$22,500 Available to W.Va. Women Preparing for Careers in Oil and Natural Gas
Anne Barth, executive director of TechConnect West Virginia, announced the creation and initiation of the Mary Anne Ketelsen STEM Scholarship Program to benefit Mountain State women seeking to further their education for careers in the oil and gas industry. Applications for scholarship funds are now being accepted, with a deadline of March 1, 2021.
“Mary Anne Ketelsen, a keynote speaker at one of our Women in Technology conferences and successful West Virginia entrepreneur and philanthropist, generously donated funds to TechConnect West Virginia to establish a Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) scholarship program to support women in the oil and natural gas industry, said Barth. “Mary Anne also sought to honor the memory of her mother, Mary “Mickey” Welch, a philanthropist and oil and gas industry pioneer.”
Those eligible to receive a scholarship must be:
- graduating high school seniors with at least a 3.0 grade point average
- current higher education students in either community/technical colleges or four-year institutions with at least a 3.0 grade point average;
- working adult professionals interested in advancing their careers;
- West Virginia resident students attending institutions of higher education in West Virginia or located in an adjoining state (KY, MD, OH, PA or VA); and
- those students willing to commit to work in West Virginia for the first two years of their careers.
In 2021, the scholarship program has $22,500 available for distribution to qualified female candidates. Recipients will receive a non-renewable award of either $1,000, $2,500 or $5,000. Current applicants must plan to attend institutions of higher learning in 2021 or 2022.
Complete details on the application process are at https://techconnectwv.org/techconnect-wv-seeks-scholarship-applications/
Mary Anne Ketelsen is President and CEO of Parkersburg’s Mister Bee Potato Chips, a growing small, woman-owned business in a HubZone. She was recognized both as a Distinguished West Virginian by the Governor of West Virginia and a “Wonder Woman” by West Virginia Living magazine in 2020. Mary Anne is a graduate of both West Virginia University at Parkersburg and Glenville State University.
About TechConnect West Virginia: TechConnectWV is a statewide economic development organization dedicated to the advancement of science, technology, and the innovation economy in West Virginia, focused on four technology sectors: advanced energy, chemicals and advanced materials, biosciences, and biometrics. With members representing education and research, private industry, and the public sector, TechConnectWV works to grow and diversify West Virginia’s economy through innovation-based economic development.
Established as a non-profit organization in 2006, TechConnectWV serves as a forum and facilitator to enhance awareness, spur collaboration, and raise the discussion of issues needed to strengthen the state’s innovation ecosystem. More information is available at https://techconnectwv.org/
