SPRINGFIELD, Ore. (KTVZ) — SELCO Community Credit Union will begin accepting applications on Saturday, Feb. 1 from eligible students interested in its expanded SELCO Steps Up scholarship program, which will award nearly $80,000 in student support.
The application window for prospective students will remain open through Monday, March 31, according to the company’s news release, below in full:
SELCO will award a total of 20 scholarships to eligible students—which includes traditional, nontraditional, and vocational students—worth $3,500 each. One recipient will receive the $7,500 Richard Metzler Opportunity Scholarship, awarded to a Lane County student who has demonstrated excellence in education, leadership, or civic responsibility despite adversity or lack of opportunity.
SELCO’s scholarship program received a significant overhaul as part of the SELCO Steps Up philanthropy initiative that the credit union launched in 2024. Not only has the total value of SELCO’s scholarships increased to $77,500, up nearly 50% from 2023, but eligibility was expanded to include vocational, continuing, and nontraditional students, as well as students already attending an accredited college, university, or vocational school.
“We saw an opportunity to make a greater impact in reducing the financial burden placed on a wider range of deserving students,” said Craig Carpenter, SELCO’s Senior Vice President of Lending & Business Banking. “For 35 years and counting, SELCO’s goal with these scholarships has been to help outstanding students across the educational spectrum reach their goals. The surge in applications last year shows that we are on the right track in keeping up with the educational goals of students today. Through the Steps Up program, we’ll continue to evolve this and other initiatives to ensure they remain meaningful and relevant.”
From the official launch of SELCO Steps Up in February 2024 through the end of the year, SELCO awarded $415,000 in support through educator-support initiatives, scholarships, educator-support initiatives, and impact-driven sponsorships—the largest year of giving in SELCO’s nearly 90-year history. In addition, SELCO employees logged nearly 1,400 volunteer hours over that same time. This additional investment in time and resources is in direct response to the growing and evolving needs of our community.
Case in point, the changes made to the scholarship program last year were necessary to address the evolving ways students approach education. Trade school enrollment surged 4.9% nationwide from 2020 to 2023, while university enrollment slipped 0.6% over the same period, according to a recently released report by Validated Insights, a higher education marketing firm. SELCO’s scholarship program—once limited to high school seniors headed to a two- or four-year college—better reflects this shifting academic landscape.
In addition, SELCO’s scholarships can be used for any educational-related expense, so they are uniquely suited to help students meet the demands of rising educational and living expenses.
Reese Biehler, a 2024 recipient from Cottage Grove, used his scholarship to attend the Northwest Lineman College in Idaho. By doing so, he was among the first to use a SELCO scholarship to attend a vocational school.
“Becoming the first person to receive a SELCO scholarship for the trades was an amazing feeling,” says Biehler, who now works as an aerial lineman for Hunter Communications, a Central Point, Oregon-based Internet provider. “With the help of that scholarship, I completed my training, and I am already in my career. Earning that scholarship was a big help, and it truly made me feel like I was included.”
To qualify, applicants must:
SELCO’s Scholarship Panel will review each application, and funds will be released to scholarship recipients by the end of June. The Richard Metzler Opportunity Scholarship winner will be selected from Lane County applicants. Prospective students are asked to apply online at selco.org/scholarships by March 31.
For more information on the scholarship program or other SELCO Steps Up student and educator support programs, visit www.selco.org/steps-up/student-and-educator-support/.
About SELCO Steps Up:
The SELCO Steps Up program aims to create positive, innovative, lasting change through volunteerism, resource support, and collaboration with community partners. In 2024, which was the first year of SELCO Steps Up, SELCO reinvested nearly $415,000 in the communities it serves through educator grants, scholarships, and impact-driven sponsorships. SELCO staff also committed nearly 1,400 volunteer hours last year alone. As a credit union founded by teachers, education is a cornerstone of these efforts, with a focus on removing barriers to financial literacy. By empowering individuals and families to achieve financial well-being, SELCO strives to build a strong foundation for all its members and neighbors. Learn more at www.selco.org/steps-up.
About SELCO Community Credit Union:
Founded nearly 90 years ago by a group of fiscally minded teachers, Springfield-based SELCO Community Credit Union today serves more than 150,000 members as one of the largest and longest-standing Oregon-based credit unions. A not-for-profit, federally insured, member-driven financial cooperative with more than $2.7 billion in assets, SELCO provides its member-owners with exceptional rates and low fees on a full range of financial products and services, including banking, mortgages, personal and business loans, investments, and insurance. Membership is available to anyone who lives or works in one of the 27 Oregon or eight Washington counties SELCO serves. For more information or to become a member today, stop by one of SELCO’s 15 branches, visit selco.org, or call 800-445-4483.
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