La Plata Electric Association is continuing its annual tradition of offering scholarships and educational travel opportunities to students in 2026.
The offerings include scholarships for college and vocational students, and a fully funded leadership trip to Washington, D.C., for four high school juniors from Durango, Bayfield, Pagosa Springs and Ignacio.
Scholarship applications opened Dec. 1. LPEA will award $28,000 for students pursuing four-year degrees, $10,000 for those attending two-year vocational or technical programs and $12,000 for students entering accredited electrical lineworker training. The application deadline is March 1.
Applications also opened for the long-running Electric Cooperative Youth Tour. The deadline is Jan. 2.
The all-expenses-paid tour will take place June 15-21.
The trip will begin with a day in Denver, where students will learn about Colorado’s rural electric cooperative history. Students will then fly to Washington, D.C., for a week of engaging with student leaders, connecting with state representatives and learning about cooperatives, according to LPEA’s website. Destinations include the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery.
Ethan McGuinness, a former Youth Tour participant now studying political science at Colorado State University, said the experience shaped the course of his educational journey and influenced his choice of major.
“It was such an incredible opportunity,” he said. “It was pretty groundbreaking for me, and it set the path for my future and what I’ve ended up doing.”
To apply
College and vocational scholarships
Details and application links for college and vocational scholarships are available at lpea.coop/scholarships. The application deadline for all scholarships is March 1.
Electric Cooperative Youth Tour
Applications for the Youth Tour can be submitted at lpea.coop/lpea-youth-tour. Four students will be selected to represent LPEA – one each from Durango, Bayfield, Pagosa Springs and Ignacio. Applicants must live and attend school in LPEA’s service territory, which includes La Plata and Archuleta counties.
Applications are due by Jan. 2. A selection committee will review all submissions, and winners will be notified in February. Questions can be directed to youthtour@lpea.coop or 247-5786.
McGuinness is a Democracy Fellow in a mulit-year initiative at Colorado State University, has served as the Colorado representative on the National Rural Electric Co-Op Association, and worked as a campaign intern for Adam Frisch’s campaign for Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District.
He also gave back to the program this past summer in D.C. by helping lead, plan and coordinate the Youth Tour as a staff assistant.
Youth programs like these make an impact, said La Plata Electric Association CEO Chris Hansen.
“Youth programs matter. I experienced that firsthand from visiting the Nebraska Capitol as a kid, to paging for a state senator in Topeka at 14, to lobbying for higher education funding as student body president at Kansas State University,” he said. “Those opportunities gave me a real look at how decisions get made and eventually led me to serve in the Colorado Senate. That’s why LPEA invests in the Youth Tour. We’re giving students the chance to step into public service, ask questions and build the leadership skills our communities will rely on.”
epond@durangoherald.com
