20 graduates awarded college scholarships
The North Arkansas Electric Cooperative (NAEC) member-funded Operation Round Up® program awards thousands of dollars in scholarships to local graduating high school seniors each year.
In 2026, 20 high school graduates were awarded Operation Round Up scholarships thanks to NAEC members who “round up” their electric bills. Seventeen students were awarded one-time scholarships of $1,000. Three students — Hunter Belvedresi, Marley Rohr and Laurel Smeltzer — were awarded $1,000 annually for up to four years.
The application will be available by Feb. 1. To be eligible for a scholarship, high school seniors' parents or legal guardians must be NAEC members. Applicants also must have a grade-point average of 3.0 or higher on a 4.0 scale through the first semester of senior year. The scholarship must be used to attend an accredited institute of higher learning on a full-time basis. For more information, please contact Tori Moss, NAEC marketing and communications director, at (870) 895-6210 or tmoss@naeci.com.
Members can help fund future scholarships by enrolling their accounts in Operation Round Up. Volunteers allow their electric bills to be "rounded up" to the next dollar each month. Click here to enroll.