San Juan County students receve Nourdine Jensen scholarships

Three local students were presented with the first annual Nourdine Jensen Cooperative Youth Scholarship awards at the OPALCO annual meeting on May 14. Nourdine Jensen’s daughter, Jeri Ahrenius, presented Connar Smith of Friday Harbor High School; Samantha Swanson of Spring Street International School and Lopez Island; and Susanne Mietzner of Orcas High School with awards including a $500 scholarship and a week at the Cooperative Youth Rally Leadership Camp at the College of Idaho.

June 12, 2011 3:56 pm
From left to right: Nourdine Jensen youth scholarship recipients Connar Smith
From left to right: Nourdine Jensen youth scholarship recipients Connar Smith

Three local students were presented with the first annual Nourdine Jensen Cooperative Youth Scholarship awards at the OPALCO annual meeting on May 14.

Nourdine Jensen’s daughter, Jeri Ahrenius, presented Connar Smith of Friday Harbor High School; Samantha Swanson of Spring Street International School and Lopez Island; and Susanne Mietzner of Orcas High School with awards including a $500 scholarship and a week at the Cooperative Youth Rally Leadership Camp at the College of Idaho.

The OPALCO Board of Directors established the scholarship program in honor of Nourdine Jensen, a long-time board member and advocate for the cooperative. Nourdine Jensen believed in reliable, affordable electricity for the rural islanders of San Juan County and he believed in the cooperative model. In that spirit, the Nourdine Jensen Cooperative Youth Program was established to educate our youth about electric co-ops and public power, to give them the opportunity to expand their horizons and to develop leadership qualities.