Last Updated on September 16, 2024 6:09 pm
BOONE, N.C. — Five first-year Mountaineer students — all graduates of Watauga High School — have been named recipients of Appalachian State University’s New River Light and Power (NRLP) Scholarship for the 2024–25 academic year. Established in 1988, the scholarship provides funding to Watauga County students pursuing higher education at App State and is a key part of App State’s founding mission to increase access to higher education.
The 2024–25 scholarship recipients:
- James Collins
Major: undecided - Thomas Cook
Major: finance and banking - Kasey Gragg
Major: communication sciences and disorders - Brielynn Myers
Major: special education - Stryker Ward
Major: exercise science
The NRLP award provides students with $4,000 each year and is renewable for up to eight consecutive semesters or four years of undergraduate study, excluding Summer Sessions. All graduating high school seniors residing in Watauga County who have been accepted to App State are eligible to apply for the NRLP Scholarship. Recipients must maintain a required 3.0 GPA at the end of each academic year to retain the scholarship.
“Since 1988, New River Light and Power has awarded almost $2 million in scholarships to Watauga County students,” said NRLP General Manager Matt Makdad. “Empowering our local community through education is an important part of our mission. We are proud that these newest scholarship recipients are part of the long legacy of public power supporting local communities.”
In addition to its signature scholarship, NRLP is establishing a Lineworker Scholarship in partnership with Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute’s Electrical Lineworker Institute, which is set to launch in 2025. This scholarship will cover the cost of the lineworker program and will be made available to Watauga High School graduating seniors.
“With this new scholarship, NRLP hopes to encourage a new generation of lineworkers from the High Country to serve in these much-needed roles,” said NRLP Operations Superintendent Alan Byrd, a second-generation lineworker.
The utility also contributes approximately $650,000 each year to the App State general scholarship fund, which supports the Chancellor’s Scholarship as well as other university scholarships.
To learn more about App State scholarships, including the NRLP Scholarship Program, visit scholarships.appstate.edu.
The 2024–25 recipients of App State’s New River Light and Power Scholarship, all of whom are spring 2024 graduates of Watauga High School in Boone. Pictured, from left to right, are first-year students James Collins, Thomas Cook, Kasey Gragg, Brielynn Myers and Stryker Ward. Photos submitted
