First Community Credit Union awards record $72,500 in scholarships to 28 seniors

First Community Credit Union put a record $72,500 behind the next wave of college-bound seniors, a local investment that can help Stutsman County students pay for tuition, housing and books before debt starts piling up.

The Jamestown-based credit union said the 2026 scholarship program will reach 28 graduating high school seniors, including 14 multi-year scholarships and 14 single-year awards of $1,250. The single-year awards total $17,500, leaving $55,000 for the multi-year scholarships. Ameen Salih of Moorhead was selected as the best essay winner and received a $250 Visa gift card.

The list of recipients includes Janna Bergstedt, Lillian Dybing, Ellie Horner, Hallie Besette, Bentley Solem, Kyla Moen, Olivia Koehler, McKinley Moen, Emily Senger, Corbyn Powell and the rest of this year’s class of scholarship winners from across the region. Their hometowns stretch from Jamestown-area communities to Valley City, Fargo, Bismarck, Grand Forks, Devils Lake, West Fargo, Oakes, Wishek, Cavalier, Larimore, Northwood and several Minnesota towns, showing how wide FCCU’s reach has become.

For Jamestown families weighing the cost of postsecondary education, the stakes are practical. A scholarship of $1,250 can help blunt the first semester’s expenses, while a multi-year award can give a student more room to choose school, technical training or a degree path without taking on as much debt. That matters in a county where local students often decide whether to stay close to home or leave for campuses and careers elsewhere.

Steve Schmitz, FCCU’s chief executive officer, said the credit union was proud to award the record amount and continue supporting members’ educational goals. FCCU said its scholarship foundation program began in 2014, when it donated $1 million so investment earnings could fund scholarships for years to come.

The 2026 total tops the more than $60,000 FCCU said it would award in 2024, when it offered nine $5,000 scholarships and six $2,500 scholarships. The credit union said it has now awarded more than $830,000 in scholarships over the past 30 years. FCCU also says it is the largest credit union in North Dakota, with 26 branches, including two in Minnesota, a footprint that helps explain why a Jamestown decision reaches well beyond one school district.