Pathway to Opportunity Scholarship
Certain retired executives of Duke Energy have established a scholarship program to assist students who plan to continue their education in college or vocational school programs.
Pathway to Opportunity Scholarship
The program is administered by Scholarship America®, the nation’s largest designer and manager of scholarships and other education support programs for corporations, foundations, associations, and individuals. Eligibility for individual programs is determined at the sole discretion of the sponsor and eligible applications are reviewed by Scholarship America’s evaluation team.
Eligibility
Applicants to the Pathway to Opportunity Scholarship must:
- Be high school seniors or graduates, or current college undergraduates.
- Plan to enroll in full-time undergraduate study at an accredited two-year or 4-year college or university, vocational technical school, or certificate program* for the upcoming academic year
*Short-term certification programs must be through an accredited institution and the program must begin sometime during the 2026-27 academic year which, for the sake of this program, is considered to be the months of August 2026 through April 2027.
Children of employees of Duke Energy are ineligible to apply.
Awards
Scholarship America will select recipients from the applications and awards will be granted as follows:
- Awards of $2,500 each to the top-ranked applicants pursuing a 2-year or 4-year degree
- Awards of $1,000 each to the top-ranked applicants pursuing a certificate at an accredited institution
Awards can be used for any education-related expenses
Awards are not renewable, but students may reapply to the program each year they meet eligibility requirements.
Awards are for undergraduate study only.
Notification
All applicants will be notified in May.
Notifications are sent via email. When setting up your account, avoid using a school or work email. Instead, use an active, personal email address that you will continue to have access to.
Please make sure to add studentsupport@scholarshipamerica.org as well as the program email address as safe senders in your email contact list.
Payment of Scholarships
Scholarship America processes scholarship payments on behalf of The Pathway to Opportunity Scholarship. Payment is made in August to the accredited institution on behalf of the recipient.
Selection of Recipients
Scholarship recipients are selected on the basis of:
- Academic performance
- Demonstrated leadership and participation in school and community activities
- Work experience
- A statement of educational and career goals and objectives
- Unusual personal or family circumstances
- Financial need
Selection of recipients is made solely by Scholarship America. In no instance will any retired or current officer or employee of Duke Energy play a part in the selection.
Not all applicants to the program will be selected as recipients. All applicants agree to accept the decision as final.
Requirements
As part of your application, you must upload the following:
- A current, complete transcript of grades. Grade reports are not accepted. Transcripts must display:
- Student name
- School name
- Grades
- Credit hours for each course and term in which each course was taken.
NOTE: If you are providing SAT or ACT test scores, and those scores are not listed on your high school transcript, you will need to upload a copy of your test score report(s) separately. If you are uploading a college transcript, those scores are not required.
Your application is not complete unless all required materials are submitted electronically.
