Four Seniors Earn SMECO Scholarships
Sara Bevard, Noah Cusack, Daniel Howard, and Madison Montgomery
Four area high school seniors have been awarded Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative scholarships for 2024.
The students — Sara Bevard, Noah Cusack, Daniel Howard, and Madison Montgomery — live in the cooperative’s service area. Each will receive a $2,500 college scholarship.
Recipients receive awards based on scholastic achievement, financial need, and school and community involvement. Since beginning the scholarship program in 1993, SMECO has presented awards to 128 students.
Sara Bevard graduates this year from Calvert High School. She plans to attend Liberty University in Lynchburg, VA, to study biomedical sciences in her pursuit of a medical career.
While in high school, Bevard received Most Outstanding Academic Achievement in advanced-placement US history, human body systems, and foundations of technology. She was inducted into the National Honor Society. Bevard is a longtime soccer player through the Calvert Soccer Association, where she has been a teen coach for young players and an assistant coach for older players. As a member of the Junior Optimist Club, she was vice president and treasurer, receiving the Optimist Club’s Outstanding Youth of Calvert County award. She is active in her church, participating in its youth group and youth choir, and she was a student leader of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
Bevard is the child of Bruce and Amy Bevard of St. Leonard.
Noah Cusack is graduating from Maurice J. McDonough High School. He plans to attend the University of Tennessee in Knoxville to study nuclear engineering.
Cusack was on the Principal’s Honors list for his entire high school career and he received the AP Scholar Award. He was a member of McDonough’s “It’s Academic” team, which placed first in the county tournament in 2021 and 2023 and was a quarterfinalist in the WETA-TV tournament last year. As a member of the National Honor Society, he served terms as the McDonough chapter’s president and vice president. He played varsity golf and varsity tennis, receiving Minds in Motion Scholar Athlete awards in both sports. In his community, Cusack volunteered with Ainsley’s Angels of America to organize a running race to spread inclusion. He has taught Sunday school for children at his church, and he held a book drive to establish a personal library for a special education classroom in a local middle school.
Cusack is the child of Jenna and Peter Cusack of Port Tobacco.
Daniel Howard graduates this year from Maurice J. McDonough High School, where he studied agricultural science. He will attend North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro to study environmental science.
At McDonough, Howard was on the soccer and lacrosse teams, and he played saxophone in the symphonic band and pit orchestra. He belonged to the Future Farmers of America, helping to start a recycling program as part of McDonough earning its Green School certification and organizing a composting program to create rich soil for growing produce. Howard was also on the Envirothon team and was a member of Junior MANRRS, which inspires students to seek careers in agriculture and other sciences. He is also a member of the National Honor Society.
Howard is the child of Alicia Greene of Waldorf.
Madison Montgomery graduates this year from Northern High School, where she studied business administration and accounting. She plans to pursue a degree in finance from the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, VA.
Awards she received in high school include the AP Scholar Award, Academic Awards for Principles of Accounting and Principles of Business, the President’s Award for Educational Excellence, and the high honor roll. An accomplished equestrian, she has won awards at US Pony Club competitions, and she hunts with the Marlborough Hunt Club. As a member of the National Honor Society, Montgomery coordinated the Northern chapter’s tutoring project and served as project lead for the Reading Buddies program. She also belonged to the Future Business Leaders of America and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
Montgomery is the child of Scott and Heather Montgomery of Owings.
SMECO – The Cooperative Difference
SMECO was incorporated in 1937 and is one of the 15 largest electric cooperatives in the United States with more than 170,000 member accounts in Charles County, St. Mary’s County, southern Prince George’s County, and most of Calvert County.
Electric cooperatives are shaped by the communities they serve, because co-ops are owned by their customers. Co-op members elect the men and women who serve on the Board of Directors. Members share the responsibility of ownership by financing the cooperative’s operations, but they also share its rewards.
At the end of each year, SMECO’s margins (profits) are allocated to members’ capital credit accounts. SMECO uses its profits to invest in new construction, system improvements, and facility upgrades. The Board of Directors regularly evaluates the financial condition of the co-op and determines when members will receive a refund. Since 1937, SMECO has refunded more than $128 million.
As a cooperative, SMECO will always put its members first and be responsive, reliable, and resourceful—the power you can count on.
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The SMECO 24/7 mobile app is available at www.smeco.coop/247. To learn more about SMECO, please visit their Leader Member Page.
