$100,000 in scholarships awarded to Oklahoma high school seniors.
The Oklahoma Youth Expo has awarded 100, $1,000 scholarships to Oklahoma high school seniors who had planned to exhibit a market animal at the 2020 OYE.
“Closing the doors early on the 2020 OYE was one of the hardest things we’ve ever had to do,” said Tyler Norvell, President of the Onward Endowment. “When the dust settled, we knew we wanted to support the seniors who missed out on the opportunity to show one last time at OYE.”
“With the help of many of our generous sponsors, the 2020 Financial Hardship Scholarship was created to help seniors who had planned to exhibit a market animal at OYE,” Norvell said. “In less than a day, $100,000 was pledged to the scholarship fund.”
Thank you to these generous sponsors who made the 2020 Financial Hardship Scholarship possible:
American Farmers & Ranchers
BancFirst
Bank of the West
Bank of Western Oklahoma
Blue and Gold
Cusack Meats
Express Ranches
Farm Credit of Western Oklahoma
First Liberty Bank
Livestock Nutrition Center
Lopez Foods
McAfee & Taft
Oklahoma Ag Credit
Oklahoma Association of Electric Cooperatives
Oklahoma City Chamber
Oklahoma City Convention & Visitors Bureau
Oklahoma Oil and Natural Gas
Oklahoma Farm Bureau
Oklahoma Pipeline Awareness Liaison
Robyn Promotions
Rockgate Financial
Stock Show Secrets
Urbanish
To be eligible to apply, seniors had to have entered a market animal in the 2020 Oklahoma Youth Expo and have experienced significant financial loss by not being able to show. Seniors must have at least a 2.5 or higher GPA and must be planning to continue their education at a higher education institution or career/technical school.
In addition to the Financial Hardship Scholarship, all 2020 high school seniors will have the opportunity to exhibit market animals at the 2021 Oklahoma Youth Expo.
“During trying times, it never ceases to amaze me how people come together to lift one another up,” Norvell said. “It reminds each and every one of us what truly matters and that’s our friends and family, and I couldn’t be more proud to be a part of the stock show family.”
For more information on the Financial Hardship Scholarship and the Oklahoma Youth Expo, contact JD Rosman at jd@okyouthexpo.org or visit okyouthexpo.com.
— Written by JD Rosman
The Oklahoma Youth Expo is the largest youth event in the state of Oklahoma. As a 501(C)(3) non-profit organization, more than 7,000 exhibitors, their educators and families travel to Oklahoma City each spring from all of Oklahoma’s 77 counties to exhibit their livestock projects. Throughout the course of the ten-day event, OYE has a $25 million impact on Oklahoma City. For more information about the Oklahoma Youth Expo visit okyouthexpo.com.