GRANVILLE – Sixty-five students, including two from Darke County, have been awarded scholarships from the Ohio Oil and Gas Energy Education Program (OOGEEP) and Foundation. These scholarships are awarded to qualified students pursuing careers in the natural gas and oil industry.

Among this year’s scholarship recipients are these individuals from Darke County:

Kiley Grilliot of Greenville plans on attending The Ohio State University to study mechanical engineering. Grilliot is a first time OOGEEP scholarship award recipient.

Samuel Rhoades, also of Greenville, plans on attending the Hobart Institute of Welding Technology to study welding technology. Rhoades is a first time OOGEEP scholarship award recipient.

To date, OOGEEP has awarded close to half a million dollars in scholarships to students from Ohio, or students pursuing higher education in Ohio, in order to help relieve some of the financial burden of attending the college, university, technical or trade school of their choice. This year, these winners represented 32 Ohio counties, 27 institutions of higher education and 17 different majors.

To be considered for a scholarship, students were required to submit an essay describing their personal career goals in the natural gas and oil industry, submit multiple letters of recommendation and meet other academic requirements.

The scholarships are made possible by contributions from those who are passionate about the future of the industry’s workforce, funded through OOGEEP’s 501(c)(3) Foundation. Each scholarship is renewable up to four years.