Scholarships

In some of our communities we offer scholarships for graduating seniors whose parents are customers.

Please enter your ZIP code at the top of the page to apply for scholarships in your area.

Kansas scholarships

Applications are closed.

We’re proud to serve 113,000 customers in 65 communities throughout Kansas with safe, reliable natural gas. Our mission to improve life with energy is illustrated by our commitment to assist with the education of youth in our service areas.

We want to make sure we’re living out our mission to improve life with energy from generation to generation. That’s why we offer scholarships to graduating high school seniors and students enrolled in one of the Kansas community colleges listed below.

Later this year, we'll announce the scholarship winners on our Black Hills Energy Facebook page, as well as issue a news release in the student’s community. Please be sure to like us on Facebook.

Scholarship information

In 2018, we'll award approximately (15) $1,000 scholarships to students graduating from Kansas high schools whose parents/guardians or the students themselves are customers of Black Hills Energy. In addition, we will also award the $1,000 scholarships to students who are currently enrolled in a Kansas community college or technical school listed below.

Academic institutions that we will offer 2018 scholarships toward include the following:

Wichita State University (Wichita)
Newman University (Wichita)
Wichita Area Technical College (Wichita)
University of Kansas (Lawrence)
Dwayne Peaslee Technical Training Center (Lawrence – HVAC program)
Sterling College (Sterling)
Dodge City Community College (Dodge City)
Seward County Community College (Liberal)
*Barton County Community College (Great Bend – ‘natural gas program’)
Garden City Community College (Garden City)
Northwest Kansas Technical College (Goodland)

*Barton County Community College is not in our service territory, but they offer a natural gas program that provides students with education in natural gas workforce development.

To be considered for a scholarship, students attending a four-year academic school must be majoring in Engineering, Business, Environmental Science or other energy-related field of study. Students attending a community college/technical school must be studying: Heating/Ventilation/AC (HVAC) certificate, appliance repair certificate, natural gas certification, welding, business, engineering, environmental science or other energy-related field of study.

The narrowed list of Kansas schools (community colleges/technical schools and the two four-year universities) that our 2018 scholarship will apply towards reinforces our commitment to the partnerships with our academic institution stakeholders in the Kansas communities we are proud to serve.

In addition, the narrowed fields of study reflects our desire to make educational investments into the energy sector and support a future talent pipeline.

Eligibility

Parent, guardian or the actual student must be a current Black Hills Energy customer in Kansas. They may be a residential customer or the owner or operator of a commercial or industrial account.

Student must rank in the top 35 percent of the graduating class or score 21 or higher on the ACT, or 980 or higher on the SAT.

The applicant must plan to attend one of the community college/technical school or universities listed above and plan to obtain the degrees/certification as noted in the changes.

Completed scholarship applications are reviewed by committees made up of Black Hills Energy employees. The applications are scored based upon the top 35 percent rank in class and/or ACT/SAT scores, as well as the student’s involvement in extracurricular activities and their essay response.

Student is not a relative of a current or retired employee of Black Hills Corporation or its business units, including Black Hills Energy – Kansas Gas. A relative is a child, grandchild, brother, sister, stepchild, foster child, spouse or in-law.

Apply

We can only consider scholarship applications that are completely filled out. You can apply online or download the scholarship application here.

We encourage students to apply for scholarships through our online form. You can mail in official high school/community college/technical school transcripts.

The scholarship application deadline is Friday, March 16.

Mailed application must be postmarked by Friday, March 16, 2017 to:

Black Hills Energy
Attn: 2018 Scholarship Program
2330 N. Hoover Road
Wichita, KS 67205

Apply online today

Application and information

To learn more about our scholarship program in Nebraska, contact Brandy Johnson at brandy.johnson@blackhillscorp.com or 402-437-1817.

Colorado Scholarships

Applications are closed.

For more information, contact Julie Rodriguez, community affairs program manager, at 719-546-5802.

Iowa Scholarships

We will award four college scholarships of $1,000. Two $1000 scholarships are available to students attending the two-year Gas Utility Construction and Service Program at Northeast Iowa Community College (NICC) in Peosta, Iowa. An additional two scholarships are available for students attending the two-year Utility Technician Program at Marshalltown Community College in Marshalltown, Iowa.

Deadline

The application must be completed and returned to the address on the form by April 1 each year.

Eligibility

Scholarship awards are open to all first year students enrolling in the two-year program
Applicant may be either a graduating high school senior or a non-traditional student
2.5 GPA
Top 50% of graduating class
Students whose families are current Black Hills Energy customers will be given preference
Additional preference will be given to students who have demonstrated leadership and community involvement

Applications

Applications must be completed in full to be considered. We cannot contact applicants for further information due to the volume of applications received. The scholarship selection is done by the college’s scholarship committee using the criteria provided by Black Hills Energy.

Scholarship applications:

Northeast Iowa Community College Scholarships (Peosta)

Marshalltown Community College Scholarships

Questions?

Lynn Porter
712-325-3080
lynn.porter@blackhillscorp.com

Nebraska scholarships

We work through the foundations at colleges and universities in our Nebraska service territory to award scholarships to students.

We’re providing scholarships to the following schools:

Central Columbus Campus
Metropolitan Community College
Northeast Community College
Southeast Community College (Beatrice, Lincoln and Milford campus)
The University of Nebraska

Applications are available through each school’s website and deadlines vary. The student or the student’s parent or guardian must be one of our Nebraska customers.

Application and information

To learn more about our scholarship program in Nebraska, contact Brandy Johnson at brandy.johnson@blackhillscorp.com or 402-437-1817.

South Dakota Scholarships

We work through the foundations at a number of colleges and technical institutes in South Dakota to award scholarships to students.

We’re have endowed scholarships at the following schools:

Applications are available through each school’s website and deadlines vary. The student or student’s parent or guardian typically must be one of our customers.

Questions?

To learn more about our scholarships offered through South Dakota schools, contact Val Simpson at val.simpson@blackhillscorp.com or 605-721-1719.