-Ohio president in 1988, is awarded to graduating high school seniors whose parent or guardian is an employee of either a municipal electric system, AMP, or an elected official with responsibility for the electric system.

The Lyle B. Wright scholarship is presented to graduating high school seniors whose household receives electricity from one of AMP’s 129 member communities. Wright was a strong advocate of public power on both state and local levels, and the scholarship was created and named in his honor in 1989.

The goals of AMP’s scholarship program are to encourage high school students in member communities to further their education and to create an awareness of careers in the municipal electric utility field.

“It’s great if students go into some type of field that is affiliated with utilities down the road,” Ritchey said. “We hope some of our scholarship students end up coming back to their community and working in public power.”

Winners of both awards are determined by the preparation of an essay on public power, personal achievement in school and/or community activities, knowledge of public power based on a written test, and scholastic record. The scholarship is made out to both the student and the school, so the scholarship helps to cover college tuition.

“What’s really special about the program is how appreciative scholarship recipients are of AMP’s assistance with their education,” Ritchey said.

In 2013, 55 students were nominated by member communities for AMP scholarships. There were four recipients for both the Gorsuch and Wright Scholarships. Finalists not selected for a scholarship received a $50 VISA gift card and an AMP flash drive.

For more information on AMP’s scholarships, visit the Scholarships Program page of the AMP website.