Youth Scholarships & Trips

Operation Round Up Youth Scholarships

The 2024 application period is now closed.

In May 2023, 92 students were each awarded a $650 scholarship Visit Rural Missouri – June 2023. A total of $59,800 is due to Operation Round-Up, a program that rounds up a member’s bill to the nearest dollar. Since its beginning in 2008, $1,122,650 has been awarded to help area youth succeed in life. Scholarships are for high school seniors whose parent(s) or legal guardian(s) is a member-owner of SEMO Electric Cooperative.

One might think the penny has lost its power in today’s economy. However, a few pennies can make a real impact on education. The student can receive the SEMO Electric Foundation Scholarship only one time. It is not renewable. The scholarship monies will be awarded prior to the upcoming 2023 fall semester or quarter with the student’s valid proof of enrollment as a full-time student at the accredited college, university, or vocational school by June 1, 2023.

Operation Round-Up is a program that rounds up a member’s bill to the nearest dollar. Participating in Operation Round-Up is easy. Each month, SEMO Electric simply “rounds up” the electric bill of participating members to the next highest dollar. For example, a member’s monthly bill of $52.73 would be rounded up to $53, with the additional 27 cents going to the Operation Round-Up. Donations are tax-deductible.

2024 Scholarship Application

CYCLE Tour and Youth Tour Trips

The 2024 application period is now closed.

2024 Cycle and Youth Tour Application

What’s the CYCLE Tour?

SEMO's high school sophomores are eligible for the Association of Missouri Electric Cooperatives' Cooperative Youth Conference and Leadership Experience (CYCLE) Tour. It is a three-day leadership program with other Missouri students at Jefferson City.

What’s the Youth Tour?

SEMO's high school juniors are eligible for the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association Youth Tour. More than 1,500 students from all across America take part in the Youth Tour experience each year, and so can you! Travel to Washington, D.C., where you will meet your U.S. Representatives and Senators. This unique trip will give you the opportunity to watch history come alive as you explore the museums, memorials, and monuments with students from your state. You will meet student leaders from nearly every state and hear dynamic leaders on Youth Day. Bottom line, you will make friendships that will last a lifetime and be part of a group that has more than 50,000 alumni in every walk of life including U.S. Senators and CEOs. The promo video below gives an overview of the experience. Check out this Rural Missouri - August 2022 article.