(JEFFERSON, Ga. April 2, 2018) — Two high school seniors nominated by Jackson Electric Membership Corporation (EMC) were awarded $1,000 Walter Harrison Scholarships: Chestatee High School senior Megan Freeman and Banks County High School senior Trevor Thomas. Only 11 students from across Georgia received scholarships from the program sponsored by the electric co-ops in the state.

Freeman and Thomas competed among 77 other students across Georgia for the $1,000 scholarship, which is awarded to students enrolled in a two- or four-year university, college or vocational-technical school in Georgia.

“I am truly honored to receive one of the Walter Harrison scholarships,” said Freeman. “I look forward to the many opportunities this award will help me pursue,” she added. Freeman plans to attend the University of Georgia in the fall of 2018 to pursue a degree in English followed by law school.

Freeman is a 2016 Governor’s Honors participant in communicative arts, the 2016 Georgia High School Association State Literary Argumentative Writing Champion, and an AP Scholar with Distinction. At Chestatee High School, she serves as historian for the National Honor Society, vice president and editor of the Key Club, and secretary for FBLA. She is a graduate of the Youth Leadership Hall program. Currently, she volunteers as a counselor-in-training at Elachee Nature Science Center, and works as a law intern with the Gainesville-based law firm Coleman, Chambers and Rogers.

“This goes a long way toward helping me achieve my dream,” said Thomas upon hearing the news of his scholarship. Thomas plans to attend the University of North Georgia in the fall of 2018 to pursue a degree in health science followed by a career in the medical field as a doctor of osteopathic surgery. “I want to help student athletes who may suffer from joint injuries make a full recovery,” he said.

Thomas is president of the Beta Club at Banks County High School and is an active participant in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Student Leadership Council and the yearbook staff. He is a scholar athlete, earning a Georgia certificate of merit while playing varsity football and golf for three years. Also, he received the captain’s award in varsity football. Thomas volunteers for the Good News at Noon program and shelter in Gainesville, as well as the Get Real Ministries food box program.

A statewide panel of judges considered numerous factors, including academic excellence, grade point average, SAT or ACT scores, scholastic honors, extracurricular activities and community service, and recommendation letters for applicants of the Walter Harrison Scholarship.

The scholarship, created in 1985, is named in honor of Walter Harrison, a pioneer in the rural electricity movement and a leader at the local, state and national levels in electric cooperative programs. It is funded by Georgia’s 41 electric cooperatives, including Jackson EMC, the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association and the Georgia Rural Electric Supply Corp. Since 1987, approximately $202,500 has been awarded to students through the Walter Harrison Scholarship fund.

Jackson Electric Membership Corporation, the largest electric cooperative in Georgia and one of the largest in the nation, is headquartered 50 miles northeast of Atlanta in Jefferson, Ga. The cooperative serves more than 225,000 meters on 14,000 miles of energized wire. For more information, visit jacksonemc.com.