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HUGHESVILLE, Md. – Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative (SMECO) has awarded four scholarships for 2025 to high school seniors who live in the cooperative’s service area. Recipients receive awards based on scholastic achievement, financial need, and school and community involvement. Since beginning the scholarship program in 1993, SMECO has presented awards to 132 students. Each of the following students will receive a $2,500 college scholarship: Sophia Cheng, Maddox Cypress, Alexander Myers, and Ashlyn Zeier.
Sophia Cheng graduates this year from Huntingtown High School in Calvert County. She plans to attend Northeastern University in Boston to study public health. While in high school, Cheng received the Eric Lander Award for Outstanding Achievement in Biomedical Science, the Ivan Pavlov Award for Outstanding Achievement in AP Psychology, and the Varsity Minds in Motion Scholar Athletic Award. She played varsity tennis for Huntingtown and became team captain. Cheng was also president of the Calvert County high school science fair committee. As a participant in Girls Who Code, she created an app for locating lunch locations around her school that included tutoring options. Cheng has volunteered in local nursing homes, interacting with residents with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease to improve their quality of life. She is the child of Mu Q Li-Cheng of Huntingtown.
Maddox Cypress is graduating from Westlake High School in Charles County. He plans to attend the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor this fall to study aerospace engineering. Active in Westlake’s National Honor Society chapter, he served as its vice president, received its Certificate of Excellence, and organized an anti-bullying campaign. His awards included the MESA Program, Team Vex Robotics Sportsmanship Awards, and the Presidential Award for Educational Excellence. He was team captain for the Westlake Math Team and tutored classmates who experienced challenges in mathematics. Cypress has volunteered at soup kitchens and hospitals. At Naval Surface Weapons Center Dalghren, he will work as a summer intern under the Science and Engineering Apprenticeship Program. Cypress is the child of Alphonso and Kina Holmes Cypress of Waldorf.
Alexander Myers graduates this year from La Plata High School in Charles County. He plans to attend St. Mary’s College of Maryland to study marine and environmental science. At La Plata, Myers won Minds in Motion awards from his participation in varsity swimming, soccer, and track and field. He was inducted into the National Honor Society and his school’s World Language Honor Society. A member of La Plata’s Polyglot club, he served as its president and vice president. In his community, Myers delivered food through Meals on Wheels and Fields 4 Valor, and provided volunteer maintenance services at a local Montessori school. He also captained teams for the La Plata Youth Soccer Association’s outdoor and indoor recreational teams. Myers is the child of Elissa Myers of La Plata.
Ashlyn Zeier is graduating from Leonardtown High School in St. Mary’s County. She has been accepted into the honors program at Pennsylvania Western University, where she will pursue a degree in biology. Zeier sang with the Chamber Choir, All-County Honors Choir, and Tri-County Honors Choir, and was the vice president of the A Capella Club. An active swimmer, she was the captain of Leonardtown’s varsity swim team, setting three team records, and she was also head lifeguard for the local Elks lodge. She belonged to the National Honor Society, the Key Club, Mental Health Awareness Club, Active Minds Club, and the Student Leadership Council. Zeier is the child of Tara and Douglas Zeier of Hollywood.
VMDAEC Scholarships Recognize Local Students
Besides the four students receiving SMECO scholarships, three others from the cooperative’s service area received money for higher education from the Virginia, Maryland & Delaware Association of Electric Cooperatives (VMDAEC) and its Education Scholarship Foundation. SMECO is a member of the association along with other electric cooperatives in the Mid-Atlantic region. The foundation awarded $124,000 in college scholarships to deserving high school students for the 2024–25 school year, including 33 Worth Hudson Scholarships. Hudson was the Education Scholarship Foundation’s first chairman and he also chaired the board of directors of Mecklenburg Electric Cooperative in Chase City, Va. Included in the Hudson awards were:
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