New scholarship for Eddy County students

March 28, 2011—High school seniors and undergraduate students in Eddy County in southeastern New Mexico have an opportunity to apply for a college scholarship to pursue a science, technology, math, or engineering degree, thanks to the generosity of Laboratory employees working at Carlsbad and Los Alamos National Security, LLC.

"The Los Alamos National Laboratory Carlsbad Office is excited to offer a $3,000 scholarship this year to a student from high schools in Eddy County or a college freshman in southeast New Mexico," said Ned Elkins of the Laboratory's Repository Science. "This is the first year LANL-Carlsbad has offered a scholarship in its 11-year history, and we've already begun raising funds for next year's scholarship."

LANS, LLC provided seed money

The first $3,000 scholarship will be awarded this spring. LANS, LLC made a one-time $3,000 donation, which acts as seed money for the scholarship. Carlsbad employees will solicit donations to sustain the annual scholarship, but all Lab employees can donate to fund the Los Alamos Carlsbad Operations Employees' Scholarship Fund (LACESF) by designating donations to LACESF through the Laboratory’s annual Employee Giving Campaign, said Debbi Wersonick of the Lab's Community Programs Office. Donations made by a one-time or biweekly payroll deduction during the annual Employee Giving Campaign are eligible for LANS matching funds.

The scholarship was created after some of the 65 employees who work in Repository Science approached Community Programs, which manages giving programs for the Lab. The fund will be managed by the Carlsbad Community Foundation. Wersonick noted that Repository Science employees in Carlsbad also participate in the Wreaths Across America program and will serve on a scholarship advisory committee to solicit scholarship applications and promote the new scholarship in the community.

For more information about this new scholarship opportunity, or to donate, contact Jerry McTaggart of Repository Science at (575) 628-1377 or Wersonick at (505) 667-7870.