Dillon Browning of Mansfield and Matthew Mitzel of Mina have been selected as the 2022 recipients of scholarships from Basin Electric Power Cooperative and Northern Electric Cooperative. Browning has been awarded a $1,000 scholarship from Basin Electric and Mitzel is the recipient of the $500 scholarship from Northern Electric. Both Browning and Mitzel are seniors in high school and will be enrolling in universities this fall.
Browning has a 4.02 grade point average (GPA) at Warner High School and is involved in cross country, track, band, choir, one-act play, and oral interp. He currently serves as the student body president and will be pursuing degrees in political science and public policy. Browning said the $1,000 Basin Electric Scholarship will help him achieve his goals.
“I would like to focus on having a positive impact in whatever career I serve in rather than worrying about how I am going to pay off cumbersome student debt,” Browning said. “This scholarship will be beneficial for my financial future as I will be better prepared to afford college with less student loans.”
Matthew Mitzel is in his final year of home school where he has a 4.2 GPA. Mitzel has been a member of 4-H for nearly a decade and currently serves as the president of his chapter. He has also been a member of the choir for the Living Christmas Tree in 2017, 2018, and 2019.
Mitzel is already getting a jump start on his college career by taking several dual-credit courses through Northern State University. Mitzel took a chemistry course at NSU in the fall of 2021 and his professor wrote a recommendation saying he was ‘one of the strongest students in the class.’ Mitzel plans to pursue a degree in mechanical engineering at South Dakota State University or the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology in the fall.
“I am deeply grateful for receiving the $500 cooperative scholarship,” Mitzel said. “It will help me take the next step in my career without being burdened financially.”
All scholarship applicants had to submit an essay about the challenges they believe rural electric cooperatives will face in the future. Both Browning and Mitzel wrote that focusing on infrastructure is essential. Browning believes co-ops need to prepare for increased demand on the electric grid as new technologies such as electric vehicles become more popular.
“Rural electric cooperatives can begin to expand their networks now to do so slowly; allowing for less direct impact on rates,” Browning wrote in his essay.
Mitzel believes electric co-ops need to prepare for a population shift of members moving from rural areas to more suburban areas.
“CEOs should ask themselves, ‘How can we improve the safety, reliability, and sustainability of our new infrastructure?’” Mitzel wrote.
Mitzel and Browning will receive their scholarships when they enroll in classes in the fall. The applications were judged by a panel of Northern Electric employees.