Golden West Announces 08-09 Scholarship Program

By: Jody Bielmaier

Wall, SD - The Golden West Telecommunications’ Board of Directors recently approved the eleventh year of funding scholarships for college-bound high school seniors. The company’s scholarship program currently makes $1,000 scholarships available at 44 high schools in addition to one “at-large” scholarship for students from its service area who are home-schooled or don’t attend one of the qualifying schools.

“We’re proud to play a role in the education of students from our service area and hope that many remain in South Dakota after they graduate or return at some point to help create opportunities for others,” said Golden West Telecommunications General Manager/CEO Denny Law.

Selection of the local scholarship recipient remains the responsibility of a committee overseen by each school’s superintendent and/or principal whereas the at-large recipient will be selected by a committee of Golden West employees. All committees are responsible for selecting the winning applicant based on SAT or ACT scores, high school transcripts and scholarship award applications.

The selection committees will also take into consideration leadership in school, civic and other extracurricular activities, academic achievement, personal character and the applicant’s motivation to serve and succeed. If two applicants are extremely close in qualifications, then the selection committees are encouraged to use financial need as the tiebreaker.

Students interested in applying for a Golden West scholarship can obtain an application by contacting their local high school. At-large applicants can obtain the same information by dialing 777 from any Golden West phone or by going to the ‘Corporate Info’ link at www.goldenwest.com. While the deadline for both applications is March 15th, at-large applications have to be returned to Golden West and all other applications must be returned to the guidance counselor at their respective high school.