JASPER scholarship program honors employees’ children across Dubois County schools

Jasper Engines and Transmissions awarded its 2026 scholarships on June 23 to dependent children of full-time associates, turning the program into a direct benefit for employee families across Dubois County and beyond. The company says recipients are chosen through a rating system based on several criteria, a structure that makes the awards part of its workforce strategy as much as a college sendoff.

This year’s list stretches across area schools and career paths. Bailey Anderson, a Forest Park graduate, plans to study agribusiness at Vincennes University. Jayka Brown of Paoli High School will study biology with a medical technology specialization at Indiana State University. Elijah Buechler, a Northeast Dubois graduate, is headed to Vincennes University Jasper for business management and personal training. Other recipients include Brittany Chevez, who plans to study accounting at the University of Southern Indiana, Brayden Crain, who is headed to Purdue University for aerospace engineering, and Rebekah Doane, who plans to study business administration at Vincennes.

The awards also reach students from Jasper, Corydon Central, Crawford County and Washington Catholic, underscoring how far JASPER’s employee network extends through the region. Ella Clark and Hayden Clark are pursuing kinesiology and human biology, while Delilah and Zoey Crecelius are moving into health and animal science-related programs. Taken together, the list reflects households tied to JASPER operations in production support, maintenance, the gas division, sales support, people services and other departments, where college costs and career planning are part of the same family budget conversation.

JASPER’s scholarship program fits into a broader ownership culture that the company has used to hold onto workers and deepen loyalty. Jasper Holdings, Inc. says it became 100% Associate-Owned in 2009, and the company said in December 2024 that its associate-owner base had grown from about 2,100 in 2009 to more than 4,250. JASPER also runs Jasper Endows Today and Tomorrow, a giving circle for Associate-Owners and their families that presented 17 grants totaling $53,375.50 in 2024.

The company’s education support also reaches into vocational training. Vincennes University lists a separate JASPER scholarship for first-time students in transportation-automotive and collision repair, available at the Vincennes Campus, Jasper Campus and online. With scholarship announcements posted in 2023, 2024, 2025 and now 2026, the program has become a recurring part of how one of Dubois County’s largest private employers keeps family ties connected to the plant and to the next generation of workers.